Smuggled tobacco products cornered half of apprehended goods in 2020
Illicit cigarettes accounted for more than half of the value of smuggled items that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated last year amid prolonged COVID-19 quarantine that slashed both supply of and demand for more expensive tax-paid tobacco.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said that out of the P9.75 billion in smuggled goods that the BOC apprehended in 2020, 53.5 percent in terms of value, or P5.22 billion, worth were tobacco and cigarettes.
Citing a report of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the DOF said that 150 out of the 792 antismuggling operations undertaken by the BOC last year yielded the smuggled cigars and tobacco products.Illicit trade of smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes flourished amid the pandemic as supply dwindled at the height of the longest and most stringent lockdown in the region that stopped domestic production and restricted movement of nonessential goods.
Some consumers, meanwhile, had turned to cheaper alternatives amid a recession and higher excise taxes slapped on cigarettes.
The tobacco excise tax further rose this year to P50 a pack effective Jan. 1, from P45 last year, under Republic Act No. 11346, or the Tobacco Tax Law of 2019.
Guerrero was quoted by the DOF as saying that the other smuggled products confiscated by the BOC last year included P1.85 billion in illegal drugs, P1.02 billion in fake goods and P32.59 million in various types of currencies.
“General merchandise worth P403.89 million, vehicles and automobile accessories valued at P354.53 million and agricultural products amounting to about P207.7 million were also apprehended by the BOC,” Guerrero said.
The BOC also seized personal protective equipment, medical supplies and cosmetics, P195.57 million; jewelry and other products, P69 million; foodstuff, P212 million; used clothing, P130.59 million; electronic goods, P31.07 million; steel products, P4.76 million; alcoholic beverages, P2.43 million; chemicals, P5 million; and firearms, P300,000,” Guerrero added. INQ
