Tobacco, vape product taxes to be aligned – BIR

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will balance taxes on vape products and traditional cigarettes this year to boost collection, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. told reporters last week at the sidelines of the BIR Region 7B Tax Campaign Kickoff.

"I think it will happen this year. There will be an improvement, and the drag down of excise taxes on tobacco and vape will not be that big," Lumagui said.

The Philippines currently charges P63 in taxes per pack of 20 cigarettes, while vape products are charged higher at P109.20 for 2 ml salt nicotine pods, and P63 for every 10 ml of classic nicotine liquids.

This was the reason the BIR sought a more balanced tax rate for these products.

From January to November 2024, the government collected P128.98 billion in taxes from tobacco and P1.35 billion from vape products.

Lumagui said that aligning tax rates for both products is a priority for the BIR to maximize collections from the tobacco and vape industries.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that the BIR will conduct a nationwide destruction of confiscated cigarettes. While the number of sites were not specified, Lumagui said the operation would focus on cigarettes, since the documentation for seized vape products has yet to be finalized.

"In December, we finished the nationwide raids on vape products for retailers, so we prioritized cigarettes for destruction. The total volume of cigarettes to be destroyed will be disclosed on Monday," he added.