The Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs raised P1.636 trillion in the first eight months, up 7.17 percent over the revised P1.527-trillion target set by the interagency Development Budget Coordinating Committee.
Citing preliminary BIR and BOC data, the Department of Finance’s Revenue Operations Group said the two agencies collected P109.5 billion more than the revised collection goal set by the DBCC in July.
The DOF said the BIR collected P1.289 trillion in the first eight months, exceeding by P96.44 billion or 8.08 percent the DBCC target of P1.192 trillion for the period. It did not provide year-on-year comparisons.
The Customs collected P347.6 billion over the January-August period, which was P16.97 billion or 5.13 percent more than the DBCC target of P330.63 billion.
The BIR and BOC also exceeded their DBCC-set collection targets for August despite the curtailed economic activities in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal from Aug. 4 to 18, when these areas were placed under a strict modified enhanced community quarantine.
Combined collections of the BIR and BOC reached P216.65 billion in August, which was P61.38 billion or 39.53 percent more than the DBCC target of P155.27 billion for that month, the DoF said.
The BIR collected P172.06 billion in August, exceeding the DBCC target of P118.2 billion by 5.5 percent or P53.87 billion.
A total of P44.59 billion was collected by the BOC in August, topping the DBCC target of P33.68 billion by P10.9 billion or 32.58 percent.
The DOF reported earlier that budget deficit climbed by 86.21 percent in July to P140.2 billion from the P75.3-billion shortfall a year ago, as expenditures increased 10.4 percent and revenue collection dropped 11.2 percent during the month.
“The higher deficit for the month reflects the 10.40-percent growth in government expenditures, boosted by the implementation of various COVID-19 rehabilitation and recovery measures vis-à-vis an 11.22-percent drop in revenue collection,” the Treasury said in a statement.
The July budget deficit was a reversal of the P1.8-billion surplus registered in June when revenue collections outpaced expenditures.