The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) posted lower revenues in the first half of the year versus last year and compared to targets amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The figures, however, have started to pick up in June.
The Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement yesterday the revenue-generating agencies’ combined collections amounted to P1.155 trillion in the first semester, down 16 percent from the
P1.375 trillion collected in the same period in 2019 and is slightly below the P1.187 -trillion target by 2.76 percent.
The BIR, which accounts for the bulk of the collections, reported a tentative total of P901.96 billion in the first semester which covers the months when strict quarantine measures were imposed.
This is 15.9 percent lower than the P1.072 trillion it collected during the same period last year. It is also 3.38 percent less than the target of P933.49 billion.
Meanwhile, with the volume of imports posting a steady decline five months into 2020, the BOC collected P253.04 billion as of end-June, slightly lower by 0.47 percent versus the adjusted target of P254.25 billion for the six-month p period.
This is also 16.49 percent lower than its collection of P303.01 billion during the same period in 2019.
Collections, however, have begun to pick up in June as the BIR and BOC reported collecting a combined total of P270.77 billion, exceeding last year’s figure for the same month of P211.50 billion by 28.03 percent.
The BIR reported P228.23 billion for June, topping by 42.47
