THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has seized illicit cigarettes in a recent raid conducted in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, with tax liability estimated at P219 million.
In a statement, the BIR said the raids last April 24 in residential homes used as warehouses resulted in the confiscation of 347,869 packs of illicit cigarettes.
According to the BIR, upon discovery of the cigarettes, the items were immediately identified as illicit because none of it bore the required BIR stamps.
The illicit traders involved in the aforementioned raid violated Section 236: Failure to Register its Business as an Excise Taxpayer; Section 255: Failure to File Return (Excise), supply correct and accurate information; Section 258: Unlawful Pursuit of Business; Section 263: Unlawful Possession or Removal of Articles Subject to Excise Tax without Payment of Tax; and Section 265: – Offenses relating to Stamps under the National Internal Revenue Code.
Administrative penalties, which include assessments that may be multiplied ten times, may also be included.
Meanwhile, in a forum in Makati yesterday, Venus Gaticales, chief for the BIR’s excise large taxpayers field operations division, cited a study done by the University of Asia and the Pacific which shows that this year, lost taxes or foregone revenues will increase to P33.7 billion and jump to P36.8 billion by 2025.
The value is seen to further rise by 2026 to P39.6 billion and balloon to P42.54 billion a year later.
“Illicit trade deprives the Philippine government of much needed tax revenue and cheats everyone: society, consumers and legitimate businesses. Profits of legitimate businesses are compromised, public health goals are undermined and taxes due the government to help the economy are gravely affected. Without a steady flow of excise taxes from tobacco, illicit trade also hampers the government’s ability to sustain funding for its various social welfare programs,” Gaticales said.
