By Marna Dagumboy-del Rosario / Philippines News Agency
SAN ILDEFONSO, Bulacan—Officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday seized some P4 billion worth of allegedly counterfeit Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax stamps and cigarettes carrying the “Mighty” and “Marvel” brands in two warehouses inside the Nazarene Trading Co. at Kilometer 64, Barangay Matimbubong here.
The allegedly fake BIR tax stamps, along with the cigarettes, were seized in two warehouses owned by the controversial tobacco firm Mighty. Corp., manufacturer of Mighty and Marvel cigarette brands, whose owner and top executives on Wednesday were charged by the BIR in a P9.564-billion tax-evasion case before the Department of Justice for allegedly using fake tax stamps on their products to evade the payment of excise tax to the government.
In an interview with Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon, the forfeited cigarettes, totaling 160,000 master cases and 80 million cigarette packs, seized by the raiding team have an estimated P4 billion in street value.
Faeldon said the P4 billion-plus worth of seized cigarettes and tax stamps were allegedly owned by Mighty Corp. through Mission Order 03-23-107, Series of 2017.
“This is the biggest volume that we have raided based on the previous volume we seized in San Simon in Pampanga,” Faeldon said.
He added the BOC will issue warrant and forfeiture of cigarettes order pending the computation on the excise tax of the forfeited cigarettes.
Faeldon noted that mere possession of products paid will be multiplied by 10 for the computation of the entire penalty.
In November 2016 Faeldon said the BOC raiding team also seized smuggled raw materials and tax stamps in Villasis, Pangasinan, which led to the arrest of 24 Chinese working in the warehouses.
The BIR has not yet made an actual inventory of the products.
The two warehouses here in San Ildefonso have been sealed with new padlocks and are now being secured by four Customs personnel.