BIR Ruling

June 2, 1967 2nd Indorsement Respectfully returned to the Honorable, the Secretary of Finance, the within letter of LOREMAN, INC., 106 A. Rita, San Juan, Rizal, dated March 1, 1967, bearing on the request to import loose cigarettes from Hongkong with the following comment. cdt This Office believes that the importation of loose cigarettes from Hongkong to be wrapped or packed by the importer upon arrival in the Philippines may not be allowed. Under the law the specific tax on imported cigarettes is paid upon the affixture of the strip stamps on the container immediately before removal from customs custody. Consequently, there being no container wherein the strip stamps may be affixed, the importation thereof cannot possibly be effected. Besides the proposition is not authorized under the existing law. The pertinent provision of Section 137 of the Tax Code in this regard is quoted, viz: "Every manufacturer or importer of cigarettes shall file with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, on the date or dates designated by the latter, a sworn statement showing the brand or brands of cigarettes manufactured or imported, their corresponding length in millimeters and weight in kilos per thousand cigarettes, whether containing flue-cured tobacco, wrapped in cellophane or tinfoil, or packed in cartons with paraffin or wax paper, or in tin cans, and whether the cigarettes are mechanically wrapped or packed. In the case of imported cigarettes, the sworn statement required herein shall, in addition to the above information, be accompanied by a verified commercial invoice of the manufacturer of the cigarettes as well as the consular invoice issued by a Philippine Consul, if any, containing the information that Philippine internal revenue strip stamps have been affixed to each and every pack of cigarettes and that each pack bears the inscription "For export to the Philippines." (SGD.) MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue