PHILIPPINES
Unregistered cigarette-making machinery in various locations was seized as part of a broader crackdown on tax evasion in the tobacco industry.
The department of finance (DoF) said that the bureau of internal revenue (BIR) “seized four unlicensed cigarette making machines, six cigarette-packing machines, and a filter-making machine along with fake cigarette tax stamps inside the San Simon Industrial Park in Pampanga. The bureau reported to the finance chief that the machines were smuggled into the country.”
In the same statement, the DoF said, “Two factories in Cagayan de Oro, meanwhile, yielded unregistered cigarette-making machines, packaging machines, and a filter-making machine during recent operations also conducted by the BIR strike team,” adding that various materials used to manufacture cigarettes were also seized.
So far, BIR and Bureau of Customs (BoC) have seized a total of 531 master-cases of smuggled cigarettes under various brands.
Machinery for cigarette making is classified under “controlled items.”, said Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. “You need to trace where these machines came from. Who are the people behind this? How did these machines get in?” BIR said that the seized machinery “will be properly disabled to prevent their further usage.”