BOC collections up 19.26%

MANILA, Philippines - The reform program initiated by the Aquino administration to strengthen customs enforcement in a bid to stop smuggled and counterfeit products entering the country has yielded positive results barely four months since its implementation.

Data from the Department of Finance showed that emerging cash collections by the Bureau of Customs from November 2013 to January this year grew 19.26 percent, a significant jump from the meager 4.76-percent growth recorded in the pre-reform period (January to October 2013).

Collections totaled P81.32 billion for the three-month period, up from P68.19 billion a year ago.

January to October 2013 collections, on the other hand, reached P250.08 billion compared with P238.73 billion.

“One of the key performance indicators for the reform’s success is the improvement in its cash collections. One can draw a line before and after October, when the reform operations and personnel movements stabilized, and observe that the initial major elements of the President’s Customs Reform Program have been substantive and generated significant growth in revenues for the government. These are encouraging initial results. The numbers tell us the reform program is starting to work,” Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said.

The  reform  program involved the top-to-bottom reorganization of the Bureau which led to the appointment of new top level customs officials, the reassignment of posts of BOC officials and employees, the creation of two new units -- Office of Revenue Agency Modernization and  Customs Policy Research Office – to ensure proper enforcement of customs laws and regulations.

The BOC’s Intelligence Group (IG) and Enforcement Group (EG) have been aggressively clamping down on smuggling with the string of onsite examinations conducted on alerted shipments believed to be undervalued or misclassified over the past four months.

Of the 142 shipments that were examined, 90 percent had adverse finding, leading to higher collections for government.

Sevilla earlier identified the bureau’s major reform points which include the establishment of  a centralized single reference for valuation information for all the bureau and a single dispute resolution process for valuation, the revamp of the importer accreditation process and a more intensified monitoring on sensitive imports.

To ensure transparency, the BOC launched an online platform called Customs ng Bayan which will provide the public information on duties and taxes to be paid, what is being imported, the volume of importation and the valuation used.

Also to be posted on the website include the warrant of seizures issued by the BOC, its planned auctions as well as alert orders with adverse  findings.

Sevilla earlier said he was hoping to improve the agency’s contributions to the government given the wide-ranging reforms to be implemented within the agency. The BOC is tasked to collect a little over P408 billion this year.