According to local media in the Philippines on May 9th, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has updated the floor price for cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and vapes (including zero-nicotine products). Specifically, the price adjustments for each product are as follows:
The floor price for cigarettes has increased from 82.49 pesos per pack to 114.60 pesos per pack.
The floor price for heated tobacco products has decreased from 140 pesos per pack to 120.40 pesos per pack.
The floor price for 2ml refillable e-cigarette cartridges is set at 200 pesos.
The floor price for 10ml/bottle of freebase nicotine e-liquid is set at 179.20 pesos.
The floor price for 30ml/bottle of freebase nicotine e-liquid has increased from 352.80 pesos to 403.20 pesos.
The floor price set by the BIR is the minimum retail price, taking into account factors such as consumption tax, value-added tax, or the sum of value-added tax and production costs.
The BIR Assistant Commissioner provided an explanation for the floor price adjustments, stating that the increase in cigarette prices is due to illegal sales of cigarettes at prices below production costs and consumption tax. On the other hand, higher cigarette prices can also serve as a warning to the public about the harm of illegal tobacco products to health. The BIR stated that violators will be fined up to a maximum of 500,000 pesos and face a maximum of six years in prison.
Meanwhile, local media reports indicate that the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) confiscated nearly 3 million pesos worth of unverified e-cigarettes during the period from February to April this year in the Manila metropolitan area. In a recent statement, the department announced the seizure of 9,695 e-cigarette products after inspecting 390 shops to ensure their compliance with the Republic Act No. 11900.
