BOC creates group to address revenue collection goals

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs has created a group to address its persistent failure to meet revenue collection targets.

In a statement yesterday, Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said he established the committee on revenue enhancement (CORE) to find solutions on the “huge shortfall in revenue collection.”

CORE was created by virtue of Customs Personnel Order D-23-2016, a copy of which was not immediately available yesterday.

Faeldon was likewise not responding to request for comment.

The group, the statement said, will be led by Cecile Marie Soriano, director of the agency’s financial services office.

“CORE was created to ensure that the bureau will meet its 2016 revenue collection target of P498 billion,” Customs said.

Tasks include scrutinizing port daily performances to identify loopholes and suggest solutions, provide recommendations on how ports can meet their targets and formulate strategies to “maximize” revenue collection.

Customs, which traditionally accounts for a fifth of state revenues, had consistently failed to meet its required collection every year.

Data would show this was true most of the time during the previous administrations.

Last year alone, Customs did not only fell behind its P436.59-billion target, its total collections of P367.53 billion also marked a decline of 0.47 percent year-on-year.

For the first six months, the agency already collected P190.55 billion, up seven percent from year-ago levels.