he Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed 84 complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against suspected tax evaders involving P3.15 billion in estimated tax liabilities in the first half of 2021.

According to a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the BIR is also pursuing 17 cases before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) as of end-June to collect an estimated P1.54 billion in total tax liabilities under its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program.

BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said in his report during a recent Department of Finance (DOF) executive committee (Execom) meeting that as part of the Bureau’s Oplan Kandado, it has padlocked 274 commercial establishments in the first of 2021 for various tax code violations, which resulted to collections of P1.014 billion in back taxes.

During the same Execom meeting, Guballa also said that last July 1, as earlier reported in the media, the BIR seized thousands of Relx and Snowplus++ heated tobacco and vape products being sold in several establishments, branches and kiosks around Manila, particularly in several major shopping malls after it found out that these items were untaxed.

As also earlier reported in the media, Guballa said the BIR confiscated from a warehouse inside the Technology Resource Center (TRC) compound in Pampanga a total of 27,132 packs of cigarettes either without internal revenue stamps or with fake stamps, along with a motor vehicle, and raw materials and chemicals used for cigarette production.

Another warehouse at the Global Aseana Business Park in San Simon, Pampanga yielded 2.06 million pieces of fake internal revenue stamps, two cigarette-making and packing machines, and raw materials and chemicals.

“The estimated total excise tax leakage from both warehouses is P1.56 billion,” Guballa said.

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