The Bureau of Customs (BOC), the government’s second-largest tax agency, announced that it had exceeded its revenue collection target for the first eight months of 2024.
In a statement on Friday, Sept. 6, the BOC reported that it collected P614.781 billion from Janaury to August this year, surpassing its target of P609.592 billion by 0.9 percent.
According to the BOC, this also marks a 5.7 percent increase, or P33.29 billion, compared to the P581.491 billion collected during the same period in 2023.
The end-August collections constituted 64.1 percent of the BOC's full-year target of P959 billion. The agency must secure P344.22 billion in the remaining months to achieve this goal.
The bureau credited this substantial growth to effective strategies in valuing goods and accurately assessing import duties.
“Through stringent customs compliance, the BOC has effectively minimized under-declaration and misclassification, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and overall fiscal management,” the BOC said.
However, the BOC reported a collection of P78.908 billion in August, falling short of the P80.945 billion target, largely due to recent policy changes.
Notably, Executive Order (EO) 62, which lowered the imported rice tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent, resulted in a revenue loss of P2.353 billion.
Additionally, the reduction of the motor vehicle tariff to zeo contributed to a deficit of P1.034 billion.
“These policy adjustments were essential for broader economic and consumer benefits, reflecting a strategic shift towards more affordable essential goods,” the BOC said.
“Despite these temporary setbacks, the BOC remains resolute in its mission to achieve its 2024 revenue goals,” it said.
In June, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised this year's targets for the government's two main tax agencies—the Bureau of Internal Revenue and BOC.
According to the DBCC's 2024 Quarterly Fiscal Program approved last May 23, the BIR and BOC are now expected to collect P3.788 trillion this year, a 5.6 percent decrease from the original target of P4.014 trillion.
The DBCC adjusted the BIR's full-year collection target down by 6.7 percent to P2.848 trillion from the earlier goal of P3.055 trillion.
The Customs bureau's target for the year was also lowered by two percent to P939.7 billion from the previous estimate of P959 billion.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, who chairs the DBCC, said the reduction in the tax collection target stemmed from a lower-than-expected economic growth outlook, among other contributing factors.
Back in April, the DBCC, an inter-agency body tasked with formulating the government's macroeconomic assumptions, revised the gross domestic product target for 2024 to a range of 6.0 percent to 7.0 percent from the previous 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent.
The DBCC said the adjusted targets were based on an analysis of the country's economic performance in 2023 along with the latest developments and forecasts regarding external factors such as global demand, trade trends, fluctuations in oil prices, and expected movements in exchange rates and inflation. (Derco Rosal)