The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 60-2020 dated June 1, 2020, reminding all persons doing business and earning income through digital means to ensure that their businesses are registered, or their registrations are updated.

This RMC is part of initial phases that the Department of Finance (DOF) and the BIR have undertaken to implement a tax collection program on digital transactions.

The RMC aims to cover online sellers/merchants and other stakeholders in the Philippines involved in digital transactions such as payment gateways, delivery channels, internet service providers and other facilitators.

No penalty for late registration shall be imposed on those who will register and/or update their registration status on or before July 31, 2020.

The BIR likewise encourages online businesses to declare and pay the corresponding taxes on past taxable transactions, without penalty, if declaration and payment are made on or before the said date.

“The goal of this project is not to go after online merchants for unreported sales or unpaid taxes. We just want to encourage those who are engaged in online businesses to register with the BIR,” according to DOF Revenue Operations Group Undersecretary Antonette Tionko.

She added: “Online transactions have increased for quite some time now, especially during the community quarantine period. That’s why we want to take this opportunity to remind them to register their businesses. The BIR will issue an Operations Memorandum to this effect.”

The RMC and the basic registration guidelines are accessible at https://bit.ly/3cMvq6x.

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