BOC revenues hit record P884 billion in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) raked in a record P884 billion in revenues last year, slightly overshooting government targets amid a heightened drive against smuggling and better digitalization initiatives.

Preliminary data from the Department of Finance (DOF) showed that  BOC’s total collections reached P883.62 billion in 2023, a percentage higher than the P874.17 billion target set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee.

Last year’s revenue performance was also higher by 2.5 percent than the 2022 collection of P862.42 billion.

The BOC has been attributing its performance to efficient tax collection even as imports coming in are slightly lower.

The agency said it also boosted its efforts to enhance trade facilitation and increase revenues as part of the overall economic recovery and growth.

Customs is also ramping up its digitalization efforts by developing new systems and modern facilities to streamline procedures and reduce processing times in import and export transactions.

As the second largest revenue agency, the BOC is mandated to deliver financial resources to fund the government’s programs and projects.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno commended the BOC for its revenue performance last year.

“In 2024, expect the BOC to continue modernizing its Customs administration and processes to effectively curb illicit trade, generate more revenues to fund the government’s priority development projects, ensure the protection of our consumers, and enhance the country’s ease of doing business,” Diokno said.

For this year, Customs is tasked by the DBCC to generate at least P1 trillion, up 13 percent from the 2023 level.

Further, BOC’s anti-smuggling drive last year resulted in the confiscation of P43.3 billion worth of contraband commodities.

As of end-2023, 90 criminal cases have been filed before the Department of Justice, 60 of which are related to agricultural smuggling. Among these, 56 pertain to large-scale smuggling, which violates the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.

Apart from collections, the Post Clearance Audit Group also secured P1.96 billion in deficient Customs duties, taxes, penalties and interests as part of last year’s collections.

The BOC also raised P164.5 million from public auctions of forfeited goods.