Customs revenue up 27.2 pct in Sept.

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine Bureau of Customs ( BOC) said today that its collections rose by 27.2 percent on year to a record P32.87 billion ($734.04 million) in September.

BOC said its September collections were its highest-ever single- month collections. The agency attributed this to the continuous improvements in valuation and an increase in the volume of imported goods during the period.

Volume of imports in September grew 15.7 percent, driven by the growth in imports of petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel products and electrical machinery and equipment. BOC said inward shipments of these products accounted for 72 percent of total customs revenue.

BOC's September revenue, however, fell short of its target of P34.56 billion ($771.79 million) for the period. This was mainly due to the failure of the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port to hit their goals.

From January to September, total revenue collections of the BOC reached P265.78 billion ($5.93 billion), 18 percent higher than the level posted in the same period last year.