THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Monday said that it had uncovered P8 billion in unpaid taxes following raids on four large-scale manufacturers of illicit cigarettes.
BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said that unregistered cigarette-manufacturing machines and cigarettes were seized last month in Clark, Pampanga.
The manufacturers involved are now under investigation for violations of the National Internal Revenue Code, including unlawful possession of excise-taxed articles, failure to file tax returns, and attempts to evade tax payments.
The Pampanga raid was the latest in a series of operations led by the BIR.
In September, nighttime raids in Caloocan and Quezon City led to tax liability assessments amounting to P838 million.
A month earlier, meanwhile, thousands of illegal vape products resulted in an estimated tax liability over P7 million.
Lumagui said the Philippine Vape Festival 2024, where the illegal products were found, was actually set to hold a compliance summit.
Surveillance, however, found that many vape businesses were deceiving other traders and consumers by falsely claiming their products were compliant with BIR regulations.
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