THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed a tax evasion case against operators nabbed in a large-scale raid against illicit cigarettes with a total of P8.54-billion tax liability.
“The BIR has filed an 8.5-B[illion] Tax Evasion case against the criminals behind an illicit cigarette factory and 3 warehouses in Bulacan and Valenzuela. It was the largest operation of the BIR against illicit cigarettes last 2024,” Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said in a statement.
The criminal cases were filed last Nov. 14, 2024, and Feb. 7, 2025, it said.
All four locations were suspected to be part of one criminal enterprise, where the BIR seized raw materials, cigarette-making machines, and cigarette-packing machines, the agency said. The BIR also reported that six Chinese nationals were also arrested by law enforcement officers.
“The BIR will not stop filing criminal cases against large-scale illicit cigarette manufacturers and distributors. Big or small, all operations of illicit cigarettes in the Philippines are criminal in nature,” Mr. Lumagui said.
In January, the BIR said the country’s revenue from tobacco is projected to reach $7.3 billion in 2024. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
