By the end of July, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registered around 3,254 owners who are conducting their business through online platforms.
This was after the Bureau issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 60-2020 reminding online sellers or persons conducting business through any form of electronic media to register with the government and comply with the provisions of the Tax Code and its implementing guidelines.
There was a surge in the volume of digital transactions in the past months, as people need to stay at home due to lockdown measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In connection with this, the Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said that the said issuance is part of the government’s effort to implement a tax-collection program on digital transactions for both goods and services. He added that this is similar to how the government collects taxes from physical stores.
Registration extension
In its Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 75-2020, the BIR extends the deadline for business registration of those into digital transactions, from the original deadline of July 31, 2020, to August 31, 2020. However, since August 31 is a holiday, the deadline would be on the following day, September 1.
The BIR explains that they extended the deadline after online merchants have signified their cooperation but are requesting for more time to comply due to current problem in going to the district offices such as the means of transportation, fear of dealing face-to-face with others, limited open bank branches for their funding, and others.
The RMC likewise emphasizes that those who shall voluntarily declare their past transactions, subject to pertinent taxes, pay the taxes due, on or before the said date shall not be subject to the corresponding penalty for late filing and payment.
However, those who will be later found doing business without complying with the registration or update requirements, and those who will fail to declare past due taxes or unpaid taxes shall face applicable penalties under the law, existing revenue rules, and regulations.
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