Friday, August 03, 2007 BOC Cebu collection exceeds P400M target
COLLECTIONS of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu last month totaled P403.6 million, exceeding its target by P3.6 million despite unprecedented decline in the early part of the month.
District Collector Ricardo Belmonte said the P3 million excess collection in July brought the BOC Port of Cebu’s surplus revenue to P50.4 million from January to July this year.
He said the Port of Cebu is trying to collect more than the goal because of the Attrition Law that rewards achievers but punishes those who cannot meet targets.
Port of Cebu Chief Cashier Conrado Abarintos said the office was able to reverse the low collections in the second half of the month because several firms have imported raw materials for their operations.
Surplus
The July 2007 collection also exceeded that of the same period last year, which was only P352.6 million.
“I am happy that we did not only meet the target but we also have a surplus.
We are proud of our effort because this means more projects can be funded by the government,” said Port of Cebu chief of assessment Carlos Corsiga.
Most importers and brokers did not file import entries from July 2 to July 20 to protest the alleged harassment of the President Anti-Smuggling Group, which issued alert orders even on legally imported goods. The alert orders caused delays in the release of imported cargoes.
In the first week of July, the Port of Cebu collected only about P30 million against its P120 million target.
The complaining importers and brokers were forced to file import entries during the third and fourth weeks of July because under the Tariff and Customs Code, all imported goods must be claimed within 30 days from the date of arrival.
After the 30-day period, the district collector can declare the shipments abandoned and forfeited in favor of the government.
This is also the reason that Belmonte was confident that the Port of Cebu will surpass the July target.
“We have to enforce the law in the interest of the government”, Belmonte said. (EOB)
