Philippines Cracks Down on Unregistered Brands

The Philippines’ The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has ordered its field officers to seize unregistered cigarette names in a bid to curb smuggling, reports The Manilla Bulletin.

BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay provided regional and district offices with an official list of cigarette brands with their corresponding producers and importers.

“Any product not included in the list shall be considered unauthorized subject to seizure in accordance with existing rules and regulations,” said Dulay.

Dulay also instructed producers and importers to register their new products before launching them in the market.

“Newly registered products will be included in the updated list of products in the BIR website within 30 days from the date of registration,” he said.

Cigarette manufacturers have been complaining for years about revenue losses due to rampant distribution and sale of untaxed cigarettes.