It’s not just BIR: The Department of Trade and Industry also reminds online sellers and merchants to register their active businesses to avoid paying fines.
In our inquiry for a supposed-to-be future story about online selling, we sought the DTI-Rizal office for comments if online buying and selling businesses (i.e buying and selling of used smartphones and other gadgets) should acquire permits for their continuing transactions. The department spokesperson agrees that businesses should get permits not only from DTI but from other local agencies such as the BIR and your Local Government Unit.
However, if you are only selling items as a one-off transaction meant for personal purposes, there is no need for you to register. Only those that have been deemed to buy and/or sell items on a regular basis are required to do so.
If it’s NOT a business (just a personal sale), you don’t have to register it. However, if you are already buying old phones to resell to others on a regular basis, and using a name other than your real name for said activities, then it would already be deemed as a business and require government registration.
Department of Trade and Industry – Rizal spokesperson
This comes after the Bureau of Internal Revenue announced that online businesses need to register their businesses with the agency and voluntarily report their previous transactions before June 30 to avoid paying hefty fees. We initially sought the response of the government agency as well in the story that we were developing, but the news came out before their reply.
The government agency reminds everyone to register their business names as the basis for their transactions in other government agencies. This can be done through DTI’s Business Name Registration System (BNRS) which can be done online at this link. Payments can also be done online via credit and debit cards, or mobile wallets such as GCash.
