The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) suspended on Monday, Oct. 26, the mandatory online posting of its Registration Seal Badge until further notice, following data privacy concerns raised by online sellers, content creators, and lawmakers.
Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 113-2026, dated Oct. 26, also suspends the Oct. 31 compliance deadline.
The circular covers the requirement introduced under RMC No. 38-2026 and supplemented by RMC Nos. 64-2026 and 99-2026.
BIR commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said the suspension would allow the agency to review the implementation of the requirement and address privacy and technical concerns.
“When BIR issued RMC 38-2026 last April 29, 2026, the Seal Badge was introduced as an alternative to posting the full Certificate of Registration (COR) online, as required under Revenue Regulations Nos. 7-2024 and 15-2024, issued pursuant to the Ease of Paying Taxes Act,” Mendoza said in a statement.
“We recognize that protecting personal information online presents different and more complex challenges than displaying a COR at a physical business establishment.”
The BIR said it will work with the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and consult affected taxpayers and other stakeholders as it reviews the requirement.
Taxpayers who have already obtained their Registration Seal Badges may continue displaying them voluntarily. No penalties will be imposed solely for failure to display the badge while the suspension is in effect.
The circular does not set a new compliance deadline.
The suspension follows calls from Senators Bam Aquino and Pia Cayetano for the BIR to pause the requirement ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline.
Aquino has urged the agency to defer implementation and listen to concerns from online sellers and content creators.
“Hiling natin sa BIR: ipagpaliban muna ang Registration Seal Badge requirement. Pakinggan muna natin ang hinaing ng mga online sellers at content creators,” Aquino said.
Cayetano raised concerns that the badge’s embedded QR code could expose personal information, including taxpayers’ full legal names.
She said she had brought the issue to the NPC and called for the agencies concerned to resolve the data protection issues before the deadline.
Under RMC No. 38-2026, the badge was introduced as an alternative to publicly displaying a full Certificate of Registration on websites, e-commerce platforms, and business-related social media accounts.
The measure covers online sellers, e-commerce merchants, digital service providers, freelancers, vloggers, content creators, and influencers.
The BIR had previously extended the deadline to Oct. 31 under RMC No. 99-2026.
The badge was intended to allow customers and other parties to verify a taxpayer’s registration through a QR code without requiring the full registration document to be posted publicly.
However, concerns emerged over the personal information that could be accessed through the verification system.
