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BIR destroys illicit vape products with P1.34 billion tax liability. Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News

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BIR destroys illicit vape with P1.34B unpaid taxes

Jekki Pascual

ABS-CBN News

<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid037KrxU3BCok1tjsvEVdBsopvd6DpAzqEnHYUV4Da1SaSKJh1PQMCbN8h7XEGU695jl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="250" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>MANILA -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Monday destroyed illicit vape products with a total tax liability of P1.34 billion in various regional offices across the country.BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza led the ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Quezon City. He said a total of 448,494 units of vape products which have unpaid taxes were destroyed in the simultaneous nationwide operation. Another 300,000 units will be destroyed in the coming days or weeks as they are still awaiting court clearance for the other batch of products.In total, the illicit vape products seized in 2025 have a total P2.73 billion tax liability. “Hindi dumaan sa tamang proseso, hindi dumaan sa tamang regulasyon, at hindi nagbayad ng tamang buwis,” said Mendoza.He added that there is a need to hold a destruction operation such as this to show the public that the government would not tolerate the sale of vape and vapor products without the full and proper payment of excise taxes.He said the taxes are needed to regulate the consumption of vape and discourage its use, and to also generate additional revenues for the government to fund other projects.“In the coming days, we will further intensify our enforcement operations kasi kung merong gap, merong hiatus sa enforcement, bumabalik sila,” he added.Mendoza said they would continue to monitor shops, including online platforms, to see if the vape products passed through the proper process and paid the right taxes. Other agencies of government also joined the destruction activity, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources led by Secretary Raphael Lottilla.

The BIR destroyed illicit vape products with a total tax liability of P1.34 billion in various regional offices across the country.

The BIR destroyed illicit vape products with a total tax liability of P1.34 billion in various regional offices across the country.