The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has suspended the mandatory display of its QR-coded Registration Seal Badge for online businesses following growing concerns over taxpayer privacy, security and compliance burdens raised by former PGMN Anchor and finance content creator Antonette Aquino, alongside other public figures and lawmakers.
Under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 113-2026, dated Oct. 26, BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza suspended the mandatory display requirement until further notice, just five days before the Oct. 31 compliance deadline.
Taxpayers who have already secured their badges may continue displaying them voluntarily. The BIR also clarified that no penalties will be imposed solely for failing to display the badge during the suspension.
The development follows Aquino’s Oct. 21 open letter to Mendoza, in which she raised concerns about the exposure of taxpayers’ personal information through the badge’s QR-code verification system.
Aquino warned that the system could reveal full legal names and taxpayer identification numbers, potentially exposing online sellers, freelancers and content creators to identity theft, harassment, stalking and doxing.
She also questioned unclear compliance guidelines and the additional administrative burden on micro-entrepreneurs and independent digital earners.
While acknowledging the government’s goal of identifying legitimate online businesses, Aquino proposed a centralized verification system that would allow customers to confirm tax registration without publicly exposing identifiable taxpayer information.
In his response, Mendoza acknowledged the concerns and confirmed that the BIR was coordinating with the National Privacy Commission (NPC) to develop safeguards for the verification system.
“Our objective is to preserve reliable verification without compromising taxpayer privacy or personal safety,” Mendoza said.
He clarified that the badge requirement applied only to accounts used for business or professional purposes, not purely personal accounts. He also explained that no penalties applied solely for non-display during the previously announced extension period.
The controversy also drew criticism from actress and content creator Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio, who questioned the additional requirement in an Oct. 14 report by Philstar.com.
Peralejo said she had been paying taxes since beginning her entertainment career at age 13 and expressed frustration over having to provide additional public proof of compliance.
She described the requirement as insulting amid allegations of government corruption, questioning why ordinary taxpayers faced additional obligations while concerns over the misuse of public funds remained unresolved.
Entrepreneur and content creator Carlo Ople also examined the controversy with tax expert Mon Abrea in the Oct. 22 episode of his “Project 7 to 1 Podcast,” titled “Dear BIR with Mon Abrea.”
Their discussion explored whether the badge could help protect consumers against unregistered online businesses or instead create additional difficulties for taxpayers already attempting to comply with registration requirements.
Abrea acknowledged the potential value of helping customers identify legitimate businesses but questioned the implementation process, calling for clearer instructional materials and simpler procedures.
Ople also raised concerns about the additional steps required of local online sellers and questioned how the policy would apply to foreign merchants operating through digital marketplaces.
The discussion highlighted the challenge of improving tax compliance without placing unnecessary burdens on small businesses and independent earners.
The issue also reached the Senate, where Senator Pia Cayetano, Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance handling the NPC’s budget, raised the privacy concerns with the commission.
Cayetano acknowledged concerns that the badge’s embedded QR code could expose online sellers’ and content creators’ personal information, including their full legal names.
She urged concerned government agencies to address the data protection issues before the Oct. 31 deadline while balancing tax compliance with individual privacy.
Senator Bam Aquino separately appealed for the requirement’s temporary suspension and called for public consultations with affected online entrepreneurs.
“Hiling natin sa BIR: ipagpaliban muna ang Registration Seal Badge requirement. Pakinggan muna natin ang hinaing ng mga online sellers at content creators,” the senator said.
Bam also urged the BIR to simplify implementation and address compliance difficulties, particularly as online businesses face higher operating costs.
The Registration Seal Badge was introduced under RMC No. 38-2026 as an alternative to publicly displaying a full Certificate of Registration (COR) or electronic COR on websites, e-commerce storefronts and social media business pages.
The badge allows customers to verify a business’s registration through a QR code while reducing the amount of information displayed directly on the business page.
However, concerns emerged over the personal details accessible through the verification process itself.
According to the BIR, more than 52,700 certificates with Registration Seal Badges had been secured as of Oct. 14. The badges can be obtained through the agency’s Online Registration and Update System (ORUS) or Revenue District Offices.
Following the Oct. 26 announcement, Antonette Aquino welcomed the suspension in a Facebook post.
“The BIR has suspended the seal badge requirement!!” she wrote, thanking everyone who shared, commented and raised their voices.
“Let’s see if BIR fixes the privacy issue and makes compliance simpler and more affordable for small taxpayers,” she added.
The suspension follows weeks of public discussion involving taxpayers, content creators, entrepreneurs, government regulators and lawmakers.
While the BIR has not announced when mandatory display might resume, RMC No. 113-2026 suspends that requirement until further notice.
The circular does not eliminate existing tax registration obligations. Whether the BIR will revise the QR-code verification system or introduce additional privacy safeguards remains to be seen.
