ONLY TABACCO VAPES ALLOWED
But our original position has always been to make sure the flavors appealing to the youth are not allowed
Although the President has already announced he would only allow tobacco-flavored vapes, the Department of Finance (DoF) would rather wait for Malacañang to issue the Executive Order (EO) before taking any action, its most senior executive said.
According to Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua, while they wait for the EO to formalize the proposed levy, he said all other smoking alternatives should not form part of the proposed tax.
“Basically, we’re waiting for the EO to clarify the scope of the regulation. But our original position has always been to make sure the flavors appealing to the youth are not allowed,” Chua said.
“(On vape flavors) it’s not a tax thing so it’s really for the Department of Health or the EO to clarify that,” he added.
Importing vapes is still shunned by presidential fiat at the moment but the industry has capacity to generate billions for the national coffers.
“(Revenue estimate for) the e-cigarettes (is) around P2 billion. I think we’ll wait for the EO to let us know what the scope of the regulation, or the ban, is and then from there we’ll update it,” Chua said.
Deputy Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Marissa Cabreros also said the agency is making the necessary adjustments such as the production of updated tax stamps for cigarettes and alcohol.
“Tax administration goes hand in hand with our work on the amendments because we don’t want the legislative amendments to be put to waste. There’s ongoing work to have a stricter and more effective implementation,” Cabreros said.
“With reference to the stamps, there are some things that need to be ironed out because we don’t want to just impose or rush stamps. They’re easily faked or reproduced. It defeats the purpose,” she added.
According to her, talks with potential tax stamp suppliers are already in motion to ensure the necessary security measures are in place for the proper monitoring of excisable products.
Earlier, the DoF and concerned agencies as the BIR actively pursued steps curbing illicit trade activities in the country and have apprehended a number of violators.