BoC confident it can meet PHP 1-T revenue goal

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) is confident it can meet its PHP 1.075-trillion revenue target for 2027 as it tightens assessments.

“I think we can do it,” Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno told BusinessWorld in an interview.

Customs is also targeting PHP 1.011 trillion in collections for this year. Next year’s target represents a 6.3% increase from this year’s program.

“The key is how do we make sure that assessment will be very strict, meaning we will have to ensure that there will be no misdeclaration and misclassification, which will lead to undervaluation,” he added.

Under the 2027 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, value-added tax (VAT) on imports will remain the BoC’s biggest revenue source. Import VAT collections are projected to rise by 5.6% to PHP 692.31 billion next year from this year’s PHP 655.89-billion program. This would account for about 64% of the agency’s overall target.

Mr. Nepomuceno said the increase would be driven by an expected rise in import volumes next year.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said during a budget hearing on Monday that the BoC is on track to breach the PHP 1-trillion mark this year.

“With the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and BoC’s continued strong performance, we expect total National Government tax revenues to reach PHP 4.4 trillion by the end of 2026,” he added.

Budget

Meanwhile, Mr. Nepomuceno said the BoC would seek to recover some of the funding excluded from the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

According to Mr. Nepomuceno, the agency sought PHP 28 billion of funding for 2027, however, only PHP 5.902 billion were carried over to the 2027 NEP.

“We will try to appeal. Our original proposal is for the modernization — PHP 28 billion. The only thing left is PHP 5.902 billion,” he told reporters.

The proposed total agency budget for next year is 9.7% lower than the PHP 6.534-billion current program for 2026.

Excluding automatic appropriations, the BoC’s budget would decline by 13% to PHP 4.283 billion next year from PHP 4.922 billion under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.

Mr. Nepomuceno said the original proposal included funds for scanning machines and radiation detectors at every port.

He said the lower allocation could delay the agency’s modernization program. The BoC cannot easily implement the projects through public-private partnerships because stakeholders are not charged for scanning and x-ray services.

The agency will seek the restoration of funding for projects that cannot be pursued through PPP arrangements, he added.

Port congestion

Meanwhile, Mr. Nepomuceno said he hopes a joint administrative order designed to ease port congestion and regulate cargo-handling charges will be signed this month, ahead of the expected year-end surge in imports.

“I am hoping that August should be the latest month to have it approved because we will need to organize and campaign within September, as the surge in imports is in October,” he added. “If this instead comes out in September, the room for preparation will be squeezed.”

Mr. Nepomuceno said the order could help increase government revenues by improving the movement of goods through ports.

“If we are able to deliver the needed logistics efficiencies, the faster the trade goes, the higher the revenues that will be collected by both BIR and BoC, and the lower the cost for consumers in the long term,” he said.

Finance Undersecretary Rolando T. Ligon, Jr. said the department would seek to have the order signed as soon as possible, citing the expected congestion during the “ber” months. — Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter