BOC revenue from fuel up 54.1% in November –DOF

The Bureau of Customs’ (BOC's) revenue collection from petroleum products grew by 54.1 percent to P12.83 billion in November from P8.33 billion a year earlier, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In a statement, the DOF said the increase in the BOC's fuel revenue was due to the surge in imports of diesel and gasoline.

Citing the BOC report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the Finance Department said the increase in revenues was driven mainly by the corresponding spike in excise tax collections from petroleum products.

From November 1 to 30, the BOC collected excise taxes amounting to P8.97 billion, which is 88.7 percent higher than last year’s collection of P4.76 billion for the same period.

For the same period, fuel imports increased by 32.1 percent to 1.1 billion kilograms, compared to 829.4 million kilograms brought into the country in the same period in 2019.

However, crude oil importation was only 381.8 million kilograms during this period, down 51.8 percent from 792.7 million kilograms that were imported last year.

This may have resulted from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.’s shut down of its refinery in Batangas last August and the site’s conversion into an import terminal.

“Oil refiners in Asia, North America and Europe have also permanently shut down their facilities following the decline in global fuel demand by 30 percent amid the global economic slump resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the DOF said.

With this, the volume of diesel imports surged 60 percent to 698.8 million kilograms in November from 436.9 million kilograms imported year-on-year.

The volume of gasoline imports also increased by 55.7 percent to 259.2 million kilograms during the same period, up from 166.4 million kilograms in 2019.

Imports of kerosene and other oil products grew 354.4 percent from 1.28 million kilograms in November 2019 to 5.8 million kilograms during the same period this year.

Expectedly, jet fuel imports decreased 71 percent to 14.6 million kilograms during the November 1 to 30 period, from 50.2 million kilograms last year, in light of the pandemic-related international travel restrictions.

For the period January 1 to November 30, 2020 preliminary data show the BOC posted a total collection of P493.32 billion, which exceeded the revised target of P462.78 billion set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) by 6.6 percent.

Year-to-date revenue growth from fuel imports showed a 1.6 percent increase to P133.4 billion from P131.4 billion collected in the same period in 2019.

“The increase in excise tax collections by 25.8% from P72.9 billion last year to P91.7 billion accounted for the growth in revenues despite the drop in the volume of fuel imports from 12.7 million kilograms in 2019 to 11.67 million kilograms this year,” the DOF said, citing the BOC’s report.

As a result of the drop in global demand, the value of fuel imports also declined by 34.4 percent.

The value of fuel imports from January 1 to November 30 was recorded at P250.52 billion, down from P381.97 billion during the same period in 2019. — DVM, GMA News