Mighty: BIR stamp validating device defective

By: 8 years ago

Following is Mighty Corp.’s statement in connection with the government’s plan to file tax evasion cases against the firm:

Mighty Corporation confirmed on Wednesday the BIRs malfunctioning Taggant excise stamp validating devices which produced varying results when used today against its products that were seized in last Thursday’s raid in its warehouses in Pampanga.

Sigfrid Fortun, Counsel for Mighty, declared that when the devices were used by BIR examiners on the confiscated cartons bearing mighty cigarettes, they registered a green light indicating they were genuine stamps and, later, registered red or bogus marks for stamps in the same carton.

READ: BIR probes Mighty for fake stamps use

Worse, when the same device was used to test tax stamps on products of its competitors brought in by one of the agents, the device also turned red indicating that the competitors stamps were fake. Fortun said that the BIR should also sue and send notices of tax assessment to Mighty’s competitors.

In the same inspection proceedings conducted today by joint teams from the BIR’s regional office in pampanga and head office personnel, the devices either malfunctioned or could not read the tax stamps thereby making Fortun conclude that they were unreliable for purposes of assessing Mighty’s liability for tax fraud or deficiency in excise tax payments.

READ: Mighty cigarette packs seized in Visayas

The BIR’s inspection team was belatedly authorized by its head office to inspect the excise stamps on mighty cigarettes found in its pampanga warehouse after mighty questioned the validity of the letter of authority used to justify the seizure of genuine cigarettes it produced.

Fortun said this procedure cannot undo the invalid raid conducted with the help of mission orders issued to the BOC as all items confiscated are now tainted for being fruits of an unlawful seizure order and LOA.

This notwithstanding, mighty had expressed its willingness to cooperate and pay taxes based on BIR assessments found both accurate and fair. Mighty officials even went to the NBI and DOJ offices today to convey the same posture of cooperation with the governments tax collection effort.