The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Friday it expects meet its P874.2-billion collection target for the year despite the recent decline in oil and coal prices on the global market.
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said in a statement the agency is confident of collecting at least P60.55 billion in December, which would be enough to reach its annual target.
He said the lower oil and coal prices had affected the bureau’s revenue collection performance, citing a decrease in both import volume and unit prices of various commodities.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee initially projected fuel prices to be around $90 per barrel, but they are now trading between $68 and $70.
The peso-dollar exchange rate, which was expected to reach 59 a dollar, is now trading at 55.
Rubio said the impact on the BOC is due to the fact that its collections are based on foreign currency, which is reflected in the value of imported goods.
He said the substantial drop in fuel prices substantially affected collection performance, and the bureau estimates a potential revenue loss of about P45 billion due to the decline in coal prices alone, assuming import volume remains constant.
He said despite these challenges, the BOC remained confident of attaining its target due to enhanced efficiency.
The bureau also expects to surpass its revised target of P60.55 billion for December.
Originally tasked to collect P78 billion in December, the bureau cut its target following better-than-expected collections in the first 11 months.
Data showed that from January to November, Customs collected P813.651 billion, exceeding its target of P795.97 billion for the period by 2.2 percent.
“We see every month we are recording surpluses, except for that one month that we were short, but we were able to recover,” Rubio said.
He expressed confidence in meeting the bureau’s target and even delivering a surplus. “What I can promise is I’ll meet the target and give them a surplus,” Rubio said.