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THE
Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Thursday it may have
slightly exceeded its target collection in November, but
hinted that the agency may not be able to reach its
year-end goal as a result of a stronger peso, and
because the cargo volume has not picked up as much as
they would have wanted.
Customs
Deputy Commissioner Reynaldo Umali said the bureau had
exceeded its revenue target of P20.3 billion by about
P166 million after reports from other ports came in
earlier this week.
“That
figure is almost official. We’re just waiting for the
confirmation of the BTr [Bureau of the Treasury],” Umali
said.
The
figure was higher than the earlier reported collection
surplus of P10, which came only from the country’s major
ports of entry, such as Manila International Container
Port,
Port of Manila, Batangas
Port and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Customs
Commissioner Napoleon Morales, however, hinted that the
agency may not be able to reach its collection target of
P228.2 billion, an amount that has been lowered due to
the stronger peso against the dollar.
According to an earlier report of the Department of
Finance, the BOC reported a collection of P171.7 billion
from January to October, or short of the target. With
its November collection, it will have to collect at
least P36.04 billion to reach its target.
“But
remember, according to DBM’s [Department of Budget and
Management] calculations, every P1 appreciation [against
the dollar] is equivalent to P3 billion in lost revenue
for us,” Morales said, adding that they fear the
exchange rate may reach P41 to the dollar level by
year-end.
Morales
said he has asked companies to pay all their dues before
Christmas so the BOC, the government’s second-highest
revenue-generating agency, can have a total picture of
its shortfall.
Aside
from the stronger peso, Morales also pinned the blame of
low collection on the low volume of cargoes that passed
through the country’s ports.
For the
past months, the BOC has been active in implementing
measures to augment its shortfall and meet its full-year
target. These include rolling out nonintrusive container
scanning machines to detect smuggling, auditing past oil
imports and immediately auctioning off goods to target a
zero inventory by year-end.
For
instance, when BOC intercepted the “unlawful withdrawal”
of 100 liters of diesel fuel from PTT Phils. Inc., a
locator at Clark Special Economic Zone, last month, it
had immediately auctioned the goods off and collected an
additional revenue of P3 million.
“We are
trying our very best, but things get harder and harder
everyday for us at the bureau as the peso continues to
grow stronger. This aspect is very vital because the
first step in tax collection is converting the invoice
value [in dollar] to peso,” Morales earlier said.
The
national government wants to achieve a budget deficit of
P63 billion by yearend, and a balanced budget next year.
Both the
BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, however, have
been recording shortfalls.
BIR only
collected P575.4 billion from January to October as
against its target of P629.5 billion. |
