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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider Customs beats revenue target despite Mideast conflict, tax cuts

Customs beats revenue target despite Mideast conflict, tax cuts

Published May 4, 2026 12:13 pm

At A Glance

  • Despite the growing collection risks from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which already suspended sin taxes slapped on certain fuels, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) still posted a historic high collection in April at ₱86.4 billion.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected ₱86.4 billion in April, beating its monthly target despite regional instability and tax relief measures that threatened to erode the agency’s revenue base.
April collections exceeded the month’s target by ₱7.8 billion, pushing the cumulative collections to ₱325.808 billion—exceeding the Customs’ target of ₱314.7 billion by ₱11.148 billion or 3.5 percent.
According to the bureau, the four-month haul marked its highest cumulative surplus for the January-to-April period in the past decade. The end-April figure reflects a nearly P20-billion or 6.4-percent increase from the same period in 2025.
This, according to the BOC, underscored its “sustained revenue performance and strong start toward its trillion-peso goal for 2026.
April alone delivered the agency’s biggest monthly intake on record—9.9 percent or ₱7.8 billion above the ₱78.6-billion target, and up 15.7 percent or ₱11.699 billion from a year earlier, based on preliminary data.
This performance came despite mounting external pressures, including the economic fallout from the ongoing Middle East conflict and the implementation of a three-month suspension or reduction of excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene starting April 2026, which directly trimmed revenue streams.
Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said in a May 4 statement that the end-April surplus is the tax agency’s “highest year-to-date surplus on record” for a decade, adding that this mirrors the Bureau’s consistent performance across all ports.
“Even in the face of global uncertainties and policy shifts that affect our revenue base, we continue to deliver results that directly support government programs and national development,” Nepomuceno said
The BOC said its sustained performance was driven by strengthened valuation practices, improved monitoring systems, and continued digitalization of customs processes, all anchored on its Integrity, Accountability, and Modernization (IAM) Program.
The Bureau said it would continue pursuing reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency, transparency, and trade facilitation, even as global trade conditions remain volatile. (Derco Rosal)

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Bureau of Customs (BOC)
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