BOC misses May collection goal

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) missed its collection target in May due to a dip in the importation of petroleum products, Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said Thursday.

While expressing confidence that BOC’s May collections surpassed the year-earlier figures by roughly 10 percent, Alvarez said there is “no doubt" that the agency’s revenues last month fell below the P26-billion target.

The BOC chief explained that the Port of Batangas alone fell short of its target by P2 billion.

In the first quarter, the government’s second largest revenue agency also missed its P63.39-billion target, collecting P62.62 billion from January to March this year.

The BOC said it collected P20.224 billion in duties and taxes in January, exceeding its revenue goal by around P600 million for the month.

For 2011, the BOC is tasked to collect around P320 billion – 14 percent more than its P280-billion collection target in 2010. Last year, the BOC collected only P227 billion.

Alvarez said he would get a clearer picture this month if the bureau can meet its full-year goal. 

Customs misses May revenue target

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs did not meet its revenue collection target of P25 billion in May, Commissioner Angelito Alvarez told reporters on Thursday, adding it was due in part to lower imports of petroleum products.

"The May collection target was mission impossible, but what we’re glad to report is that last month’s collection was higher compared with a year ago’s cash collections," he said.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed Customs collected P24.119 billion in May last year. Of the amount, non-cash collections accounted for about P5.576 billion.

The government ran a budget surplus of P61 million in the first four months of the year, well ahead of projections of a first-half deficit of P152 billion. The better-than-expected performance was largely due to lower government spending after delays in implementation of infrastructure projects.