Dominguez tells users of fake tax stamps: “Pay up”

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Friday said the erring cigarette company found using fake tax stamps needs to correct its violation and pay its taxes. (Photo: KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo)

MANILA—Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Friday said the erring cigarette company found using fake tax stamps needs to correct its violation and pay its taxes.

(It has to pay the correct taxes) of course or else we will confiscate all the cigarettes because they are illegal,” he told reporters Friday.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) earlier said joint operations with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) resulted to the confiscation of 23.2 million packs of cigarettes allegedly manufactured by Mighty Corporation that have fake tax stamps, with a tax due worth about PHP696 million.

The Department of Finance (DOF) is also awaiting reports from these two attached agencies regarding another operation at Mighty’s sales office in General Santos City wherein some 3.2 million packs of cigarettes were also found bearing fake stamps.

“What we want them to do is pay up,” Dominguez said.

“So far we’ve only caught one company but we are still looking for other companies that have violated the stamp tax law,” he added.

BIR required all locally-produced cigarettes to bear the new stamp tax with added security features by March 1, 2015 while imported cigarettes need to comply by April 1 of the same year.

The stamps were printed by state-owned APO Production Unit.