Written by Jun Vallecera / Reporter
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 20:08

THE merged entity Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. or PMFTC is keen on offering its own excise-tax collection scheme to the government at a fraction of the cost presented by the Swiss-owned Sicpa Security products SA.

PMFTC president Chris Nelson said at a briefing held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City on Wednesday that the invitation should come from the government now that the unsolicited Sicpa offer to collect excise tax from alcohol and cigarette manufacturers had been denied legal support from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“We are willing to work with the government and are only awaiting formal invitation to present our own proposal,” Nelson said.

He said Philip Morris has existing technology that a third party can operate at far less cost than the 50-centavo a pack track-and-trace system offered earlier by Sicpa whose own offer had been shown the door not only by the DOJ, but also the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The alternative Philip Morris technology should cost “less than 10-centavos per pack” to affix to every single cigar, cigarette or bottle of alcohol as its no-frills system will involve only the one-time cost of the printer and continuous supply of ink, Nelson said.

According to him, the system uses a software-driven numerical code system that is unique to each cigarette or alcohol product that unlike the Sicpa system, will not slow down the manufacturing process.

The entire industry and not just Philip Morris support the system as the alternative is not only more secure, but also will not force manufacturers to pass on the added cost to customers, said Nelson.

“We believe this system is more effective and fulfills the government’s need to increase its excise-tax collection, but at a fraction of the cost of its rival,” he said.

“The entire industry embraces the system and we can set up the pilot test area very quickly. But the government has to formally invite us to come in,” Nelson said.

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