THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized over P10 billion in suspected smuggled goods for the first half of the year, boosting its hopes of netting a total of P20 billion worth of illicit products by year-end.
The BOC-Intelligence Group reported that the estimated value of seized smuggled goods from January to June this year has already reached P10.195 billion, almost equal the P10.629 billion worth of illicit products that the bureau confiscated for the entire 2020. The total value of seized smuggled goods last year was 48.36 percent lower compared to the value of smuggled goods it seized in 2019 at P20.584 billion.
Counterfeit goods accounted for more than half of the value of seized goods from January to June this year at P5.575 billion. This was followed by tobacco products, P1.089 billion.
Apart from this, the bureau through Manila International Container Port also seized agricultural products worth P12 million and medical supplies worth P10.5 million through the Port of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
Three facilities were also closed for breach of various customs laws and a total of 562 importers’ accreditations were revoked and suspended.
Last year, imported cigarettes and tobacco products accounted for the bulk of smuggled goods.
For this year, the BOC targets to collect a total of P616.7 billion, significantly higher by 21.84 percent than the downgraded 2020 target set for BOC at P506.15 billion.
The bureau collected P302.74 billion in revenues for the first half of the year, exceeding its P291.83-billion goal as the economy gradually improved, resulting in higher import volumes.
The revenue take of the BOC for the first six months also represented a 19.6-percent surge from its P253.091-billion collection in the same period last year.
In 2020, the bureau’s total revenue collection reached P539.7 billion, above its full-year revenue collection target by 6.6 percent or P33.5 billion.
The downgraded goal for BOC last year was a 30.76-percent cut from the original target of P731 billion given the economic slump as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.