00:00The Bureau of Internal Revenue, or BIR, filed cases before the Department of Justice against more than 70 retailers caught selling illegal vape products without paying taxes.
00:09Commissioner Romeo Lumagi Jr. said the government lost an estimated 711 million pesos in tax revenues, funds that could have supported health care and infrastructure.
00:20The BIR stressed that legal vape sales remain widespread nationwide, with many unregistered products still on the market.
00:26Consumers were urged to check for BIR tax stamps and avoid suspiciously cheap items, which are likely untaxed and substandard.
00:36Earlier, the agency also filed charges against wholesalers, warehouses and importers, underscoring its firm crackdown on the illicit vape trade.
