MANILA – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is creating a task force focusing mainly on cracking down on smuggled and counterfeit goods, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
The task force aims to put a stop to illegal importation and local production of counterfeit cigarettes.
“We are planning to have our MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with BOC on information sharing and coordination linkages regarding these smuggled excisable imported articles,” BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa was quoted as saying.
BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay has appointed Revenue Officer Remedios Advincula Jr. to head the team.
“We have a lead coordinator now regarding this raid on fake cigarettes or no stamps in the different parts of the country, from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” Guballa said.
For its part, local cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) welcomed the development, noting that the matter remains a serious problem.
“Illicit trade in cigarettes is a serious problem that undermines government revenue collections as well as fuels criminal and even terrorist activities,” the company told GMA News Online.
“We welcome this initiative as an intensification of our cooperation with revenue and law enforcement agencies to end this illegal practice,” it said.
In particular, PMFTC said the government should look deeper into the fake tax stamps placed on cigarette packs.
“A key area of focus remains fake tax stamps. Fake tax stamps are the same as fake money and should be treated as such in national law,” it said.
Last year, the BIR filed tax evasion charges worth P9.56 billion against Mighty Corp. before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for supposedly using bogus tax stamps on cigarette packs.
Mighty Corp. paid the government P25 billion to settle the matter.
The company was forced to sell its business to Japan Tobacco Inc. to settle its obligations. (GMA News)
