MANILA, Philippines?A plan that would effectively hike cigarette prices yet possibly fail to boost government revenues was questioned by members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue plans to add revenue stamps to cigarette packs to improve inventory monitoring and tracking of the tobacco products from factories to retail outlets in order to minimize tax leakages and boost revenues by P13 billion.

The government has endorsed the BIR?s plan which would use revenue stamps provided by Swiss-based SICPA Product Security Inc.

During a hearing of the House ways and means committee, former BIR commissioner and incumbent Camarines Sur Rep. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato said that based on research conducted by her staff, the revenue stamps being pushed by SICPA showed "no clear indication as to an increase in tax collection and [minimizing] so-called leakages.??

Instead the lawmakers noted that the stamps would cost P18 billion, which was P5 billion more than the original estimate made in 2006.

At the hearing, SICPA Director Hans Schwab blamed inflationary pressures from 2006 to 2009 for the hike in cost but the lawmakers were skeptical.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez demanded the BIR provide more empirical evidence to justify the adoption of the costly revenue stamps to boost revenues.

Rodriguez likened the plan to the aborted NBN-ZTE national broadband deal where the government decided to undertake a bloated contract for a service that had no pressing need.

The lawmakers also pointed out that a revenue stamp tax that would force consumers to pay more would be self-defeating because it would only encourage the smuggling of the product.

Also, since the bulk of smokers buy their cigarettes by the stick and not by the pack, the BIR would have difficulty tracking the merchandise, they said.

Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan said the contract with SICPA could be a breach of the Constitution since it is a form of taxation which only Congress can legislate.