The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its target for collecting tobacco excise taxes by 4.28 percent in February 2021 and collected pesetas 17.57 billion in mid-month after Japan Tobacco International (JTI) Philippines Inc. taxed Paid 10.94 billion pesetas is more than double what it was in January.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said preliminary data showed that by Feb.1-18 the office had already raised pesetas 721.24 million more than its tobacco excise tax target of pesetas 16.85 billion for the month.
The tobacco excise tax collection in February 2021 is also pesetas 9.20 billion, or 109.85 percent, higher than the pesetas 8.37 billion levied in the same period in 2020.
“Notably, we have seen a huge increase in tobacco excise duty collection as JTI opened its plant in Lima, Batangas. So it is fully operational. That’s why they increased their production. That’s why we have a whole collection of tobacco for this month, ”Guballa said recently at a meeting of the Treasury’s Executive Committee.
The tobacco excise tax collection for January 1 through February 18 was pesetas 29.1 billion, Guballa said. It is 12.33 billion pesetas or 73.53 percent more than the 16.77 billion pesetas collected in the period from January to February of the previous year.
Guballa said on Feb. 18 that JTI Philippines had overtaken Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co. as the top taxpayer for tobacco consumers, with JTI’s remittance of pesetas 10.94 billion accounting for 62 percent of the total collection of pesetas 17.57 billion for Feb. 1 through 18 period.
JTI Philippines’ tax payment in February is 108 percent higher than the pesetas 5.25 billion paid in January 2021, Guballa said. (PR)