The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued its guidelines for the implementation of the Vape Law that also set the floor price for heated, vapor, and other tobacco products.
On Thursday, Nov. 17, the BIR published Revenue Regulations No. 14-2022, which serves as its implementing rules and regulations for Republic Act No. 1190 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.
Under the BIR regulations, the minimum price tag of vaporized nicotine, non-nicotine and novel tobacco products shall be the total production cost, expenses or landed cost of the cheapest brand per tobacco product including the sum of excise tax and value-added tax (VAT).
For illustration, a floor price of P140 will be imposed for heated tobacco products if its production cost is P95, excise tax at P30, and VAT at P15.
The BIR also illustrated a P131.04 floor price for 0.7 milliliter (ml) pod of nicotine if its production cost is P70, plus P47 excise tax, and P14.04 VAT. For 1.8 ml and 1.9 ml nicotine salts, the minimum price floors could be P306.88 and P318.08, respectively.
Meanwhile, the floor price for a 15-ml bottle of conventional freebase nicotine that has a production cost of P75, P110 in excise tax and P22.2 in VAT is pegged at P207.2.
The larger bottle that contains 30 ml of classic nicotine has a P352.8 minimum price, given its production cost of 150, P165 in excise tax, and P37.8 in VAT.
For novel tobacco products, the 10 gram novel-snus with production cost of P200, P0.03 in excise tax and P24 in VAT, the minimum floor price is at P224.04. Larger units that weigh 15.84 grams and 40 grams, the price floors are P252.04 and P280.11, receptively.
Those caught of violating the BIR regulation could face hefty fines, raging from P2 million to P5 million as well as possible imprisonment of two- to six years.
“Upon effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations of RA 11900, the manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of Novel tobacco Products shall be given an eighteen (18)-month transitory period to complain with the requirements of these regulations,” BIR said.
BIR Revenue Regulations No. 14-2022, signed by Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno last Nov. 7, will take effect on Dec. 1, 2022.