Customs Bureau misses Jan.-June collections

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) recorded P126.1 billion in cash collections during the first six months of the year, up from the year earlier collections but down from the target for January to June 2011. Government’s second largest revenue agency gained P15 billion more than what it generated in the same period last year, said Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez. But the bureau failed to meet its P137.9-billion collection goal for the first six months of 2011, Alvarez said. In the first six months the BOC collected P111.1 billion. The Customs chief said there are now nearly 2,000 products that, until June last year, were revenue sources for the BOC. The commodities that are now classified as either duty free or with lower tariff duties as a result of free trade agreements and government’s social amelioration initiatives include petroleum products, cereals, plastics and similar articles, iron and steel, paper and paperboard, fertilizers and cement. "As a result, six of the country’s billionaire ports incurred deficits ranging from P6.07 billion to P467 million," Alvarez said. The Manila International Container Port missed its January to June target of P38.4 billion by more than P5 billion and the Port of Manila was P4.6 billion short of its P31.6 billion goal. The biggest deficit of more than P6 billion was incurred by the Port of Batangas, which generated only P23.3 billion against its P29.3 billion goal. The BOC district collectors responsible for generating revenue also attributed the lower collections to the appreciation of the peso and the high utilization of tax credit certificates. — VS, GMA News