Rice import tax collection dips
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2020 16:12:56 +0000
The tax collection from rice imports under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) dropped to P1.71 billion as of February 14, the Department of Finance (DoF) reported on Monday, as rice import volume was markedly down during the period as well.
In a statement, the DoF said that the Bureau of Custom’s (BoC) collection from January to February 14 was 23.1-percent lower from P2.22 billion recorded during the same period last year.
Volume of rice imports during the period reached 209,320 metric tons (MT), which is significantly lower from the 759,810 MT of the previous year.
Under the RTL or Republic Act 11203, the BoC was able to collect P12.3 billion last year from 2.03 million MT of rice imports by private traders.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said that the tariff collected last year gives the government “ample means to do even more to make our agricultural production more efficient and extend direct aid to small farmers.”
The RTL mandates a minimum of 35-percent tariff on rice imports as quantitative restrictions for the commodity’s importation were scrapped.
The collection from rice import duties is earmarked for the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to benefit palay (unmilled rice) growers.
The fund is allocated to finance provision of farm equipment, seeds and training for palay farmers, among others.
The RTL, which was signed in March last year, prompted the average retail cost of rice to drop by at least P9 per kilogram, which was seen to alleviate inflation.
RA 11203 also mandated rice importers to secure sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry to make sure that the staple is “free from pests and diseases that could affect public health and local farm production.”
“With rice tariffication, the government has already earned over P11 billion in less than a year, a complete reversal of its P11-billion average annual loss during the pre-RTL regime,” DoF added.