By Eldie S. Aguirre
Digos Bureau Chief
DIGOS City ― The Bureau of Internal Revenue Regional Office (BIR-19) Strike Group based in Davao City together with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-11), led by Major Benjie Santos, yesterday stormed a makeshift structure in Barangay Zone-1, this city where smuggled cigarettes have been stored.
The raiding team successfully seized at least 141 master cases of untaxed cigarettes of different brands from the storage of the still unnamed suspects located at First Crumb Street, Barangay Zone-1, Digos City.
The BIR-19 Strike Group claimed that the total packs inside the master cases are 73,647 where the seller should have paid about P4,418,820 in basic excise tax to the government coffers based on the P60 per pack excise tax charges.
Since the smuggled items were seized from its storage, the operators will be charged with the corresponding cost of excise tax per pack plus all the applicable charges and penalties as per Revenue Memorandum Order No.40-2022 and Revenue Regulations No. 7-2014 as well as the provisions of Sections 236, 258, 130, 263, 265, 171, 172 of the Tax Code as amended, a BIR employee, who requested anonymity, explained.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue instructed all Regional Directors to conduct operations on sellers/distributors of illicit cigarettes and the raid was based on it on-the-spot surveillance scheme conducted by the CIDG.
The tax body theorized that there is already a rampant distribution of smuggled cigarettes within Davao del Sur as they have also confiscated smuggled cigarettes in Bansalan (60 packs); Digos City (77,914 packages); and Malalag (22 packs) wherein a total of 77,996 packs were seized as of January 25.
Personnel of CIDG, PNP, the Philippine Air Force, and the Philippine Navy escorted the groups of enforcers.
It was the second ‘big fish’ raid in Digos City this month in compliance with the nationwide campaign against illicit and unregistered cigarettes.
The first was in Barangay Tres de Mayo, Digos City wherein the BIR-19, Revenue District Office (RDO-115) in Digos City, together with the PNP Maritime Police Unit, and Eastern Naval Forces stormed a storage area that led to the confiscation of 820 master cases of various cigarette brands.
Authorities estimated at least a P22.5-million loss in excise tax.
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