BIR seizes illicit cigarettes with P8.5-B tax liability

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has confiscated illicit cigarettes with an estimated total tax liability reaching P8.5 billion in factory and warehouse raids in Bulacan and Valenzuela.

“A large criminal enterprise with a factory in Bulacan and three warehouses in Valenzuela City was simultaneously raided last week, uncovering 8.5 B(illion) in tax liabilities,” Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.

This was the largest operation of the BIR against illicit cigarettes for 2024, he said.

The Bureau said a total of 11.51 million packs of illicit cigarettes were seized during the raid.

“BIR also seized raw materials, cigarette-making machines, and cigarette-packing machines,” it said.

Six Chinese nationals were also apprehended. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante