BIR pursues negotiations with Sicpa on stamp scheme

02/09/2010

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is pursuing negotiations with the Swiss-based firm Sicpa Products SA on its proposed P17-billion tax stamping technology despite a Congress recommendation to junk the planned use of the scheme, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) deputy Gov. Armando Suratos said.

Suratos, nevertheless, expressed surprise that the BIR said some agreement had been reached on the cost of affixing the stamps on products levied with excise tax.

Local manufacturers of liquors and cigarettes have protested the plan saying the expensive scheme that they would have to pay for in the cost of the stamps would drive up cigarette and alcohol product prices as the extra cost would have to be passed on to consumers.

“I am surprised that the negotiations are still ongoing but it is also good that the project is moving forward based on published reports,” Suratos said.

Suratos used to head the BSP’s Security Printing Plant operations in Quezon City where government printing machines for the making of money, passports and other high-security paper are located.

BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres had said the BSP agreed to bring down the cost of printing the excise tax stamps to lower the cost of the Sicpa proposed scheme.

Sicpa’s proposal would cost an estimated 50 centavos per stamp that it later cut to 20 centavos after meeting with BSP officials. Tan-Torres said the “savings” should be enough incentive for both government and Sicpa executives to push the adoption of the unsolicited proposal and convince the Investment Coordination Committee of the National Economic Development Authority to support the program.

“There was substantial savings. It’s there but I can’t remember the number,” Tan-Torres said of the impact of the supposed BSP cost reduction.

He also said that while nothing definite had been reached, the project cost under discussion was “not too far from the original submitted cost.”

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