Results of withholding tax collection from online sellers expected in November - BIR

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said Friday that the initial data on withholding tax collections from sellers on online platforms or e-marketplaces will be available by November.

Interviewed on PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said that the deadline for settlements or payments of withholding tax would be the last day of October.

“That’s why makikita natin ang resulta niyan mga bandang November kung kamusta ang naging koleksyon sa withholding tax ng online sellers (That’s why we will see around November how was our collection of withholding tax from online sellers),” Lumagui said.

Under Revenue Regulation No. 16-2023, which took effect on July 15, one-half of the gross remittances of e-marketplace operations and digital financial services providers to the sellers or merchants for goods or services paid through their platform shall be subject to a 1% creditable withholding tax.

Withholding tax is the amount withheld by a business in payments of goods or services directly remitted to the government on behalf of suppliers or employees.

The BIR, however, said earlier that the 1% withholding tax shall not be collected “if the annual total gross remittances to an online seller for the past taxable year has not exceeded P500,000” and “if the cumulative gross remittances to an online seller in a taxable year has not yet exceeded P500,000.”

Gross remittances were defined as the total amount received by an e-marketplace operator or digital financial services provider from a buyer or consumer for the goods and services sold by or paid to the seller or merchant through the platform of the e-marketplace operator.

Lumagui said that the number of online sellers registering their businesses with the BIR was encouraging.

The BIR chief added that the tax collection agency is continuously ramping up its information drive to promote tax registration among online entrepreneurs.

“Patuloy din ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa online platforms (Our coordination with online platforms continues),” Lumagui said.

He also warned unregistered online businesses that the BIR has the authority to close their online stores or shops.

Lumagui has issued Revenue Regulations No. 15-2024 (RR No. 15-2024), which prescribes the policies of the agency in relation to the registration of brick-and-mortar stores and online businesses.

He earlier said that Section 8 of RR No. 15-2024 states that business operations may be suspended through the issuance of a Closure/Take Down Order against physical or online businesses.

The BIR argued earlier that with the proliferation of online sales transactions through the facilities of online platform providers, there was a need to take advantage of the opportunity to identify sellers of goods and services who are obliged to declare their income resulting from these transactions for tax purposes. — VBL, GMA Integrated News