The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it has filed an P8.5 billion tax evasion case against the supposed criminals involved in the largest illicit cigarette raid conducted by the bureau last year.
In a statement released on Monday, the bureau said it has filed cases against those behind an illicit cigarette factory in Bulacan and three illicit cigarette warehouses in Valenzuela. It did not disclose specific details about the respondents.
Separate criminal cases were filed on Nov. 14, 2024 and Feb. 7, 2025, it said.
In early November 2024, the BIR raided a cigarette factory in Bulacan, as well as three warehouses in Valenzuela City. “All four establishments are suspected [of being] part of one criminal enterprise,” the bureau said.
It also said six Chinese nationals were arrested by law enforcement officers during the simultaneous raid.
The BIR estimates the factory and the warehouses had incurred “P8,544,809,067.50 in total tax liabilities.”
“It was the largest operation of the BIR against illicit cigarettes last 2024. The BIR will not stop filing criminal cases against large-scale illicit cigarette manufacturers and distributors,” BIR commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said.
“Big or small, all operations of illicit cigarettes in the Philippines is criminal in nature,” he added.
More than 11.5 million packs of illicit cigarettes were seized during the raid held on November 6.
The BIR also seized raw materials, cigarette making machines, and cigarette packing machines.
