CEBU, Philippines - Revenue collections for the Bureau of Customs January to July this year reached P203.86 billion, or a growth of 18 percent brought about by continued improvements in valuation as well as a marginal increase in the volume of imported goods.
Importation of finished petroleum products, which accounts for around 17 percent of total revenue, grew 34.5 percent year-on-year in July 2014, primarily due to an increase in imports of diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, and crude oil.
On the other hand, importation of motor vehicles, which accounts for a 15 percent share of the total BOC collection, expanded by 22 percent on increasing demand for cars.
Other revenue growth drivers include importation of food items, iron and steel products, and electrical machineries and equipment.
In a statement, BOC said that majority of the Bureau’s collection districts or ports saw marked improvement in revenue collection in July. In particular, the Cebu Port collected in July alone P1.12 billion, which is 17.4 percent (166 million) more compared to target collection of P954 million.
From January to July, the Cebu Port collected P7.61 billion which is 5.11 percent higher (P370 million) compared to its target collection of P7.24 billion.
Conrado Abarintos, BOC-Cebu cash division chief, said in an interview that due to super typhoon Yolanda rehabilitation efforts, the construction sector composes a huge part of their revenue collection.
“Dako gyud ron ang gikatampo sa atong (Contributing greatly to the increase in) revenue collection ang mga (are the) construction materials like iron, steel, wood and plastics due to the ongoing Yolanda rehabilitation,” said Abarintos, who is also the assessment division officer-in-charge.
Aside from construction materials importation, Abarintos said finished petroleum products and coal importation because of the presence of several power plants in Cebu contributed a big chunk in their revenue collection efforts.
BOC-Cebu Port has a P12-billion target collection for 2014. (FREEMAN)