RMC No. 43-2026 - 8box Solutions Inc.

REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 43-2026 issued on May 13, 2026 circularizes Republic Act No. 12022, titled “An Act Defining the Crimes of Agricultural Economic Sabotage Prescribing Penalties Therefor, Vesting Jurisdiction Over Such Offenses with the Court of Tax Appeals, Providing Mechanisms for its Implementation and Enforcement, Repealing for the Purpose Republic Act No. 10845 or the ‘Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016’”.

For purposes of the Act, smuggled tobacco refers to tobacco that is:

a. Not compliant with prevailing laws, or with the following processes and requirements of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and/or other relevant regulatory agencies for the importation of tobacco products including the:

i. Registration with the BIR of the particular variants and brand to be imported;

ii. Pre-approval of packaging bearing the required graphic health warnings and other mandated fiscal markings for imported tobacco products; and

iii. Advance payment of Excise Taxes and affixing of genuine required tax stamp or marking as proof of payment; or

b. Subject of a misdeclaration, misclassification, and/or undervaluation, resulting in the non-payment of the proper customs duties.

The sale of tobacco products at a price thirty percent (30%) below the Daily Price Index (DPI) shall raise the presumption that acts of smuggling have been committed;

In support of the Act, the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) and the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) are mandated to establish, strengthen and maintain a DPI. Provided, That the BIR, in consultation with the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) will set a minimum price for the sale of tobacco products. The minimum retail price shall take into account the applicable taxes, reasonable production cost, and trade margins for the lowest priced brands registered with the BIR.

Upon effectivity of this Act, all persons engaged in a business involving agricultural and fishery products shall maintain records of their business, which shall be safely stored for five (5) years from the dates of transactions. All persons with warehouses, cold storage facilities, or any property involved in the storage of agricultural and fishery products, whether owned, leased, or maintained through third persons, shall, upon effectivity of this Act, register the storage facilities with the appropriate regulatory agencies, stating therein:

a. The name of the owner of the facility;

b. The contractual arrangement for the use of the facility (whether leased or other arrangements), if applicable;

c. The complete address of the facility;

d. The agricultural and fishery products being stored in said facility;

e. The maximum storage capacity of the facility for a particular product in bags, sacks, or kilos; and

f. The inventory of any agricultural product in the facility at any given time.

They shall prepare a monthly report on the operations of the said facilities, which shall include an inventory of any agricultural product in the facilities at any given time, which shall be electronically submitted quarterly to the Council, under Section 15 of the Act, through the regulatory agency.

Failure to produce documents and/or records required to be acquired or maintained under the Act, applicable laws, rules, or regulations in connection to a business transaction, or failure to produce a copy of an updated report of the operations of the facilities as submitted to the Council through the regulatory agency, upon demand by any member or a combination of members of the Enforcement Group, shall constitute prima facie evidence of violation of this Act: Provided, That the collection, storage, utilization, and transmission of such record submitted to the Council shall be in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”.