If you sell, freelance or make content online, you have until October 31 to post a BIR Registration Seal Badge, and a missing one can cost ₱1,000 per violation once the deadline passes. Two senators asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on October 24 to pause the rule over privacy fears. As of October 25, the BIR has not announced any pause, so the deadline still stands.
Here is what the senators want, why creators are worried about the badge's QR code, and what you can do this week.
What the senators are asking the BIR to do
Senator Bam Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, asked the BIR to suspend the badge requirement, or at least waive fines for non-compliance until the end of the year, The Manila Times reported. He also asked the agency to hold in-person consultations with online sellers, social media merchants and content creators.
"Why should we burden them further with a process that offers them no benefit?" Aquino said. He cited continuing confusion over the compliance steps, how the badge works with selling platforms, and data privacy safeguards.
Senator Pia Cayetano took a different route. She said sellers and creators worry that the badge's embedded QR code could expose personal details, including their full legal names. She raised the issue with the National Privacy Commission (NPC), whose budget she is handling in the Senate, according to Newsbytes.PH.
Neither senator's request changes the rule by itself. Only the BIR can move or suspend the deadline.
Who needs the BIR Registration Seal Badge
The badge comes from Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 38-2026, issued on April 29, 2026. It lets you post a small QR-coded badge as proof of registration instead of your full Certificate of Registration (COR), KPMG Philippines explained. The full COR shows sensitive details such as your address and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
According to Grant Thornton Philippines' summary of RMC 38-2026, the rule covers anyone doing business or practising a profession with an online presence:
- online sellers and e-commerce businesses;
- content creators, including bloggers, vloggers, influencers and live streamers;
- online service providers, such as freelancers;
- websites and e-marketplace platforms.
The badge goes on your website, app, online shop or marketplace profile page. It must be clear, readable and unaltered.
The privacy problem with the badge's QR code
Scanning the badge opens the BIR's verification portal at verify.bir.gov.ph. The portal shows the owner's registered full name and a partly hidden TIN, Rolling Stone Philippines reported.
That is the core of the complaint. For a sole proprietor, the registered name is usually the owner's own name. Faceless creators and home-based sellers say this makes it easier for scammers, stalkers or harassers to find out who they are.
The BIR's own argument runs the other way. Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza has said a taxpayer should not have to expose a whole registration document just to prove a business is registered. In an October 22 reply to a creator, Mendoza said the BIR "is already coordinating with the National Privacy Commission" and may refine what the verification system shows, according to a Manila Times column. The NPC had not issued a public statement when that column was written.
Fines and the October 31 deadline
The deadline has already moved once. RMC 99-2026 extended it to October 31, 2026, and says no penalties will be imposed solely for not displaying the badge during the extension, Grant Thornton noted.
After that, the fines under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 15-2024 apply. According to The Manila Times, these are:
| Violation | Fine |
|---|
| Not displaying the COR or Registration Seal Badge on storefronts and digital platforms | ₱1,000 per violation |
| Failing to register a store or business name | ₱1,000 |
| Late voluntary registration | ₱1,000 |
Compare that with the cost of complying. The badge itself is free, but sellers whose COR has no QR code pay a ₱30 Loose Documentary Stamp Tax when they update their registration online. By our math, one ₱1,000 fine is about 33 times that ₱30 one-time cost (₱1,000 ÷ ₱30 ≈ 33).
How to get the badge before October 31
If you are covered, waiting for a pause is a gamble. The steps through the BIR's Online Registration and Update System (ORUS), as described by Rolling Stone Philippines:
- Log in to ORUS, or create an account.
- Open your profile page and click "Synchronize."
- Scroll to the "Certificates and Permits" section.
- Download your COR with QR code and your Registration Seal Badge.
- Pay the ₱30 Documentary Stamp Tax through the BIR's ePayment channels if it applies to you, and keep the proof of payment.
You can also request the badge manually at your Revenue District Office (RDO). For the full registration process, see our guide to BIR registration for online sellers, including fees and the seal badge.
If you are buying: check the name, not just "valid"
The same column warns that a copied or screenshotted badge still opens the genuine BIR page. A buyer who only looks for the word "valid" could be fooled. Before paying, scan the badge, confirm that the link goes to verify.bir.gov.ph, and check that the name shown matches the shop. If it does not match, do not pay.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) also warned on October 16 that scammers may swap merchants' QR codes for fake ones, the column noted. Our explainer on paying safely with QR Ph covers the same habits, and if you are targeted, here is every way to report a scam in the Philippines.
What happens next
The BIR has six days to answer the senators before the deadline. It could suspend the rule, waive fines for a period, change what the verification portal shows, or keep October 31 as it is. Until it announces a change, the safest assumption for covered sellers and creators is that the deadline holds.
