MANILA – The combined collection of PHP1.636 trillion by the Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and of Customs (BOC) for the first eight months of 2020 surpassed the PHP1.527-trillion target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) by 7.17 percent for this period despite the economic downturn resulting from the government-imposed lockdowns since summer to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
Citing preliminary BIR and BOC data, the DOF’s Revenue Operations Group (ROG) said the two agencies collected PHP109.5 billion in the first eight months of the year more than the revised collection target set by the DBCC last July to account for the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic on the global economy.
From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, the BIR collected PHP1.289 trillion, exceeding by PHP96.44 billion the DBCC target of PHP1.192 trillion for this period, Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko, who heads the DOF-ROG, said in a statement Sunday.
The BOC, meanwhile, collected PHP347.6 billion over the January-August 2020 period, which is PHP16.97 billion more than the DBCC target of PHP330.63 billion for the same period, Tionko said.
The BIR and BOC also exceeded their DBCC-set collection targets for the month despite the curtailed economic activities in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal from Aug. 4 to 18, when these areas were placed under a strict modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
Combined collections of the BIR and BOC reached PHP216.65 billion in August, which is PHP61.38 billion or 39.53 percent more than the DBCC target of PHP155.27 billion for that month, Tionko added.
The BIR collected PHP172.06 billion in August, which surpassed the DBCC target of PHP118.2 billion by a remarkable 45.5 percent.
A total of PHP44.59 billion was collected by the BOC in August, topping the DBCC target of PHP33.68 billion. (PR)
