As smuggled cigarettes continue to flood the country, farmers’ groups have warned that their livelihood is under severe threat due to the surge of illicit tobacco products in the market, coupled with high excise taxes that have made it difficult for local growers to compete. In a...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has commenced the nationwide destruction of confiscated untaxed cigarettes valued at ₱2.1 billion. The operation, which runs from today until the end of the month, aims to eliminate illicit tobacco products and prevent them from re-entering the market. BIR...
BACOLOD CITY – Police confiscated 77 reams of illicit cigarettes valued at P51,000 from a vendor in a buy-bust operation in a public market in Barangay 1, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on Saturday, Feb. 1. A 20-year-old man and illicit cigarettes valued at P50,700 were seized in a...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Senator Win Gatchalian raised the proverbial alarm over the rising smoking prevalence in the country and the worsening illicit tobacco trade amid the rapid decline in excise tax revenue collection. “This is a cause for concern that has triggered this...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has conducted a large-scale raid against an illicit cigarette factory and three warehouses, uncovering P8.5 billion in tax liabilities. In a statement, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., said the simultaneous raid last Nov. 6 targeted a factory in Bulacan...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has once again dealt a blow to the illicit cigarette trade, this time uncovering a large-scale secret factory in Cabanatuan City. In a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the BIR said the raid, conducted in cooperation with the National Bureau of Investigation...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has dealt another blow to illicit cigarette trade in the country, with the recent raid of a factory and warehouse in Cebu. BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. announced that the operation on Oct. 3 and 5 resulted in the seizure of 32,545 counterfeit internal...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has dealt a significant blow to the illicit trade in the country by dismantling four large-scale manufacturers of counterfeit cigarettes operating in Pampanga. This operation, the largest of its kind under BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr.'s leadership,...
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has confiscated over 1.3 million packs of untaxed cigarettes valued at P838 million during two separate raids on warehouses in Quezon City and Caloocan City. BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr., who led the operations, emphasized the agency's unwavering...
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized approximately P500 million worth of smuggled cigarettes during a raid on warehouses in Bulacan on Thursday, Aug. 22. The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) conducted the inspection and also seized...
Illegal cigarettes estimated at P3 million were intercepted in Kapatagan and Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte. The Bureau of Customs-Port of Cagayan de Oro (BOC-CDO) on July 25 issued a warrant of seizure and detention against the 4,300 reams of undocumented cigarettes. The confiscated...
The purchasing of illegal cigarettes has increasingly become a normal behavior among adult smokers in the Philippines and three other countries, according to a study by Japan Tobacco International (JTI). Based on its study titled “Fighting the Dark Underworld,” which also included France, the...
