Chinese nationals charged P5B in tax evasion for seized cigarettes

Five Chinese nationals have been charged before the Court of Tax Appeals for failing to pay over P5 billion in taxes on seized cigarettes in Valenzuela City last year, with the Department of Justice filing a PHP5.7 billion tax evasion case against them.

The charges were filed by the Valenzuela City Office of the City Prosecutor following a preliminary investigation conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).

Two separate cases have been filed under Section 263 of Republic Act 8424, which deals with unlawful possession of articles subject to excise tax without payment.

In one case, accused Zizhan Pan, Zili Pan, and Ziquing are charged with P5.5 billion in tax evasion for 14,255 master cases of cigarettes found in Valenzuela City.

Another case involves Yan Liang Hu and Rock Gara Yu who face charges for over PHP232 million in tax evasion related to 7,386 master cases of illicit cigarettes also seized in the city.

The latest filing includes a warrant of arrest against the five accused Chinese nationals expected to be issued soon following a joint operation by BIR and CIDG that resulted in the seizure of approximately 21,000 master cases of illicit cigarettes with a tax liability amounting to PHP5.764 billion.