The government is closely watching the proliferation of illicit cigarettes that comprises around 7 percent to 10 percent of the domestic market, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
“We’ll keep on looking for these guys. And I must say the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] and the BOC [Bureau of Customs] have been catching these guys. Whether they catch them all or not, I’m not sure. But I’m pretty sure they don’t catch everybody. But the big majority, I think, are caught,” Dominguez said in an online briefing.
Dominguez said prior to the government’s cracking down on the illicit trade, illegal cigarettes comprised around 35 percent of the domestic market.
“Somebody told me, also from the industry, that in some European countries, the illicit cigarettes are more than 60 percent. ASEAN countries are also in that level. So in our case, I think we’re down, this is what they told me, between 7 and 10 percent. Not good, but it’s a lot better than before,” Dominguez said.