STRONG imports of cars and steel helped the Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceed its February target collection.
Preliminary BOC data showed the agency took in P15.07 billion, 14% more than its P13.11-billion target. The collection is expected to increase further with the last two days of February still unaccounted for in the data.
Compared to the P11.77-billion collection in February last year, revenues for the same month this year were 28% higher.
Import of steel and cars more than offset the non-importation of rice for February, Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales said.
At the moment, only the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Limay are below their target for February.
MICP has a collection goal of P4.82 billion for February but was P782 million short. Limay took in P722 million, 62% below its P1.9-billion target.
The Port of Batangas collected P4.3 billion, P1.3 billion higher than the target thanks mainly to oil imports by Shell and Petron.
The Port of Manila, the country’s second largest, had a surplus of P785 to P3.4 billion for February. Other ports with surplus collections include Iloilo, Tacloban, Subic Bay, Clark Field, and Aparri.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport was P139 million short of its P1.26-billion target for the period.
Including January figures, NAIA, where most high-value goods are handled, collected 3% more than its target or a surplus of P80 million.
