BoC misses September target

MANILA, Philippines - Depressed import prices pulled down the Bureau of Customs’s revenue collections by more than a fifth last month, although the agency remained optimistic it could meet its target by year-end.

In a statement on Thursday, Customs said it collected P32.65 billion in September, down 0.8 percent from last year’s P32.9 billion. The bureau was also down by 20.6 percent against that month’s P41.109-billion target.

The figures are based on the final tally for September. Last week, preliminary figures obtained by The STAR showed the bureau collected P32.1 billion in September.

“Overall, the decline in collection was driven by a drop in the total value of imports,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina was quoted in the statement as saying.

From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion, up 0.9 percent year-on-year, but below the P314.171-billion target for the first three quarters.