Bill strengthening excise tax administration on tobacco products breezes through House
At A Glance
- On the strength of 177 affirmative votes, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the measure strengthening the administration of excise tax on tobacco products.
(Unsplash)
On the strength of 177 affirmative votes, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the measure strengthening the administration of excise tax on tobacco products.
House Bill (HB) No.11286, which covers cigars, cigarettes, heated tobacco products, vapor products and novel tobacco products, was passed during plenary session Monday night, Feb. 3.
Only four congesssmen voted against the bill's passage, according to Deputy Speaker Cebu 5th district Rep. Vicent Franco "Duke" Frasco, who presided over the session.
The measure seeks to amend the National Inteenal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.
Principally authored by economist-solons Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda and Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, HB No.11286 intends to strengthen excise tax administration and eliminate revenue losses and the adverse effect on public health resulting from illicit trade of tobacco and related products.
It introduces a mandatory tracking and tracing system requiring the use of secure digital markers through unique identifier features on tobacco products.
The measure defines the crime of illicit trade of the covered products and imposes commensurate penalty for the commission thereof.
A key provision of HB No.11286 is the creation of the Inter-Agency Tobacco Illicit Trade Council, to be chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF). It is tasked to implement appropriate measures in suppressing illicit trade of the covered products.
The bill requires the mandatory registration of manufacturing equipment for tobacco products within 30 days from acquisition or disposal.
It also enumerates the responsibilities of digital platforms in ensuring the absence of illicit covered products in their respective platforms.
The measure further grants the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the power to remove illicit product listings on digital platforms.
It also outlines the procedure for custody and disposition of confiscated, seized, or surrendered covered products to establish proper chain of custody.