MANILA - The Bureau of Internal Revenue said it has seized hundreds of thousands of vape products with millions of pesos of tax liabilities as a result of its nationwide crackdown on illicit vape.

BIR commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said around 800 vape stores were found non-compliant, and the agency confiscated 560,000 units of vape products with a total of P415 million in tax liabilities.

'SECRET MENU'

Lumagui also shared the so-called 'secret menu' of some vape stores to sell illegal vape products.

"Kung titingnan mo lang visually, kapag pumasok sa tindahan mukhang compliant iyong mga ibinebenta, pero kapag mayroon kang tinanong or minsan, bibigyan ka ng isang booklet na ipapakita sa iyo, ito pa iyong nakatago namin. Kung gusto mo diyan, puwede ka rin diyang pumili. So, halatang nanloloko iyong mga nagtitinda dahil alam nila na illegal ang ginagawa nila," the BIR official explained.

The vape vendors face charges of tax evasion and violation of the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act, among others.  Lumagui added that they are coordinating with online platforms to go after vape sellers online.

"Ang maganda diyan ay nagko-cooperate sa atin itong mga online platforms na ito at nangangako naman na isa-shutdown nila, iyong mga tindahan online na nagbibenta. So, ngayon patuloy ang koordinasyon natin, ngayon wala pa tayong datos na masasabi," he said.

CIGARETTES

Meanwhile, the BIR commissioner also noted that tax liabilities from confiscated cigarettes have reached P9 billion.  The bulk of it was from the large-scale raid of four cigarette factories in Valenzuela and Bulacan last Nov. 6 which the bureau tagged as the biggest operation against illicit cigarettes this year.

More than 11 million cigarette packets were confiscated with P8.5 billion in tax liabilities, according to Lumagui.

"Ang laki ng mga warehouse at iyong mga machines na ginagamit dito, marami tayong na-confiscate at may nakita rin tayong mga limang Chinese nationals na involved dito at naaresto na ngayon ay kinuha ng CIDG at naaresto ng CIDG iyan," he added.

Lumagui also noted that trafficking cases will also be filed against the individuals behind the cigarette warehouses.

"Ang nakita natin doon, mahigit 150 na nanggaling sa probinsiya at pinangakuan sila at sinabi ay construction ang nature ng magiging trabaho at pagdating ay pagawaan pala ng sigarilyo ang nadatnan nila," the BIR official said.