THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it surpassed its collection target by 3.21% for the six months to June.
During the period, the agency collected P434.169 billion in duties and taxes, beating by P13.5 billion its P420.66 billion target for the period.
First-half collections were also up P37.434 billion from a year earlier.
“The increase in revenue was achieved despite the challenges in import volume, which (contracted) 2.8% this year for high-value commodities,” the BoC said in a statement late Tuesday.
In June, the agency generated P74.861 billion in revenue, exceeding the P74.721 billion target for the month.
“Furthermore, although the volume of oil increased by 9.9% this year as compared to last year, the revenue from said commodity declined due to decreasing value of oil,” the BoC said.
The BoC also attributed its improved revenue collection to anti-smuggling efforts.
Collections from seizures of shipments were estimated at P23.8 billion. This included P15.54 billion from counterfeit goods, P2.9 billion from agricultural products, and P1.85 billion from cigarettes and tobacco.
The BoC’s collections in the first six months represent around 48% of its P901.3-billion full-year target.
This year’s collection target is 24.9% higher than the P721.5-billion target set in 2022.
Last year, Customs collected P862.929 billion, exceeding the target by 19.6%. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson