Government urged to assist online sellers in BIR registration

MANILA, Philippines — Online entrepreneurs should be given proper assistance to comply with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registration requirements as the tax agency starts a crackdown on unregistered entities, an advocacy group said.

Nick Conti, convenor of Click party-list and CEO of think tank Capstone-Intel Corp., said the BIR should also address concerns of online traders of red tape and unhelpful BIR employees in their field offices while they launch aggressive measures to enforce registration regulations for online enterprises.

“We fully support the BIR’s push to raise much needed revenues to fund the various programs and projects of our government. But the BIR could also take a collaborative approach instead of an adversarial one when dealing with online sellers and retailers most of whom I am sure are not willful tax evaders,” Conti told The STAR in a phone interview.

“Most of those online sellers and retailers are also MSMEs (micro, small to medium enterprises). Many of them are also just struggling to grow into profitable enterprises.”

“The President had recently announced a government push to develop the country’s MSMEs. He said he would issue an EO (Executive Order) to institutionalize the MSME Development Plan. In that EO, they want to improve the business environment for MSMEs,” Conti said.

“If they want to get online entrepreneurs to register with them, maybe they can put up kiosks in BIR district or satellite offices manned by helpful action officers who will efficiently assist our online entrepreneurs in accomplishing the registration forms,” he said.

Conti issued the call after the BIR’s recent statement regarding the possible suspension of unregistered online businesses under Revenue Regulations 15-2024.

“The Internet Transaction Act of 2023, coupled with the BIR’s enforcement, aims to level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar businesses, which is essential for consumer protection and trust in e-commerce,” said Conti. “However, it is critical for the government to offer concrete support to startups and small online businesses, many of which lack the resources to register and comply with tax obligations.”