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FOR the
first time this year, the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
surpassed its collection targets for July after imposing
several measures to squeeze more taxes from shippers.
The
agency, the Philippines’ second-largest source of
revenue, said preliminary figures indicate that it
collected P21 billion in duties and taxes for the
month—P1.1 billion higher than its target of P19.86
billion—after it failed to meet its goals for the last
six months.
July’s
performance brought the total seven-month collection to
P114.3 billion, leaving a balance of about P10.8
billion.
Among
the ports which registered surpluses for the period are
Manila, the Manila International Container Port, the
Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, Legaspi, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao , Subic
Bay and Clark Field, the bureau said.
Areas
which failed to meet their respective goals include
facilities in Batangas, Subic, Iloilo, Tacloban,
Zamboanga and Surigao.
Morales
said the increase was brought about by the
implementation of a six-point action plan. Earlier
presented to Malacañang, the strategy intended to
improve the agency’s collection efficiency. It also aims
to raise an additional P12.9 billion in the second half
of the year to recoup its undercollections in the first
half and enable the bureau to meet its P228-billion goal
for 2007.
The
six-point plan also covers updating of the valuation
data base, strengthening postentry audit processes, and
the intensification of the Run After The Smugglers
program, among others.
In the
past few weeks, the bureau filed a slew of smuggling
cases after the agency’s chief, Commissioner Napoleon
Morales, drew heavy criticism for his inability to meet
monthly tax targets, considered vital to cover the
government’s budget deficit by next year. The budget
shortfall this year is expected at P63 billion.
Just
this week the bureau shut down the depot of Oillink
International Corp. in Mariveles, Bataan, after it
failed to pay P353.5 million in tax deficiencies for the
oil shipments it made in 2004.
Meanwhile, under its antismuggling program, the agency
filed 49 cases involving 219 respondents as of end-July,
surpassing the bureau’s commitment under the United
States Agency for International Development Millennium
Challenge Account-Philippine Threshold Program. The
program has required the bureau to file at least 48
cases at the Department of Justice within two years,
ending September 2008.
The
bureau’s collection target is P32 billion higher than
its P198-billion goal in 2006. The target for the year
remains unadjusted despite the increasing value of the
peso against the dollar and lower import volumes, two
major factors which affect the agency’s income. |
