RR No. 6-2017: Amends certain provisions of RR No. 7-2014 which prescribes the affixture of Internal Revenue Stamps on imported and locally-manufactured cigarettes and the use of the Internal Revenue Stamp Integrated System (IRSIS) for the ordering, distribution and monitoring thereof

Key points

1. New stamp designs and ordering. The new IRS comes in five (5) color designs. They depend on whether locally-manufactured cigarettes are packed by hand or by machine (bearing a unitary tax rate), or the cigarettes are imported or for export. Stamps may be ordered in banderols, pre-cut/stack or sheets, per the machine needs of the importer or manufacturer.
2. Price of stamps. After the order is approved and before release from the APO designated plant, the importer or local manufacturer pays APO Fifteen Centavos (P 0.15) per piece of IRS.
3. Where the stamp is affixed. The IRS goes on the upper portion of the immediate container, such as a hard pack, soft pack or tin can, including packages of five (5) or ten (10) sticks, regardless of the number of sticks.
4. Bundled packs. Five (5) or ten (10) stick packs bundled in twenties (20), and other packaging combinations of not more than twenty (20), are taxed as one. The IRS affixed equals the number of packs bundled together.
5. Dates of compliance. Locally-manufactured packs removed from the place of production must carry the new IRS not later than January 1, 2018. Imported cigarettes cannot be released from the customs house without the new IRS effective June 1, 2018. Effective September 1, 2018, all cigarettes found in the market, made in or imported into the Philippines, must carry the new stamps.

Who is affected

• Importers of cigarettes
• Local manufacturers of cigarettes

Deadlines and effectivity

• Locally-manufactured packs removed from production: not later than January 1, 2018
• Imported cigarettes: effective June 1, 2018
• Cigarettes in the market: effective September 1, 2018