BOC can collect only P400B in 2015; Lina eyes rise in excise taxes on oil

MANILA, Philippines — Commissioner Alberto D. Lina has conceded that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) could collect only up to P400 billion in import duties and taxes this year, with foregone revenues due to cheaper oil expected to hit P75 billion.

Lina told reporters on Monday night that the “doable” collections figure for 2015 would be P390-400 billion, below this year’s target of P436.6 billion.

The Customs chief said the foregone revenues would mostly be due to less costly imported petroleum products, citing that global oil prices might hit as low as $50 per barrel before the yearend.

This was despite the volume of oil imports growing to date, he said.

Lina earlier said that one viable intervention to arrest the slower growth of the BOC’s collections so far due to foregone revenues from cheap oil would be to jack up the excise tax slapped on petroleum products, which has stayed low and unchanged since the mid-1990s.

Under the BOC’s adjusted quarterly targets, it should collect almost P112 billion in duties and taxes during the third quarter, and the highest three-month goal of P125.5 billion by the fourth quarter.

Collections from oil products compose about 30 percent of the BOC’s yearly take.

Lina nonetheless said that both the volumes of non-oil goods as well as value of taxes and duties being collected from them have been rising.

He said that the increasing volumes of capital equipment, imported vehicles and construction materials from abroad have been reflecting domestic growth in manufacturing, consumer spending and infrastructure.

In the first half, the BOC collected P178.4 billion, up 2.9 percent year-on-year.

The first-half take, however, was 11.8-percent lower than the P202.2-billion end-June target.

For 2016, the BOC was tasked to collect P498.7 billion, 14.2-percent higher than this year’s goal. SFM