Enrile says imported cigarette brands sold in PH sans tax

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile demanded an explanation on Tuesday from the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for their alleged failure to impose tax on imported cigarettes being sold in the country.

Enrile revealed that various imported cigarettes, mostly European brands, are being sold in the country without tax.

“They are manufactured outside of the country by foreign employees with tobacco grown outside of the Philippines, with plants in other countries and yet they are not   being taxed…” he said when he interpellated the bicameral committee report on the proposed sin tax bill.

“No specific tax is collected by the Philippine government and I’m quite surprised why the DOF and the BIR assiduousness to enforce our tax laws have not seen these being marketed,” he further said.

Enrile said the DOF and the BIR have a “lot to explain to this house.”

Specifically, the DOF, he said, should give a “plain, concise and wise’ explanation why the government was imposing so many burdens on the local tobacco industry when they were not collecting tax from imported cigarettes.

“Of all of the years that these are being marketed, they did not tax them and they did not include them in the statistics of the number of cigarette sticks that are being marketed in the country in order to arrive an aggregate of the tax that ought to be imposed on our people,” he said.

“Why are we favoring foreign manufactured cigarettes as against our local manufactured cigarettes? I’m just asking questions.”

Senator  Franklin Drilon, acting chairman of  the  Senate committee on ways  and means, recognized the ”lapses” and assured the Senate  leader that the DOF would act on it.