Republic Act No. 12022

Republic Act No. 12022, the "Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act," defines and penalizes agricultural economic sabotage — covering smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel activities involving agricultural and fishery products — and vests jurisdiction over these offenses in the Court of Tax Appeals. It repeals the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 (RA No. 10845). The law aims to protect farmers and fisherfolk, stabilize prices, and plug leakages in tax and duty collections. Notably, the Act treats imported tobacco as "smuggled" if it is not compliant with processes and requirements of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and/or other regulators, including registration with the BIR of the particular variant and brand to be imported and pre-approval of packaging bearing graphic health warnings and mandated fiscal markings. The provided excerpt covers only the short title, declaration of policy, and definitions; the rest of the text is truncated.