Recasting the Bureau of Customs as a Developmental Agency

Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Working Paper No. 14-020

23 Pages Posted: 8 Sep 2014 Last revised: 9 Sep 2014

See all articles by Ronald U. Mendoza

Ronald U. Mendoza

Ateneo De Manila University - Ateneo School of Government

Enrico Gloria

Asian Institute of Management

Ser Percival Pena-Reyes

Asian Institute of Management

Date Written: September 23, 2014

Abstract

This paper estimates that 40 centavos out of every 1 peso in potential revenues is lost to corruption in the Philippine Bureau of Customs. Ending the “corruption finance” propagated through tax leakages in the BOC could be good in and of itself for the country, but international evidence and experience suggest that our customs agency has the potential to become much more relevant to the broader economic development agenda. It could very well be the vanguard of trade facilitation for the country, by simplifying and harmonizing international trade procedures, and thus also lowering the costs and the “friction” of moving goods across our borders. This paper reviews some of the governance issues surrounding customs administration; and it also discusses the possible developmental role of this agency.

Keywords: customs, corruption, smuggling, trade misinvoicing, trade facilitation

JEL Classification: F63, H26, Z18

Suggested Citation

Mendoza, Ronald U. and Gloria, Enrico and Pena-Reyes, Ser Percival, Recasting the Bureau of Customs as a Developmental Agency (September 23, 2014). Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Working Paper No. 14-020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2492897 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2492897

Ronald U. Mendoza (Contact Author)

Ateneo De Manila University - Ateneo School of Government ( email )

Katipunan Road
Loyola Heights
Quezon City, 1108
Philippines

Enrico Gloria

Asian Institute of Management ( email )

123 Paseo de Roxas
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines

Ser Percival Pena-Reyes

Asian Institute of Management ( email )

123 Paseo de Roxas
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines

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