BOC trimming down collection target from P328 B to P278 B

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is trimming its collection target for this year and for 2012 as prospects of achieving its original goals remain dim, Commissioner Rufino Biazon said yesterday.

Biazon said that for this year, the BOC’s new collection target is P278 billion from the original P328 billion.

For next year, the BOC hopes to collect P315 billion from the original target of P365 billion.

He said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has approved the adjustments. The agency’s collection shortfall between January and August alone has reached P24.24 billion.

“We’re applying the reduction of the targets for the entire year, so our monthly shortfall collection would also be reduced,” Biazon said. 

He explained that what would be reduced is the cash collection. The tax expenditure fund (TEF), or paper revenues from importation by other government agencies, would be retained. The TEF is a subsidy released by the Department of Budget and Management to government-owned and controlled corporations and state-run companies mainly to settle customs duties and other taxes arising from importation of goods.

Biazon said what’s good about making ambitious targets is that “we need to always challenge ourselves.”

The BOC is the second biggest revenue-generating agency, after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The BIR’s collection target for the year is P940 billion.

Biazon’s predecessor Angelito Alvarez earlier estimated BOC’s full-year collection at only P295 billion as the country’s compliance with various free trade agreements as well as the effects of peso appreciation were expected to make a dent on revenues.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Chavez, who is facing charges for grave misconduct and grave abuse of authority, has gone on leave even before the enforcement of a 90-day preventive suspension order.

“It seems that DepCom Chavez himself is obeying the suspension order… He has not been reporting to his office,” Biazon said.

He said Chavez had informed him of his intention to go on leave.

The case against Chavez and seven of his men in the Run After The Smugglers (RATS) team in the BOC stemmed from a complaint of harassment by officials of Sanyo Seiki Stainless Steel Corp. (SSSSC).

The seven RATS team members covered by the preventive suspension order were Christopher Dy Buco, Edgar Quiñones, Francisco Fernandez Jr., Alfredo Adao, Jose Elmer Velarde, Thomas Patric Relucio and Jim Erick Acosta.

Deputy Commissioner for revenue collection monitoring group Peter Manzano temporarily takes over RATS.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. had given Chavez and his men 10 days to answer the charges and submit affidavits.

In its complaint, SSSSC claimed RATS operatives entered and searched its rented warehouses in Meycauayan, Bulacan on July 1 and in Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City on July 4 using spurious mission orders.

The RATS team was also accused of impounding a truck and goods owned by SSSSC on July 9 without any warrant.