PMFTC won't interfere with govt's excise tax collection system

The merged entity Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) on Sunday assured critics that the government will have full control of a proposed excise tax collection system for Philippine-made alcohol and cigarettes. PMFTC also said the excise tax mechanism the firm is offering the government is in line with the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which seeks to regulate and eventually reduce the use of tobacco and cigarette products on a global scale. PMFTC president Chris Nelson had asked the government to use the company’s pack-marking system that uses digital technology to affix a fool-proof excise-tax stamp on every cigarette pack that leaves the factory. He pointed out that the system will be independently designed by a third party, under the government’s complete. “The Philippine government will have complete control over the system," Nelson said in a statement, adding that the system would involve a computer-controlled encryption method. The encryption key, he said, will only be known to the government and not to the cigarette or tobacco manufacturers. “The computer servers used in the system will be physically located in a secure government facility such as the offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue," Nelson noted. He added, “[PMFTC] is willing to provide a pilot project in our factory — at no cost and no obligations to government — to enable all relevant public officials to assess how Codentify operates, check its integrity, define additional specifications that might be required to suit government’s need, as well as work with the third party systems provider." Codentify is the name of the system Nelson said would combat illicit trade of cigarette products. “The system makes it possible for government, trade, and consumers to identify whether cigarettes are genuine," Nelson said. The system will also enable the government to check that manufacturers are paying the correct amount of taxes.—Jesse Edep/JV, GMANews.TV