THE Bureau of Customs collected P813.651 billion in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing by 2.2 percent its revenue target of P795.966 billion for the period, putting its performance down to its digitalization initiatives and partnership with various groups for trade facilitation.
The BOC’s 11-month performance already represents 93 percent of its P874.20 billion target for the full-year 2023 set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee, putting it on track to meeting the goal by yearend, the bureau announced last week.
This comes after the bureau collected P75.338 billion in November, exceeding by 1.5 percent its collection target for the month.
The P813.651 billion collected in the first 11 months of this year also represents a 3.09 percent increase, or P24.405 billion, from the P789.246 billion collected in the same period last year.
The BOC collects duties, taxes and other charges on imported goods.
In a statement, commissioner Bienvenido Rubio attributed the bureau’s improved performance to its stringent revenue collection initiatives, digitalization initiatives that streamlined procedures and reduced processing times in import and export transactions, as well as heightened border control and security measures to fight illicit trade and customs fraud.
Last November, the BOC said its modernization of customs administration and enhancement of trade facilitation had enabled the Philippines to raise its ranking to second-best among Southeast Asian nations in the 2023 United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, from its 2021 ranking of third.
Conducted by various UN bodies, the survey covers over 160 economies around the world and 60 digital and sustainable trade facilitation measures to help nations benchmark and cut the time and cost of trading across borders, the BOC said.
The BOC has digitalized 160 of 166 customs processes.
Last Nov. 21, the BOC unveiled the e-Travel System, a single platform available in the eGoV application that enables passengers and crew members to electronically submit their baggage declaration form prior to their arrival and departure.
The project is a joint effort with the Bureau of Immigration, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anti-Money Laundering Council, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, it said.
BOC’s other digitalization initiatives include the Automated Export Declaration System that facilitates the electronic transmission of all export declaration-single administrative documents lodged electronically by registered exporters to the BOC through BOC-accredited value-added service providers; as well as the Customs Auction Monitoring System (e-Auction System) to manage online registration and bidding activities of all ports through a web portal.
Last Oct. 25, the BOC also implemented the Over Staying Container Tracking System (OSTracker) that monitors disposition activities such as auctions, condemnation and donation in all ports.
Aside from its modernization initiatives, the BOC has also strengthened its collaboration with various agencies to improve trade facilitation. It inked a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Postal Corp. last Oct. 18 to improve speed, security and quality of customs clearances.
It signed a data-sharing agreement with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) last Sept. 5 to allow Peza to access the BOC’s Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo System data, to enable real-time monitoring of containerized goods and individuals in and outside economic zones.