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The Bureau of Internal Revenue flagged 25 of 65 gasoline stations tested in the first three days of its large-scale Fuel Marking drive across Luzon
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Affected fuel has been inventoried and pumps sealed or padlocked pending confirmatory testing and further enforcement action
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Operations began August 17 and will run for several weeks, with plans to expand nationwide
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) flagged 25 of 65 gasoline stations tested in the first three days of a large-scale fuel marking enforcement drive across Luzon, sealing off pumps and inventorying fuel suspected of tax non-compliance.
The affected stations had their fuel inventoried and dispensing pumps sealed or padlocked, pending confirmatory testing and further action under existing rules.
“We are making fuller use of Fuel Marking and our other enforcement tools to identify revenue leakages, act on them quickly, and protect compliant businesses from unfair competition in the petroleum sector,” BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said in a statement.
The operations began on August 17, 2026, and are expected to continue for several weeks, with enforcement teams deployed across Luzon.
The drive is BIR-initiated and BIR-led, conducted in coordination with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), with the agency’s Regional Directors personally leading their respective teams.
An authorized Fuel Marking Service Provider carries out technical fuel sampling and testing in line with existing rules and procedures.
Fuel marking is one of the BIR’s tools for detecting possible tax non-compliance involving gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. Petroleum products that fail field tests are subjected to inventory, sealing or padlocking, and confirmatory testing procedures. Where non-compliance is confirmed, the BIR determines the applicable taxes, penalties, and other amounts due, and pursues enforcement, assessment, and collection action under existing laws and regulations.
Under current fuel marking rules, taxpayers may request corrective marking of affected petroleum products by the authorized service provider once tax liabilities and other amounts due are settled and prescribed requirements are met. The appropriate lifting or unsealing procedures may then follow.
The fuel marking operations are being carried out alongside other BIR enforcement and compliance activities, including inventory stock-taking, registration and invoicing verification, and Tax Compliance Verification Drive activities.
While the current deployment is focused on Luzon, the BIR said the initiative will expand to other parts of the country as it strengthens its enforcement presence in the petroleum sector and makes fuller use of existing mechanisms to protect government revenues.
“This is not a one-time operation. We will continue using fuel marking l and our other enforcement tools wherever the risk of tax leakage is high, and we will expand these operations to other parts of the country,” Mendoza said.
