THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) has charged a couple caught manufacturing fake cigarettes in a warehouse in Lubao, Pampanga.
In a statement on Tuesday, the BIR said spouses Mark Bryan R. Chan and Jeanette A. Chan have been found to have evaded tax payments worth about P2.6 billion.
“As a consequence of the criminal act of spouses Chan in producing, manufacturing and possessing fake internal revenue stamps and possessing excisable articles with fake internal revenue stamps, they evaded the payment of the correct excise tax amounting to PhP2,575,963,280.00, inclusive of increments,” the BIR said.
Acting on an anonymous tip, the BIR discovered in the warehouse cigarette-making machines, tobacco production raw materials, over eight million counterfeit stamps and several cigarette packs.
BIR records also showed that Mr. Chan is not a registered excise tax payer and has never secured any permit to produce and import cigarettes of any brand.
In 2016, Mr. Chan was granted a Mayor’s Permit to operate Titan Feeds Trading in the same address as the cigarette factory-warehouse. However, there is no corresponding BIR-registered warehouse at the site.
OTHER CASES
Meanwhile, the bureau also charged four delinquent taxpayers for failure to pay taxes with an aggregate amount of P249.43 million.
BIR Caloocan City charged Liberty S. Gagui, owner of Celestial Star Marketing, for tax liabilities in 2010 worth P91.71-million.
Also charged were FNP Corp. and its president, Enrico J. Pineda, and Marel Multi Sales Corp. and its president, Jayvee Mariano, for tax deficiencies amounting to P24.11 million in 2012 and P110.61 million in 2014, respectively.
BIR Pampanga also sued Sherwin Dela Cruz Sionzon, the sole proprietor of S.C. Sionzon Construction, for a tax deficiency of P23.01-million in 2006. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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