BIR adjusts floor prices of cigarettes, vape products

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has increased the floor prices for cigarettes but lowered those for vape products as the government took into account the latest market conditions.

The BIR updated the floor prices for cigarettes, heated tobacco products as well as vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products.

Floor price is the minimum retail price set by the BIR, taking into account the sum of the products’ excise tax, value-added tax or VAT and production cost.

For cigarettes, the new floor price per pack increased to P114.60 from P82.49.

BIR Assistant Commissioner Jethro Sabariaga said the increase in floor price for cigarettes is due to sellers offering cigarettes at prices lower than the cost of production and excise tax.

“This makes the sale of these products illegal as there is a prescribed minimum selling price for tobacco products,” Sabariaga told The STAR.

He said the higher price also serves as a warning to the public on the possible health hazards posed by illegal tobacco products.

Sabariaga noted that legitimate manufacturers could not remove tobacco products from registered factories without payment of proper excise taxes.

“If products are being sold at amounts less than that, then these products are illegal and put consumers in danger from cigarette smoking,” he said.

For heated tobacco products, the floor price per pack decreased to P120.40 from P140 for those with production cost of P75, excise tax of P32.50 and VAT of P12.90.

The BIR set a floor price of P200 for a two-milliliter pod of nicotine.

For a conventional freebase or classic nicotine, the floor price has been set at P179.20 for a 10-ml bottle with production cost of P100, excise tax of P60 and VAT of P19.20.

A larger bottle of 30 ml classic nicotine increased to P403.20 from P352.80.

The BIR maintained that selling of tobacco products at a price lower than the combined excise taxes and VAT imposed under the law is prohibited.

The revenue generating agency said violators would be fined up to P500,000 and penalized with up to six years in prison.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) seized nearly P3 million worth of uncertified vape products in Metro Manila from February to April.

In a statement yesterday, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the DTI confiscated 9,695 vape products after inspecting 390 shops to ensure their compliance with Republic Act 11900.

The DTI said its Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau has been conducting inspections in response to Pascual’s directive to tighten watch on non-compliant stores selling vape products. – Catherine Talavera