Philippines: NTA Eyes More Fees for Imported Tobacco Products

Source from:  Business Mirror  08/23/2013

The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is proposing to impose additional fees before allowing the sale and distribution of imported tobacco products in the country.

This is contained in the draft Memorandum Circular 003 Series of 2013, a copy of which was obtained by non-governmental Action for Economic Reforms (AER).

"As part of the requirements, sellers and distributors of imported tobacco products will be levied a license fee that amounts from P100 to P600 on top of the license fee previously levied," AER said.

"In addition, the said memorandum imposes additional evaluation fees for what is already a redundant inspection mechanism on imported cigarette products," the group added.

AER said the NTA claims that the proposed policy will prevent smuggling, counterfeiting and illicit trading of imported tobacco products "through proper supervision, monitoring and regulation in order to protect the consumer/smoking public."

"On the contrary, however, we contend that the ulterior objective for the said proposal is only to perpetuate a discriminatory system that favors domestic cigarette producers," AER said.

The group said raising the evaluation fee and imposing "redundant" evaluation procedures on imported cigarettes will not stop the smuggling of tobacco products.

The group also warned that the move is "discriminatory" and will violate the country's commitment to international trade rules, specifically the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which prohibits the use of internal fees or taxes to favor the domestic industry.

"We challenge the NTA to prove the legitimacy of its intention to curb illicit cigarette trade, and not merely perpetuate discrimination against foreign product through the proposed measures under Memorandum 003-2013," AER said.

From a "tobacco-control perspective," the group urged the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture to revise the memo and apply the proposed measures to all cigarettes.

AER said uniformly imposing higher evaluation and regulatory fees on both foreign-made and domestically produced cigarettes will discourage the sale of tobacco products and make them less accessible to the public. Enditem