The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has raided perpetrators of illicit cigarette trade across the country, placing all regional enforcers on alert while their operations were ongoing on 378 stores in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. led a raid on Wednesday, Jan. 25, the agency’s first-ever simultaneous nationwide trade enforcements against illicit cigarette trade. This is in line with his war against unscrupulous traders.

The BIR swooped down on 21 provinces, 69 cities and municipalities nationwide, specifically wholesalers and retailers that were selling illicit cigarettes and confiscated millions worth of illegal cigarettes that are untaxed, fake and smuggled.

According to the BIR, the government is losing P50 to P100 billion in tax revenues from the illicit tobacco trade, which is intended to fund basic services including the Universal Health Care program and other national development goals.

Lumagui thanked the cooperation and the assistance extended by the Philippine National Police and various local government units in their successful operations but at the same time lauded all the BIR regional officials in their concerted efforts.

Wednesday’s synchronized enforcement all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao is the first time to happen with the BIR Commissioner leading the actions together with the OIC-Deputy Commissioner for Operations Maridur V. Rosario, the respective revenue regional directors, regional investigations chiefs, and revenue officers.

“Let me make this clear to you illegal traders. This is just the beginning of our simultaneous nationwide operations. We are serious in our crackdown against illicit cigarette trade. We will be strict on implementing the law from hereon,” Lumagui said.

Various Revenue regions in Luzon held a total of 195 in simultaneous trade enforcements in Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Palawan, Rizal, Cavite and in Manila. Authorities have launched 115 in Mindanao and 68 in Visayas.

In terms of a number of municipalities in a province, Zambales, Pangasinan, Negros Oriental, Eastern Samar, Agusan del Sur, North Cotabato and Davao del Sur got the highest number of simultaneous raids.

But overall, Zamboanga City got the highest number of trade enforcements in a single locality with 38 operations. Records showed that Zamboanga City has been consistently in the list of “hotspot areas” in terms of cigarette smuggling and sale of illegal cigarettes.

More than 100 raided stores were located in public markets selling various brands of illegal cigarettes at a wholesale price as low as P30.00 per pack.

BIR is now preparing the filing of appropriate charges against the owners of the stores in violation of various offenses in relation to National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 and the BIR’s minimum price requirement, among others.

Owners of the raided stalls face offenses for collection of taxes, including surcharges and penalties for all the violations of the Tax Code including, but not limited to Sec. 145 on violation on the Floor or Minimum Prices, Sec. 254 on Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax, Sec. 258 on Unlawful Possession or Removal of Articles Subject to Excise Tax Without Payment of the Tax, Sec. 264 on Failure to Issue Receipts, Sec. 265 on Offenses relating to tax stamps.

Under the BIR Minimum Price requirement which pegged the price of cigarettes at P82.49 per pack, violators face a six-year jail term and a fine of P500,000.

Penalties for violating Sec. 145 is a fine of not less than 10 times the amount of excise tax and the VAT due but not less than P200,000 but not more than P500,000. Sec. 254 requires a fine not less than P500,000 but not more than P10 million and an imprisonment of not less than six years but not more than 10 years.

Sec. 258, on the other hand, requires a fine of not less than P30,000.00 but not more than P50,000 and an imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than four years.

Sec. 263 has a fine of not more than 10 times the amount of excise tax due on the articles found but not less than P1 million and imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than eight years. Sec. 264 gives a fine of not less than P1,000 but not more than P50,000 and imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than four years.

Lastly, Sec. 265 requires a fine of not less than P10 million but not more than P500 million and imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than eight years.