THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it failed to meet its collection target for the 11 months to November due to lower import volumes for petroleum products as well as lower tariff rates.

Citing preliminary data, the BoC told the House Ways and Means Committee that in the first 11 months, it collected P591.1 billion, below the target of P622.3 billion.

According to BoC Deputy Commissioner Vener S. Bacquiran, volumes were weak for crude oil and petroleum products. He add that lower tariff rates of crude oil and other non-oil products also led to the revenue shortfall.

The committee inquired whether “too much movement” in BoC district collectors was a factor in the shortfall.

Mr. Bacquiran said the bureau “moves” district collectors every six months, adding that last year, the practice was to move them monthly.

“Do you think… you move people around too much? That’s why you are not getting the kind of results, people are not responsible for the results. There’s no ownership of results,” the committee’s chairman, Representative Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, said at the hearing.

Asked to provide a forecast for the year, Mr. Bacquiran said collections could fall short by P17 billion in 2019. — Genshen L. Espedido

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