The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Region No. 6 – City of Manila and Palawan destroyed 240,550 illicit vape products at the DIGAMA Waste Management Facility in Porac, Pampanga on Aug. 24.
In a statement Tuesday, the bureau estimated the total tax liability at PHP1.53 billion.
The BIR said the destruction was part of the agency’s move to keep illicit vape products out of the market.
“Enforcement does not end with seizure. We must permanently remove illicit vape products from the market and hold accountable those behind their illegal manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale,” Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said.
Revenue Region No. 6 Regional Director Remir Macatangay said BIR-Manila expanded its enforcement operations from individual retail establishments to warehouses.
“We started with retail stores and expanded to warehouses. This led to our operation against Tap Fog Philippines, the largest single illicit vape enforcement operation conducted by the BIR to date. Some of the products seized in that operation were among those destroyed today (Aug. 24),” Macatangay said. (PNA)
