According to ABS-CBN on May 28, the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles announced that new regulations for e-cigarettes will take effect in June. All e-cigarette products must be registered with the agency.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Amanda Nograles stated at a forum in Makati City that imported and locally manufactured vaping nicotine and non-nicotine products, as well as new tobacco products, must now undergo certification processes by the department. This means that these products must first obtain the Philippine Standard (PS) mark and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) label before they can be sold in the market.
The deputy minister stated that at least three companies have applied for registration currently, and urged other companies to start the registration process as it may take some time. She emphasized that there will be a six-month transition period for all companies to comply with the regulations.
We will allow them to sell all existing inventory until January 5, 2025, after which we will conduct a market purge, and any e-cigarette products without PS permits and ICC labels will not be allowed to appear on the market.
The deputy minister stated that they will continue to monitor stores and inspect e-cigarettes for the presence of cannabis oil to ensure that underage individuals are not allowed to purchase e-cigarette products.
In addition, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Philippines will begin stamping e-cigarette products with tax stamps next week to ensure that unregulated e-cigarette products are not sold nationwide.
Venus Gaticales, Director of the Operations Department at BIR, stated, "Implementing a tax on e-cigarette products is not only beneficial for BIR, but also helpful for the e-cigarette industry or businesses." BIR mentioned that due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes, tax losses are rising, with the national tax loss exceeding 25 billion pesos ($4 billion USD) in 2023, a number that is expected to increase this year and next year.
Furthermore, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. also urged the public to report any smuggling incidents to the authorities.
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