The Bureau of Customs is expecting to exceed its collection goals for 2023, with P813.65 billion already being collected from  January to November, a customs executive said Saturday. 

Lawyer Marlon Agaceta, chief of staff of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, said the BOC set its 2023 target from at least P900 billion to as much as P1 trillion.

"The BOC is optimistic that it will reach its collection goals for 2023 after logging a surplus of PHP17.68 billion in revenues as of November," Agaceta said in a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

"Values are being strictly monitored, thus the increase in revenue collection despite the lower volume of goods," Agaceta said, noting that it is the primary factor contributing to the bureau's target attainment.

He added that the importers are becoming more compliant due to the BOC's intensified anti-smuggling drive.

Agaceta said the BOC confiscated P42.4 billion worth of smuggled commodities as part of its strengthened border protection and anti-smuggling efforts as of November this year.

Among the top-seized commodities were P24.3 billion worth of counterfeit goods; P7.58 billion worth of illegal drugs; P4.55 billion worth of agricultural products and tobacco; and P964 million worth of general merchandise.

Agaceta noted that the BOC achieved its highest annual revenue collection in 2022 after collecting a total of PP862.929 billion.

He said this is way above its P721.52 billion goal or a 19.6-percent surplus equivalent to P141.409 billion.