The Customs bureau has suffered a huge shortfall in its collection target but Commissioner Napoleon Morales is not about to do an Esquivias, referring to the Internal Revenue chief who quit because of his failure to meet his agency’s target.
Customs’ total collections for the nine-month period reached P165.39 billion or about 20 percent below the target of P201.42 billion.
Asked if he would take the cue from Revenue Commissioner Sixto Esquivas IV who resigned last week, Morales said he would follow suit only if President Gloria Arroyo would tell him to do so.
“I have a job to do and I will do my best until the President tells me otherwise, at which time I will graciously hand over the reins to my successor,” Morales pointed out.
Customs and revenue officials are either rewarded or penalized according to their collection performance, under the attrition law of 2005. But a special board composed of senior Finance officials could grant reprieve to underperforming officials if their collection shortfalls were justified.
From January to September, the Customs bureau was P36 billion short of its collection goal. It still has to collect P64.72 billion for the remaining months (from October to December) based on its programmed target.
“To reach the yearend target is already improbable at this point. But what we can do and will do is to maximize collections and ensure that the revenue leaks are plugged,” Morales said.
The Internal Revenue bureau also said that the collection targets were unrealistic as they were based on factors that no longer held true.
Morales attributed the revenue drop to a slump in the importation of oil, steel, and other petroleum products this year.
The dutiable value of crude oil imports went lower by 40 percent of the program target, which meant losses amounting to P9.5 billion, Morales said. “So you can’t blame anybody because what’s going on at this time is a global crisis,” he said.
Customs’ total collections for the nine-month period reached P165.39 billion as against the target of P201.42 billion.
Oil importation accounted for 70 percent of the Customs collection while the non-oil items accounted for 30 percent, Morales said.
