The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it has intensified a crackdown on online-enabled illicit vape operation disguised as legitimate business, seizing 18,811 vape products and fake tax stamps in a recent raid in Guiguinto, Bulacan.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BIR estimated P36.51 million in total deficiency tax from the confiscated goods, inclusive of surcharges, interest and penalties.
The BIR said the enforcement operation conducted on May 30 was the product of surveillance of online sales activities on Facebook, which provided basis for the issuance of a mission order and a search warrant.
The BIR team raided a vape lounge operating as a front for underground vape distribution and a makeshift warehouse located in a residential house.
The BIR found 4,789 salt nicotine units and 14,022 conventional vape products, along with fake internal revenue excise stamps and counterfeit disposable vapes.
“To put the scale of the haul into perspective, if we’re being conservative about it, assuming one disposable vape lasts an average user one week, this means that the 18,811 seized units could supply over 4,700 underage users for a month,” BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said.
“So, close to 5,000 kids could be vaping for an entire month from the products we seized in just one operation. These aren’t just tax violations, they are threats to the health of our children. That’s why we’re going after illicit traders, whether they operate in public markets or hide behind Facebook accounts and residential homes,” he added.
The BIR noted that the business was employing an illicit layering scheme, issuing a mix of registered and unregistered receipts to mask illegal sales.
However, the bureau’s implementation of new strip stamps has made it easier for BIR agents to identify fake and untaxed products.
The BIR said it has seen a dramatic increase in vape excise tax collections following the 2024 rollout of its digital stamp verification system.
In 2023, only 11.2 million milliliters of vape liquids were taxed, generating P223.75 million. After the stamp system’s implementation in June 2024, collections surged to P942 million from 130 million milliliters in just one year.
“We want to send a loud and clear message to those selling illicit vape products: the BIR and National Bureau of Investigation will go after you wherever you are. The long arm of the law extends into the cyber realm, and we will find you,” Lumagui said.
Several employees found manning the online and on-site operations during the raid, including online sales agents, are set to be charged criminally, alongside the proprietor, for multiple violations of the National Internal Revenue Code.
Lumagui is among the officials retained by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following the chief executive’s call for courtesy resignations from members of the cabinet and heads of key government agencies.
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Lumagui expressed gratitude for being given the opportunity to continue leading the country’s prime tax agency.
Lumagui, who has served as BIR chief since 2022, said the president’s decision sends a clear message to all public servants.
“The Chief Executive’s call for accountability is a stark reminder to all public servants that complacency has no place under PBBM’s leadership and providing quality service to the Filipinos is the paramount mission of this Administration,” Lumagui said.
