THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has revised upward its collection target for the last three months of the year to make up for the P11-billion deficit it incurred in the first six months of the year.
The new respective targets for October to December are P23.202 billion from P21.702 billion, P23.264 billion from P20.305 billion, and P21.306 billion from P21.213 billion.
BOC said hitting its target for the year has became more doable after the Development Budget Coordination Committee cut the bureau’s target by P5 billion to P223 billion due to the stronger peso and lower import volumes.
The BOC said every one peso appreciation translates to revenue losses of P2.2 billion for the bureau.
“If we get the adjusted target from September to December, we will have no problems meeting the official target. But based on my recent meeting with the President, I have assured her that we will still try our best to get the original target of P228 billion as the internal goal of the bureau,” Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said.
As of last week, the BOC was still P2 billion short of its adjusted target for September. Morales is confident though of hitting the goal as some oil firms are expected to settle their bill by month’s end. “Based on the trend of previous years, the economy is at its best in the run-up to Christmas. Businesses are alive and it is natural for businesses to stock up on their merchandise to accommodate the uptrend in spending,” he said.
