BIR, Customs collections hit P2.72 trillion in 2021

MANILA, Philippines —The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs collected P2.72 trillion in taxes last year, closing in on their pre-pandemic total by moving their systems to digital platforms.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said both revenue-generating agencies improved their take by more than nine percent to P2.72 trillion in 2021, from P2.49 trillion in 2020.

The tax take also exceeded the P2.7 trillion target set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) and nearly reached the P2.81 trillion collection prior to the pandemic in 2019.

According to the DOF, the BIR generated P2.07 trillion worth of revenues, growing by over nine percent from 2020’s P1.95 trillion, but lower than the P2.08 trillion goal set by the DBCC even as it introduced digital reforms to expand tax payment options.

On the other hand, Customs collections spiked by a fifth to P645.77 billion from P537.69 billion, as 13 of the 17 ports nationwide surpassed their respective targets. The agency also surpassed the P616.75 billion mark assigned by the DBCC and its pre-pandemic total of P630.31 billion in 2019.

The BIR has embarked on a 10-year roadmap to complete 49 projects upgrading its electronic channels to accommodate taxpayers pushed by the pandemic to adapt digital tools.

With the shift to contactless transactions, the BIR said that almost 100 percent of annual income tax returns received by the agency last year were filed online.

For 2022, the BIR wants to increase tax transactions paid through digital means by 50 percent, projecting that taxpayers save up to P200 million in combined fees every year by using them.

The Customs, for its part, has proceeded with its modernization program financed by the World Bank. In particular, existing initiatives like the electronic advance ruling system for valuation and rules of origin were strengthened to facilitate the flow of trade.

Last year, the agency launched the customer care portal system where consignees can file and track the status of inquiries and requests. The electronic tracking of containerized cargo system was also activated to provide real-time monitoring of inland activities for moving shipments.

As the DOF and attached agencies boost their digital capabilities, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said they should scale up their cyber security measures to protect electronic systems from the threats of hacking and similar online attacks.

Under the fiscal program, the government should raise its revenue collection to P3.3 trillion this year, from an outlook of P3.02 trillion in 2021, to bring down the budget deficit to 7.7 percent of the economy.