BIR, BOC exceed target in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceeded their revised collection targets from January to September, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday.

According to the DOF, combined collections of the BIR and BOC amounted to P1.82 trillion in the first nine months, 8.2 percent higher than the revised target of P1.68 trillion.

Collections of the BIR amounted to P1.423 trillion from January to September, surpassing by 8.67 percent the adjusted nine-month target of P1.31 trillion.

For September alone, BIR’s revenues reached P120 billion, slightly higher than the P118 billion target for the month.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), however, showed that the amount is about 11 percent lower than the P1.6 trillion collection in the same period last year.

For its part, the BOC collected P397.5 billion in the first nine months, 6.81 percent higher than the P372 billion goal, but 15.43 percent lower compared to last year’s P470.05 billion.

In a separate statement, the BOC said its collections for September reached P50.23 billion, 33.17 percent higher than the  target of P37.72 billion for the month.

The BOC attributed the above-target performance to the gradual improvement of importation volume and the government’s initiatives to ensure the unhampered movement of goods domestically and internationally amid the pandemic.

The BOC’s financial service division said 14 out of the 17 collection districts exceeded their target for the month, including the Manila International Container Port, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and the ports of San Fernando, Batangas, Cebu, Tacloban, Surigao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Davao, Subic, Clark, Aparri and Limay.

Furthermore, the BOC said it has tightened its border security measures against undervaluation, misdeclaration and other forms of technical smuggling to protect government revenues.

“Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero commended the collective effort of the men and women of the Bureau of Customs who, despite the risk to their health and safety, showed their unwavering commitment and dedication to service,” the BOC said.

For the whole of 2020, the BIR’s target was revised downward to P1.69 trillion, while the BOC’s goal was decreased to P506.15 billion.

Dominguez earlier cited the above-target collection performance of the BIR and BOC as one of the signs that the economy is already starting to recover from the impact of the pandemic.