Customs is confident that it will exceed the official 2024 target by EUR 30 billion

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it expects to collect up to €30 billion more than its €939.69 billion inficial target for this year as it aims to beat its internal ‘stretch’ target.

“We are confident that we will achieve the goal. In fact, we are now trying to hit the commissioner’s internal target,” Customs Deputy Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday.

For the full year, Mr. Maronilla said the internal target is now “just under P1 trillion.” If we can get to a trillion, that would be so much better.”

Last week, the BoC reported that its collections in the first six months totaled P456.04 billion, exceeding its target of P442.62 billion for the period by 3.03%.

The six-month total represents 48.53% of the Bureau’s official target for the entire year.

However, the “ghost month” – which discourages superstitious Buddhists and Taoists from embarking on major new ventures – tends to produce weak collections, Mr Maronilla said.

“Our problem would start, I think, next month or so because of ghost month,” he said.

“But in recent years we have been able to overcome that. So, we remain confident that we will overcome all the challenges the agency faces this month,” said Mr. Maronilla.

Mr. Maronilla also dismissed the risks of the weaker peso on the Bureau’s collections, calling currency factors a “give-and-take situation.”

While a stronger dollar increases the value of exports, companies may be reluctant to import because of higher costs, he said.

The peso closed at P58.48 against the dollar on Monday, weakening 10 centavos from Friday’s close, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

“I do not think that the increase in the value of the dollar at this time and its negative impact on import activities, for example, would affect the forecasts we have about achieving our collection target,” he added.

However, the BoC said it still prefers a stronger peso because it “means we have a stronger economy.”

In addition, goods that violate intellectual property rights remain the most commonly seized goods by the BoC, the report said.

“That’s a commitment we have: to maintain our good record of enforcing intellectual property law. So these remain the most detained imported items,” Mr Maronilla said.

The BoC also focuses on seizing smuggled agricultural, tobacco and other excise products.

In the first half, the BoC seized about $20 billion worth of smuggled goods, down about 16.15% from a year earlier. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz