World Class Printing Solutions: APO’s e-Passport and Excise Tax Stamp Projects
Global standards, local expertise. This has been the hallmark of APO Production Unit’s two most successful projects to date: the Philippines’ e-Passport and Excise Tax Stamp. These projects not only highlight how APO fulfills its mandate of producing secure government documents, but also demonstrate APO’s integration of state-of-the-art security technology to combat fraud and counterfeiting.
In 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs contracted APO for a new integrated electronic passport system. APO’s printing facility in Lima, Batangas uses advanced security features, high-quality materials, and printing techniques to ensure that the e-Passport is durable and tamper-proof. The e-Passport also complies with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) standards for travel documents (Doc 9303) to use biometric technology.
Since 2016, APO has already produced 24.9 million e-Passports for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Philippine Excise Tax Stamp story echoes the same digital transformation story. Revolutionizing the excise tax stamp was a requirement of the Tax Reform Act of 1997 (Republic Act No. 8424, as Amended) and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Protocol in order to improve tax collection and reduce illicit trade. More than a mere stamp, it integrates ordering, production, distribution, affixing and tracking internal revenue stamps at efficiently high production speeds.
Since September 2014, APO has produced 31.2 billion excise tax stamps with estimated tax revenues amounting to USD 1.3. billion per year.
Through these groundbreaking projects, APO Printing Services has achieved historic milestones for the company and the country. APO has set a new industry standard, modernized government systems, and solidified its position as a world-class provider of secure printing solutions.