BOC exceeds target for July

The Bureau of Customs reported a total collection of P10.724 billion for July, P1.569 billion more than the target of P9.842 billion for the month.

Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo said the Bureau is continuously exceeding its assigned monthly tax collection target despite the low volume of importation during the first few months of the current year on account of the high rate of exchange between the dollar vis-à-vis the peso.

"We are over the hump, so to speak," Bernardo said as he described the first three months of the year as "lean months" as business firms do their inventory of their stocks." "But this year," he added, "the high rate of exchanged is slowing down the volume of importation."

Bernardo was optimistic that the coming months would be good for the government in terms of increasing the revenues through tax collections. "The last six months of every year is where the volume of importation is high," he added.

He said that the Department of Finance has increased to three times the assigned tax collection target of the bureau from its original target of P107 billion to P110 billion and to P112 billion for the year 2004.

Bernardo said that because of the increase in the assigned tax collection target for the bureau, he has to look for other sources of revenues to meet its target like putting on the auction block hundreds of abandoned cargoes which consist of highly taxable items.

He said he is happy with the performance of the bureau which will help the government reduce its budgetary deficit. "We are doing everything here in the bureau to improve our tax collections," he added.