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Friday, March 29, 2024

BIR also starts probing Philip Morris, other firms

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Mighty Corp., the oldest and Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturer, described as fair and laudable the new Bureau of Internal Revenue order to include market leader Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. and other players in its fake stamps investigation.

Mighty vice president and spokesman Oscar Barrientos, a retired regional trial court judge, said in a statement Mighty, known for eating away a large share of its rivals’ market, had no problems with neither the BIR nor the Bureau of Customs in welcoming their probe because its operation was transparent and in accordance with laws.

He said Mighty, an object of persistent demolition by its rivals, dismissed allegations that it was using fake strip stamps, claiming the BIR was closely monitoring production and withdrawal at its only factory in Bulacan.

The factory was the first one to install CCTV cameras to monitor its operations in compliance with BIR regulations, he said.

Barrientos said Mighty’s competitors, including the huge cigarette manufacturing plants of PMFTC in Marikina and Batangas, had yet to install the same powerful electronic gadgets Mighty used at its tightly guarded factory.

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“It is unfair to single out Mighty. We should also investigate others to get to the bottom of the problem and determine where the counterfeits are coming,” BIR deputy commissioner for legal service Jesus Clint Aranas said.

Aranas said the BIR was expanding its probe into the widespread use of fake tax stamps on cigarette packs to cover all manufacturers and importers.

Aranas said the government was losing billions of pesos in revenues yearly through the tax avoidance scheme as evidenced by seizure of large cache of various brands affixed with fake strip stamps since the requirement was reintroduced three years ago.

“It is not only here that Philip Morris is being investigated for fraud,” Barrientos said, adding that in Thailand and South Korea, the multinational company was also being probed for multi-million dollar fraud and tax evasion cases, respectively. 

He said in Thailand, the fraud case involved a massive fine of up to $2.27 billion dollars.

The BIR restored the use of tax stamps in 2014 to tighten monitoring and enforcement of the sin tax law and collect the right amount of excise, income and value added taxes from this source.

Barrientos said it was Mighty in coordination with BIR, the Bureau of Customs, the National Bureau of Investigation and the police that spearheaded the campaign against fake cigarettes using bogus stamps all over the country as early as two years ago that resulted in the arrest, indictment of scores of people and the seizure of large quantities of fake might cigarettes and other brands in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga provinces, Davao provinces, Ilocos provinces, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Cagayan, Pampanga and Bulacan.

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