The government’s excise tax collections from large taxpayers in the first half of 2020 surpassed the adjusted target for the said period, but were lower than the revenues raked in in the same period last year, data released by the Department of Finance (DOF) showed.
However, the figures for the month of June alone are showing improvements, both versus target and the previous year’s collections.
The DOF said in a statement yesterday collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from excise taxes paid by large taxpayers for the first half of 2020 reached P128.59 billion, exceeding its adjusted target of P113.64 billion for this period by 13.15 percent, “despite the severe economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.”
Revenue collection targets for 2020 were adjusted to take into account the impact of the coronavirus disease outbreak on economic activity, the DOF said.
While the BIR surpassed its first semester target for excise tax collections this year, the amount it collected based on preliminary data is 24.23 percent lower than the P169.718 billion it collected during the same period last year.
The DOF said based on preliminary reports, tobacco products led the gainers in terms of excise tax collections from large taxpayers at P61.47 billion for January 1 to June 30, surpassing the BIR’s target of P43.6 billion by 41 percent.
Excise tax collections for alcohol products from large taxpayers amounted to P27.46 billion, which is 31.07 percent over the target of P20.95 billion for the six-month period.
Large taxpayers paid a total of P16.41 billion in excise taxes on sweetened beverages, which is just 2.46 percent shy of BIR’s P16.83 billion target for the first half of 2020.
For other products, excise tax collections from large taxpayers covering the first semester amounted to P2.12 billion for minerals, P985 million for automobiles, P129 million for non-essentials, and P1 million for cosmetic procedures.
Excise tax collection from large taxpayers on petroleum products amounted to P19.99 billion six months into the year.
“With restrictions on movement strictly imposed starting March, demand for oil products declined, which is why the excise taxes collected is 30 percent below the target of P28.59 billion for this period,” the DOF said.
Meanwhile, excise taxes collected from large taxpayers in June alone amounted to P31.06 billion, up 16.44 percent from the P26.68 billion posted in the same month last year.
Excise tax payments of large taxpayers on tobacco products amounted to P18.1 billion in June, which is almost triple or 176 percent of its target of P6.56 billion, or 36.1 percent more than the P13.3 billion collected in the same month of 2019.
Excise tax collection from large taxpayers in June for alcohol products also exceeded the BIR target, the DOF said.
Collections amounted to P7.35 billion, which is 133 percent over the target of P3.15 billion for the month, and 7.5 percent more than the P6.83 billion collected in June 2019.
The BIR also collected P3.02 billion, or 19.1 percent above its target of P2.53 billion, for the excise taxes of large taxpayers on sweetened beverages in June.
However, petroleum products yielded P2.1 billion in excise taxes in June, down by 51 percent from the P4.3 billion target, as “quarantine measures were relaxed slightly last month but the means of public transport remain limited,” the DOF said.
But last month’s collection is 2.6 percent higher than the P2.05 billion collected in June 2019.
Excise taxes in June from automobiles amounted to P124 million; minerals, P368 million; and non-essentials, P2 million, while non revenues were generated from cosmetic procedures.
