Section 10Sec./Art. 10

Section 263 of the National Internal Revenue of 1997, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 263. Unlawful Possession or Removal of Articles Subject to Excise Tax Without Payment of the Tax. -Any person who owns and/or is found in possession of imported articles subject to excise tax, the tax on which has not been paid in accordance with law, or any person who owns and/or is found in possession of imported tax-exempt articles other than those to whom they are legally issued shall be punished by:

"(a) A fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00) but not more than Two hundred thousand pesos (₱200,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than sixty (60) days but not more than one hundred (100) days if the appraised value, to be determined in the manner prescribed in Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) including duties and taxes, of the articles does not exceed Two hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱250,000.00): Provided, That if the appraised value, including duties and taxes, does not exceed Ten thousand pesos (₱ 10,000.00), the penalty shall only be a fine in the amount of Twelve thousand pesos (₱12,000.00);

"(b) A fine of not less than One million pesos (₱1,000,000.00) but not more than Two million pesos (₱2,000,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than four (4) years if the appraised value, to be determined in the manner prescribed in Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA)", including duties and taxes, of the articles exceeds Two hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱250,000.00) but does not exceed Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00);

"(c) A fine of not less than Three million pesos (₱3,000,000.00) but not more than Four million pesos (₱4,000,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than four (4) years but not more than six (6) years, if the appraised value, to be determined in the manner prescribed in Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), including duties and taxes of the articles is more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00) but does not exceed One million pesos (₱1,000,000.00);

"(d) A fine of not less than Ten million pesos (₱10,000,000.00) but not more than Twenty million pesos (₱20,000,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than ten (10) years but not more than twelve (12) years, if the appraised value, to be determined in the manner prescribed in Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), including duties and taxes, of the articles exceeds One million pesos (₱1,000,000.00);

"Any person who is found in possession of locally manufactured articles subject to excise tax, the tax on which has not been paid in accordance with law, or any person who is found in possession of such articles which are exempt from excise tax other than those to whom the same is lawfully issued shall be punished with a fine of not less than (10) times the amount of excise tax due on the articles found but not less than One million pesos (₱1,000,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than eight (8) years.

"Any manufacturer, importer, owner or person in charge of any article subject to excise tax who removes or allows or causes the unlawful removal of any such articles from the place of production or bonded warehouse, upon which the excise tax has not been paid at the time and in the manner required, and any person who knowingly aids or abets in the removal of such articles as aforesaid, or conceals the same after illegal removal shall, for the first offense, be punished with a fine of not less than ten (10) times the amount of excise tax due on the articles but not less than Fifty million pesos (₱50,000,000.00) and imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than eight (8) years.

"The mere unexplained possession of articles subject to excise tax, the tax on which has not been paid in accordance with law, shall be punishable under this Section."