1.4 million FLAVA vaping devices seized; Philippine House to launch tax probe

Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the Philippine House Committee on Ways and Means, said his panel will investigate the vaping brand FLAVA over possible tax evasion and tax fraud.

According to a breaking report from Manilastandard, Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the Philippine House Committee on Ways and Means, said his panel will investigate the e-cigarette brand FLAVA over possible tax evasion and tax fraud. 

On October 27, the group raided a warehouse storing illegally imported vaping devices bearing the brand’s logo and seized 1.4 million 10ml disposable vaping products worth 1.43 billion pesos (about US$25.5 million). Salceda estimated that about 728 million pesos (roughly US$12.99 million) of that amount may represent unpaid excise taxes. 

Salceda added that the brand also appears to have incorrectly declared its products as freebase e-cigarettes rather than nicotine salt e-cigarettes, which are taxed at a higher rate. 

Under Republic Act No. 11467, nicotine salt e-cigarettes are taxed at P52 per milliliter, while freebase e-cigarettes are taxed at P60 per 10 milliliters. 

“We have received reports from independent testing that appear to confirm that one of FLAVA’s products, Chillax, contains a high concentration of nicotine salts. If that is the case, then they paid only about one-tenth of the excise tax that should have been imposed on these products,” Salceda said.

“Vaping products are also subject to tax stamp requirements, but there are allegations that FLAVA did not actually comply,” Salceda added.