BOC collects P90 billion in October

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) saw its collections rise to P90 billion in October as it ramped up proper tax verification on various imported goods.

Preliminary data showed that Customs collections reached P89.5 billion in October, up by 15 percent from the P77.93 billion in the same period last year.

The October revenue is also four percent higher than the P86.1-billion target for the month.

This brought the BOC’s 10-month revenue collection to P784.54 billion, 6.3 percent higher than P738.31 billion it generated in the same period in 2023.

This is also slightly above its January to October 2024 target of P779.99 billion.

The revenue for the 10-month period is now 83.5 percent of the lowered P939.7-billion target for the year set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee.

The BOC attributed its performance to the Customs’ efforts to ensure accurate duty and tax collections through verification of imported goods’ values and classifications.

It also reflects contributions from the value-added tax refund program and the strict fuel marking initiative.

Further, some P3.35 billion was collected from tax credit certificates, complemented by enhanced partnership with other government agencies to streamline procedures and support secure trade facilitation.

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