Customs collections dip for 3rd month in August: Philippines

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Collections of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) slightly went down to P76 billion in August, marking the third consecutive month of decline as base effects start to wane.

Preliminary data showed that Customs collections reached P75.642 billion in August, down by four percent from P78.9 billion in the same period last year.

This marked the third straight month that BOC recorded a decrease in revenue collection, starting in June when it declined by 2.72 percent to P74.1 billion and by 13 percent to P73.1 billion in July.

In 2022, the BOC registered several record highs in revenue collection largely due to economic reopening.

For the past few months, there has been a notable downward correction in the global prices of oil and other commodities, affecting BOC collections.

Nonetheless, the August collection remained above target by almost five percent from P72.275 billion.

This brought the BOC's seven-month revenue collection to P582.13 billion, four percent higher than P558.455 billion it generated in the same period in 2022.

This is also 2.54 percent above its January to August 2023 target of P567.74 billion.

The revenue for the seven-month period is now 66.59 percent of the revised downward target of P874.2 billion target for the year set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee.

The BOC attributed its performance to efficient operations, enhanced trade activities and revenue collection measures.

'We will continue to monitor trade activities and implement measures to sustain revenue collection, as part of our collaborative effort in further strengthening the nation's financial standing,' BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said.

Rubio added that the agency's drive against smuggling remains a major contributor to better collection performance.

BOC has so far conducted 687 anti-smuggling operations, resulting in the confiscation of P31.118 billion worth of various smuggled goods - the highest in the last five years.

As the second largest revenue agency, the BOC is mandated to deliver financial resources to fund the government's programs and projects