THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said expanded container-scanning capacity has generated P72.685 billion in duties and taxes arising directly from the issuance of 93 warrants of seizure and detention in the seven months to July.

In a statement Tuesday, the BoC said the number of containers scanned during the period rose to 244,040 from 181,382 a year earlier.

The BoC has 124 x-ray machines as of last month.

“The x-ray scanners are expected to enhance the capability of BoC in detecting smuggled and… misdeclared items, undervalued goods, undeclared goods,” it said.

It said advanced x-ray machines allow for faster and non-intrusive inspections.

“The BoC, through the XIP (the X-ray Inspection Project), ensures the public that it will continue to design measures to ease customs operations, minimize unnecessary delays and enhance trade facilitation,” it said.

The bureau collected P50.07 billion last month, beating its target by 5.03%. However, the year-to-date collections of P303.13 billion were short of the P314.3-billion target.

The BoC collection target for the year was trimmed to P542 billion from the original pre-pandemic goal of P730 billion, in anticipation of a severe economic downturn. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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