Lopez: DTI offices alerted about tax stamp recycling
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2019 16:28:29 +0000
The Trade department has taken action to address the alleged use of recycled tax stamps to sell fake cigarettes following a warning that illicit tobacco traders were using the scheme to evade paying taxes.
“[It] was just relayed this morning (Tuesday) so we alerted regional offices,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told The Manila Times.
The Finance department on Monday reported that illicit tobacco traders were getting tax stamps via a promotional scheme where consumers were being asked to exchange these for goods such as canned sardines and noodles.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was ordered to coordinate with the Trade department as promotional schemes are supposed to be approved by the latter before implementation.
Lopez clarified that no such promos had been approved by his department.
“[T]his is not a promo that passed through DTI (Department of Trade and Industry). Bawal mag-promo (ang) tobacco products (Promotions are not allowed for tobacco products),” he said.
Monthly approved sales promotions are detailed by the Trade department via at https://www.dti.gov.ph/consumers/approved-sales-promotions.
Lopez said the department would also be seeking assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation.
The BIR is planning to meet with cigarette companies and those responsible for the Internal Revenue Stamps Integrated System to find out how to address the new modus operandi.
Contraband cigarettes have been blamed by the Finance department as a significant source of lost revenues.
In 2017, it won a case against local manufacturer Mighty Corp., which agreed to pay the government a total of P30 billion in unpaid taxes — the biggest settlement on record for the government.
Mighty, which was accused of using counterfeit tax stamps, has since been sold to Japan Tobacco Inc.
In January this year, meanwhile, the Finance department and the BIR destroyed machines used to make contraband cigarettes.
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