Declining import volumes threaten customs collections

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) flagged a growing pressure on revenues as import volumes had weakened in October, even as the agency managed to post modest growth in collections.

Customs officials on Monday told reporters that total import volumes had slipped by 3 percent in October. Consumption-driven imports, which typically account for a large share of dutiable goods, fell by around 20 percent.

The import slowdown was compounded by the rice import ban, which BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said had already wiped out an estimated P3 billion in potential revenues over 60 days, given the drop in global rice prices.

With the ban now extended until year-end, foregone collections from rice alone could reach P6 billion, assuming that current market prices remain stable, Nepomuceno said.

“It’s hard to speculate why it dropped,” he said. “We’re trying to be more creative. We’re trying to squeeze some more.”

Despite the slump, the BOC said its 22-day collections in October had still gone up by 1.9 percent compared with the figure in the same period last year.

The disrupted working days due to typhoons, Nepomuceno said, were also partly to blame for the slip in import volume.

Keeping 2025 target

However, Nepomuceno remains bullish on meeting the full-year BOC revenue target of P958.7 billion, even as officials anticipate lower collections amid a slowdown in the economy.

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“We’re not yet giving up because if we concede already, it might worsen. We’re trying to check if other sources can compensate,” he said.

From January to September, the BOC collected P701.67 billion, up 1.59 percent from last year’s collection of P690.67 billion. This is about 73 percent of the full-year revenue target. No data has been released for October yet.

“I don’t want to give it up because we’re at 98 percent efficiency now. Let’s see from November to December. We could have hit the target this October if we had just had one more day of work. One day of collection could mean … P3 billion; sometimes it can reach P5 billion,” he added.