Published March 1, 2021, 6:30 AM Tax collections from tobacco products increased by nearly three-fourths as of mid-February this year after one cigarette manufacturer commenced the operation of its new facility in Batangas, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said. In a statement, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa reported to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that tobacco excise tax collections reached P29.1 billion as of Feb. 18, 2020, higher by 73 percent compared with P16.77 billion in the same period last year. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)(MANILA BULLETIN) “Noticeably, we have a big increase in the collection of tobacco excises because JTI [Japan Tobacco International] opened its plant in Lima, Batangas,” Guballa told Dominguez during a recent meeting.