00:00The Bureau of Internal Revenue or the BIR led by Commissioner Romeo Lumagi Jr. has filed criminal charges against the operators of three illegal vape brands, Flava, Dencat and Flare for alleged tax evasion amounting to over 8 billion pesos.
00:18According to the BIR, major business figures are behind the sale of these illicit vape products which have not complied with the country's tax laws.
00:29Among the charges filed are the illegal possession of vape products without payment of excise tax under Section 263, tax evasion under Section 254 and failure to file excise tax returns under Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.
00:49The BIR is also seeking to recover the unpaid excise taxes and penalties which have increased to nearly 9 billion pesos as part of its intensified crackdown on illegal vape businesses in the country.
