Increased vigilance vs illicit cigarettes ordered
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 16:57:44 +0000
ILLICIT cigarettes from other countries would be under heightened vigilance by the Department of Finance (DoF) after the seizure of undeclared loose Chinese-branded tobacco products in Manila.
In a message to reporters on Thursday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said he will direct the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to alert its counterparts in China and other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) about the illegal entry of cigarettes to the Philippines.
“We are increasing vigilance against nontax paid cigarettes from all sources. I will order BoC to alert their counterparts in China and all the Asean countries to the practice of exporting untaxed cigarettes to the Philippines,” Dominguez said.
Last week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) raided a warehouse owned by Jayson DHK Trading in Binondo, Manila and confiscated around 145 master cases or 1.45 million sticks of various illicit Chinese-branded cigarettes.
Revenue Officer Remedio Advincula Jr., who led the bureau’s strike team, said the emergence of a flourishing black-market industry of Chinese-branded cigarettes in the country is becoming alarming.
Advincula believes unscrupulous traders saw an opportunity to illegally import cigarettes from China amid the growing Chinese market in the Philippines.
The confiscated cigarette packs, which were not affixed with Philippine tax stamps and carried no graphic health warnings, had markings of Chinese brands like Double Happiness, Changbaishan, Ligun, Goldenleaf, Septwolves and YunYan.
“Filipinos don’t patronize these brands, that’s why I suspect they only cater to Chinese smokers who are here,” Advincula said.
Data from the Department of Tourism showed that 1.21 million Chinese tourists have already visited the Philippines in January to August this year, while the Department of Labor and Employment issued alien working permit to 61,878 Chinese as of June this year.
In August, the BoC and the General Administration of Customs of China signed an intergovernmental agreement to strengthen the cooperation and mutual assistance on customs matters between the two countries.