The revenue target of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) is reduced to P255.9 billion while the agency proposed a much higher budget appropriation of P2.262 billion for 2010 intended for the implementation of its National Single Window (NSW) project.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said he is leaving the new revenue goal to the “economic managers who will determine the cash collection for next year and their assumptions may or may not happen.”

Based on the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF), BoC's programmed revenue collection is lowered from P309 billion to P273.3 billion this year but the agency is still unlikely to meet its target by yearend.

In 2010, the bureau's task to collect P255.9 billion is P17.4 billion or 6.36 percent lower than this year’s revenue target, an indication that the value and volume of goods are still reeling from the continued global financial crisis. Morales explained that every one centavo to be spend by Customs from its proposed budget of P2.262 billion is equivalent to one peso that the agency will collect on the same year.“The bureau will deliver, with or without the budget.”

Among the reasons for the increase of P1.69 billion in BoC's budget is the inclusion of the P500 million solely for the full enforcement of NSW project next year, he added.

President Arroyo ordered Morales to ensure that the district collectors of Manila Ports and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) implement the system among NSW agencies to further improve collection performance, during the 42nd NEDA meeting held in Pampanga.

The NSW system is envisioned to create a “single, synchronous processing and decision-making system for customs inspection, clearance and cargo release” for the entire country.

Of the 2010 proposed budget, P955 million will go to personal services while P708.5 million is needed for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) which comprised 32 percent of the budget allocation.

Capital outlay was merely focused on the bureau’s project computerization, amounting to P246 million, which is a 100 percent increase.