BOC ops yield ₧3.72B worth of contraband vape products
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized some P3.72 billion worth of smuggled e-cigarettes or vape products in a series of warehouse raids in Parañaque City and Malabon City, the bureau revealed on Friday.
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said that the issuance of Letters of Authority (LOAS) against these warehouses is part of the BOC’S agenda to specifically target smuggled e-cigarettes or vapes.
On Thursday, February 29, the Boc-customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) found an estimated 1.5 million pieces of the Flava brand e-cigarettes in assorted flavors worth P1.53 billion at a warehouse located in Olivares Compound, San Dionisio, Parañaque City.
BOC-CIIS Director Verne Enciso said they found a total of 1.5 million pieces of vape products after they discovered around 15,000 boxes of vapes containing 100 pieces per box.
“The current market value is P500 per piece, so that’s a total of P750 million. Add to that the excise tax that should be collected, and the total estimated sum-up value would be P1.53 billion,” Enciso said.
The government could have collected around P780 million of the 1.5 million pieces of smuggled vapes coming from the excise tax worth P520 per 10 millimeters or one piece.
Under the new sin tax reform law or the Republic Act (RA) No. 11467, a tax of P37 per millimeter will be imposed on salt nicotine vapor products in the first year, and an additional P5 per millimeter per year until the rate reaches P52 per millimeter in 2024. Thereafter, the tax will be increased by 5 percent every year.
The BOC-CIIS also has an ongoing inspection of some warehouses located in Superb Catch Inc. in Barangay Catmon, Malabon City.
A warehouse yielded an estimated 19,800 boxes, with 100 pieces of vapes per box, during an initial inventory, according to Enciso.
A total of P1.029 billion worth of excise tax could have been collected from the 1.98 million pieces of vape products, which have a total market value of P1.089 billion at P550 each.
The combined market value and the excise tax of the smuggled vape products totaled P2.118 billion.
The BOC-CIIS said it also discovered a temporary unplugged cold storage unit being used as a storage facility to contain a still undetermined quantity of vape products.
“This is an ongoing, [active] investigation and inspection. We are not yet done examining these warehouses, but we will be able to determine at the soonest time possible the exact amount of smuggled vapes they contain,”commissioner Rubio was quoted in the statement as saying.
Rubio also issued a warning against the groups and individuals behind such activities.
“I hope this seizure serves as a reminder to those who look to circumvent our laws that BOC is steadfast in its commitment to enforce our responsibility of border protection,” he said, adding, “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring smugglers to justice.”.
“Our team today scores a win against these smugglers. There’s a huge popularity of e-cigarettes or vapes among Filipinos, especially the younger generations, these days, so we are here to make sure they only get access to the safest products in the market,” Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy of Customs Intelligence Group said.
In 2023, the BOC apprehended P43.3 billion worth of smuggled commodities.
The Bureau raked in a total of P883.6 billion in revenues in 2023, surpassing its target of P874 billion by P9.5 billion on the back of digitalization efforts and antismuggling drive.
The BOC is targeting to reach P70 billion in revenues in February, raising P3.5 billion a day.