BIR, BOC collections plunge 24.83% in January-May due to COVID-19

The combined collections of the country’s main tax collection agencies, the Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and of Customs (BOC), saw a high double-digit decline in the first five months of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Friday.

The revenue collections of the BIR and BOC stood at P874.91 billion from January to May, down 24.83% or P289.06 billion lower from P1.164 trillion collected in the same period last year.

The agencies’ combined collections also fell short of its target of P1.062 trillion for the period, representing a 17.65% shortfall.

BIR collections, alone, from January 1 to May 31 only reached P664.74 billion, down 27.13% or P247.53 billion lower than the P912.26 billion collected year-on-year.

The taxman’s January to May collection is also 21.7% or P184.17 billion short of the P848.91 billion target for that period.

BOC collections, meanwhile, amounted to P210.18 billion, down by P41.54 billion or 16.5% than the P251.71 billion collected in the same period last year.

Customs’ collections is also P3.33 billion or 1.56% short of the target of P213.51 billion for the period.

For May 1 to 31, the combined revenue haul of the BIR and BOC amounted to P135.45 billion, lower than the P263.64 billion collected for the same period in 2019.

The May collection of both tax agencies is short by P218.35 billion or 61.72% compared to the P353.8-billion combined for that month. 

The BIR collected only P105.44 billion in May, down by P100.04 billion or 48.68% lower than the P205.47-billion take for the same month in 2019 and P215.03 billion or 67.1% short of the P320.47 billion target.

The Customs collected P30.01 billion in May, lower by P28.16 billion or 48.41% compared to the P58.17 billion collected for the same period in 2019.

The BOC's May collection is P3.32 billion or 9.96% short of the P33.33-billion target for the month.

With several top taxpayers heeding the government’s earlier call to file their income tax returns ahead of the deferred payment deadlines set by the BIR, the bureau’s Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) collected P189.46 billion in income taxes from January 1 to May 31, the DOF said.

The amount, however, is P87.93 billion or 31.7% lower than the LTS collection during the same period in 2019, it added.

The amount is also P67.86 billion or 26.37% below the target of P257.32 billion for that period.

In the first five months of 2020, total income tax collections amounted to P341.58 billion, down by P146.85 billion or 30% lower than the P488.43 billion collected in the same period last year.

The January to May income tax collection is P98.26 billion or 22.34% short of the target of P439.84 billion.

Total value-added tax collections from January 1 to May 31 reached P125.52 billion, which is P33.7 billion or 21.17% short of the P159.22 billion collected for the same period in 2019.

The deadline for the filing of the annual Income Tax Returns (ITRs)—originally set every April 15 of the year—was extended this year by the BIR to June 15, 2020 to provide taxpayers enough time to prepare and file their ITRs following lockdowns put in place nationwide since March to contain the spread of COVID-19.—AOL, GMA News