The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is seeking for a court clearance to properly dispose some of its seized items taking up space in its offices and warehouse nationwide.
“Majority (of the seized items) that are in the warehouses still have pending cases in court. So we will need to inform and seek clearance from the court (before disposing these items), otherwise our case might be dismissed,” BIR commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. told reporters in a recent dinner meeting.
Lumagui said the BIR does not have the exact figures regarding the volume of items for disposal, but he mentioned that it is already taking up a significant amount of space even in its office across all regions nationwide.
The BIR offices in Quezon City, however, holds the biggest number of items.
“We still need to sort out the inventory. We won’t touch those with court cases unless the motion is granted, but those without court cases are okay (to be demolished),” Lumagui said.
In recent raids, some of the most common items seized by the BIR include vape products.
“For vape, we really don’t know the extent (of revenue losses) because the industry isn’t yet well-established and continuously growing,” Lumagui said.
“In June, the stamp implementation (on vape products) will begin, making it easier to see if excise taxes are paid, and we’re procuring the digital track and trace solution, where anybody can check if (products are) illicit or not,” he added.
