BIR scores ₱P5.7-B cigar case victory
The Bureau of Internal Revenue will go after tax evaders after it secured a favorable ruling from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a P5.7-billion tax evasion case it filed on 7 February 2025.
Following the DoJ’s approval, two criminal information were filed before the Court of Tax Appeals.
The case is a result of the bureau’s biggest raid against illicit cigarettes, conducted in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on 6 to 7 November 2024, in Bulacan and Valenzuela.
The case involved the seizure of approximately 21,000 master cases of illicit cigarettes with a tax liability amounting to P5,764,761,450.00.
Following the DoJ’s approval, two criminal information were filed before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) on 13 March 2025.
Warrants of arrest are now being readied for the five Chinese nationals that are linked to the illicit cigarette operation.
Among biggest raid ever
In a post on his official Facebook page, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said that the case against the five Chinese nationals “is part of our largest raid against illicit cigarettes.”
He stressed that the BIR’s latest victory “is a testament to our commitment to pursue every criminal involved in illicit cigarette trade” and that it served as a warning to all those involved in the illicit cigarette trade.
“We will raid your warehouses. We will destroy all illicit cigarettes and machines. We will file cases against you. You will be arrested.”
Just last month, the BIR conducted a nationwide destruction operation of illicit cigarettes from 24 February to 5 March 2025.
Over 10 days, 14.3 million packs of illegal cigarettes were systematically destroyed at designated sites to ensure they could never reenter the market.
The illicit cigarettes were valued at around P2.1 billion with an estimated tax liability of P6.4 billion.