Customs confident of hitting 2025 target despite tariff cuts

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) is confident it can meet its P1.06-trillion collection goal this year, despite lower tariffs on rice, electric vehicles (EV) and other commodities.

BoC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla told BusinessWorld that the agency will focus on other potential nontraditional revenues to offset the tariff cuts.

This year, the BoC is targeting to collect PHP 1.06 trillion, 14.28% higher than the actual collection of PHP 931.05 billion in 2024.

“It will be a bonus if we exceed the target, so maybe it will be a little higher. It will be at the border of PHP 1.06 trillion,” he said.

He said the BoC has already factored in the lower tariffs from rice, pork and EVs in this year’s collection target.

“Because last year, those collections from those items (rice, pork, EVs) which are some of our main drivers were part of our projected revenue forecasts,” Mr. Maronilla said.

Last year, the BoC missed its full-year target by 0.92%.

Customs collections took a hit after Executive Order No. 62 took effect in July 2024. The order cut import tariffs on rice to 15% until 2028 to tame inflation. It also extended the effectivity of lower rates on pork, corn and mechanically deboned meat for poultry. The same order also extended the zero-tariff policy on electric vehicles and parts through 2028, as well as expanded the coverage to other types of e-vehicles.

“We’ve focused on some other potential nontraditional revenue to offset that (revenue loss from tariff cuts,” Mr. Maronilla said.

The BoC is focusing on plugging revenue leakages, he added.

“Number one, to plug the loopholes and number two, maybe recover some leakages in the revenue that happened during the previous times,” he said.

He noted the BoC is looking at encouraging violators to avail themselves of “certain programs that we have with a little penalty on the side.”

“And of course, we’re looking into updating and beefing up our reference values as a risk management tool to plug revenue leakages in terms of undervaluation or misinvoicing,” Mr. Maronilla said.

Meanwhile, the BoC said preliminary revenue collection reached PHP 79.34 billion in January, exceeding its PHP 78.015 billion target by 1.7%.

Year on year, the January figure was 8.1% or PHP 5.947 billion higher than the PHP 73.397 billion collected in January 2024.

“Our priority is to sustain revenue growth while ensuring seamless trade and robust border protection,” Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr. Maronilla said the agency expects the volume of imports to increase ahead of the midterm elections.

“(There are) projections that volume this year might still come up and spending on importation might be up also because of some activities related to the elections,” he said. – Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter