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THE prolonged temporary import ban on rice will have only a minimal impact on the government’s tariff take, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla said the rice import ban extension will have an impact, but the revenue shortfall the BOC will suffer will be “very minimal.”

“Based on our analysis, we can make do… We’re talking about a three-month sacrifice for better stabilization of the prices and helping out our farmers,” Maronilla told reporters on the sidelines of a convention last week organized by the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA).

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the extension of the rice import ban, which began on September 1 and is supposed to end on November 2, to support Filipino farmers and stabilize rice prices

Maronilla said the BOC will put in additional work to search for other sources of revenue to cover any deficiencies in its collections caused by the rice import ban.

This year, the BOC is tasked to collect P958.7 billion, which makes up 21.20 percent of the government’s full-year revenue target of P4.520 trillion.

“We look into tightening our assessment procedures so that certain loopholes can be plugged and maybe help out in the deficiencies that we will experience because of the rice importation ban,” he said.

The BOC is also anticipating collections to improve during the “ber months,” when demand for food, not only rice but also alternatives such as corn and bread, typically rises, Maronilla added.

“Every time you plug one item, an alternative item comes up,” she said, explaining that it may lead to increased consumption or importation of alternatives, offsetting the impact on revenues.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said earlier that collections on rice tariffs are going down because world market prices are also declining.

Theoretically, Recto said the government suffers a loss of about P2 billion every month from the rice importation ban.

“Last year, we reduced the tariff, but the volume of imports went up. So we almost had no losses last year,” Recto said.

To recall, President Marcos signed Executive Order 62 in June 2024, reducing the rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent starting July 2024.

The lowering of the rice tariff rate has already resulted in around P14 billion in revenue loss for the BOC as of July this year.

Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said earlier that excise taxes on petroleum products and pick-up trucks will drive the BOC’s collections this year to meet its revenue target.

Source : businessmirror