Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña is optimistic the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will hit the P627 billion target for 2018 as long as they continue with reforms recently put in place.
“If we do things right, if we go by the correct valuation, I am optimistic that we will be able to hit our target,” Lapeña told PortCalls on the sidelines of the Port Users Confederation’s Christmas party on December 7.
The customs chief, in a press conference on December 5, said BOC was assigned a target revenue of P627 billion for 2018, 30% higher than the 2017 target of P468 billion.
The increased collection will be achieved through agency reforms and the direction BOC is taking—eliminating benchmarking, resorting to correct valuation, and removing sections in the Formal Entry Division to stop the suki system, or connivance between customs officials and stakeholders to expedite release of shipments by paying grease money.
Lapeña said that, as an example, benchmarking of a P40,000 per shipment generated only around P35 billion every month, the average monthly collection of BOC for years. But recently, monthly revenues have been hitting around P40 billion after Lapeña ordered an end to benchmarking and the enforcement of correct valuation. He noted that a shipment worth P1 million already requires payment of P120,000 in value-added tax alone, which would translate to a higher average monthly collection.
He acknowledged, however, that BOC has not totally eradicated benchmarking, but that many customs personnel are already assessing the correct valuation.
The implementation of fuel marking and monitoring system by next year will also help generate more revenue, Lapeña added.
Fuel marking and monitoring, mandated under the proposed tax reform law, are set to be in place by the second half of 2018 as part of sustained government efforts to curb smuggling in the oil sector.
Lapeña said this measure will deter oil smuggling while generating billions of pesos in revenues for the government.
The Department of Finance has estimated revenue losses (value-added and excise taxes) from smuggled or misdeclared fuel at P26.87 billion (about US$565.68 million) in 2016 alone. The Asian Development Bank has pegged the losses at a higher figure of P37.5 billion annually, while a study commissioned by the local oil industry places them at an even higher P43.8 billion per year.
BOC has been hitting record revenues since September, attributed to reforms being implemented.
On September 28 and 29, the bureau posted more than P3 billion in daily collections. Last October revenue performance made history after hitting the P42-billion mark. For November, preliminary figures showed BOC collected P46.47 billion, its highest recorded monthly collection in its revenue history.– Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of sheelamohan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
