MANILA - The Bureau of Internal Revenue exceeded its tobacco excise tax target collections for the month of February after Japan Tobacco hiked payment by over 100 percent, the finance department said Monday.

Tobacco excise tax collections for February overshot the target by 4.28 percent, reaching P17.57 billion mid-month after the Japan Tobacco International (JTI) paid P10.94 billion or "more than double" the amount it paid in January, the Department of Finance said in a statement.

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 18, the tobacco excise tax collection reached P29.1 billion or 73.53 percent higher than P16.77 billion collected in the same period last year, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa said.

“Noticeably, we have a big increase in the collection of tobacco excises because JTI opened its plant in Lima, Batangas. So it’s in full operation, that’s why they increased their production. That’s also why we have quite a collection in tobacco for this month, sir,” Guballa said during a meeting with the DOF.

JTI Philippines overtook Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Co as the top tobacco excise taxpayer for the period, the BIR said.

Mighty Corp earlier sold its manufacturing and distribution assets to JTI Philippines.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier expressed his optimism that the BIR would exceed its P2.08 trillion target this year.

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