THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said they have confiscated over P1 billion worth of illegal vape products in the first eight months of the year.
BOC Assistant Secretary Vincent Philip Maronilla said most of the illegal vape products came from China.
“’Yun ang concentration namin pagdating ng profiling niyan, and at the same time binabantayan namin ‘yung ilang activities ng ilang importers namin regarding that,” Maronilla said in a televised briefing.
He added: “Pero ang napapansin naming scheme ang madalas na ginagawa dito ay outright smuggling – ibig sabihin nito meron tayong shorelines na hindi nababantayan dahil walang Customs offices at medyo malawak ang shorelines natin.”
“And they take advantage of these shorelines to bring in illegal items such as vape, illegal motor parts, even agricultural products,” he said.
The BOC is coordinating closely with the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard to prevent the entry of smuggled goods, the official said.
“We are now beefing up our operations dito sa mga shorelines natin dahil mahigpit tayo sa mga piers at pantalan dito na sila nagsi-switch ngayon, sa mga open seas smuggling or outside smuggling,” he said.
On Friday, August 30, the BOC also said it found P500 million worth of stored imported cigarettes in warehouses in Meycauayan, Bulacan.
They also got P5.5 billion worth of gadgets, devices, and garments that infringe on intellectual property rights when they inspected the warehouses.
BOC said it padlocked the warehouses, and are giving the owners 15 days from the service of the letter of authority to submit documents to show that the subject imported goods were legitimately imported and that the correct duties and taxes due thereon were duly paid.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), meanwhile, said it has nabbed over 270,000 illegal vape products since it started its crackdown.
These include some 6,000 seized during the Philippine Vape Festival, Commissioner Romeo Lumagui said.
“At iyong tax liability na nakikita natin dito sa mga produktong ito ay mahigit P300 million na,” he said.
Lumagui said the bureau will continue to confiscate vape products with no corresponding tax stamps. (ABS-CBN News)
