Philippine Congressman Urges Halt to Flava E-cigarette Sales

According to a report on December 13th by CNN Philippines, a congressman in the Philippines is calling for a halt in the sales of the e-cigarette brand Flava, especially on online platforms. The reason behind this is the alleged unpaid tax of 800 million Philippine pesos (approximately 102 million Chinese yuan).

Despite our efforts to implement all measures, Flava and e-cigarettes continue to exist in the market," stated Rufus Rodriguez, representative of the Second District of Cagayan de Oro, during the second hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means regarding the alleged smuggling involving Flava, which amounts to 1.428 billion pesos.

Rodriguez has called on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to order the online e-commerce giant Lazada to halt the sales of Flavae-cigarettes by its suppliers. Simultaneously, he commended Lazada's competitor Shopee for removing the brand from its platform.

Flava continues to be sold online. We also urge the DTI to instruct Shopee to cease selling Flava products online," he said.

According to reports, Flava considers itself as the "leading brand" of e-cigarettes in the Philippines. Last month, the Philippine enforcement agencies conducted a surprise raid and discovered illegally imported Flava e-cigarettes with an estimated worth of approximately 1.43 billion pesos, with a taxable value of around 728 million pesos (approximately 93.24 million yuan). Rodriguez stated that this amount does not include the 70 million pesos in excise tax and 84 million pesos in 12% value-added tax (VAT).

The government is owed approximately 800 million pesos in unpaid import tariffs, consumption taxes, and value-added taxes," he said.

The committee also ordered contempt charges to be filed against Flava's absent CEO Gen Vincent Fabro and issued arrest warrants for Reynald Llanto, director of Hyperbare-cigarettes company.

Rodriguez also subpoenaed Shi Lichao, the general manager of a company based in Shenzhen, China. This company is a manufacturer that supplies e-cigarettes to Denkat Philippines. Flava claims they purchased e-cigarettes from Denkat Philippines.

A parliamentarian has announced that the committee's report on the alleged tax evasion by Flava will be made public this week.