Customs confident of meeting target by mid-December

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is expected to achieve its P196-billion official target collection this year by Dec. 15, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said yesterday.

Morales issued the statement after BOC exceeded by P4.911 billion its January-November target which means it only needs to raise P14.39 billion to meet this year’s collection goal.

"In our estimate, we are optimistic that we would meet our official target in just 10 working days this December - that is by next Friday. We are confident about this considering the measures being implemented in the bureau during this holiday season when imports are expected to surge," Morales told reporters.

A report issued by Customs Finance Services states that the BoC has registered P181.6 billion in cumulative monthly collections from January to November, 2.8 percent above its target revenue of P176.7 billion for the period.

The document shows the bureau missing its monthly target only in April, October and November. In the other eight months, the agency had surpassed its targets with some port districts led by Port of Batangas and Port of Manila consistently putting in billions of surpluses.