BIR raises alarm over security of seized fake cigarettes

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has raised alarm over the security of seized fake cigarettes and manufacturing equipment which were ordered by a court to be returned to a suspected illicit trader.

The agency was slapped with an injunction by the Court of Tax Appeals following its raid of GB Global Exprez Inc., a cigarette company located at the Angeles Industrial Park in Pampanga which is supposedly engaged in the export of cigarettes.

With the injunction, the court ordered the BIR to return all seized items from the raid including 238,300 cigarette packs of Two Moon and Soho, export products that did not contain markings to indicate the country of destination, details of the manufacturer, and BIR tax stamps as proof of excise tax payment, which are all requirements by law.

The court also ordered the withdrawal of security personnel from the office of the BIR commissioner stationed at the padlocked factory.

The BIR recently filed a motion for reconsideration to overturn the injunction.

“We are concerned over the possible tampering of evidence. The seized products and equipment form part of the body of evidence to support our case in court,” a BIR field official said.

The BIR and the Department of Finance foiled an illicit cigarette operation that resulted in billions of pesos in lost revenues for the government a few years back.