The Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (Republic Act No. 11967) established a regulatory framework for e-commerce in the Philippines and created the E-Commerce Bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry. It covers online merchants, e-retailers, e-marketplaces, and digital platforms, imposes duties on them toward consumers, and gives the government enforcement powers over internet transactions.
For two decades, selling online in the Philippines sat in a regulatory grey zone. Consumers who were scammed had a criminal remedy and little else; platforms disclaimed responsibility; and the rules that applied to a physical store were unevenly applied to a Facebook page. Republic Act No. 11967, the Internet Transactions Act of 2023, signed on 5 December 2023, changed that.
What the Law Does
The ITA builds a regulatory framework for e-commerce, aimed at protecting both online consumers and legitimate online merchants. Its centrepiece institutionally is the creation of the Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry, which is tasked with protecting online consumers and merchants engaged in internet transactions, and with developing the e-commerce environment.
The premise is straightforward: a transaction does not stop being a sale because it happens through an app. Consumer protection, product standards, and business regulation follow the transaction online.
Who Is Covered
The Act reaches the range of players in an online sale, including:
- Online merchants and e-retailers — the sellers themselves;
- E-marketplaces and digital platforms — the intermediaries that host or facilitate the sale; and
- Others engaged in internet transactions within its scope.
This is the part small sellers most need to hear: the law is not written only for the large marketplaces. If you are selling goods or services online as a business, you are an online merchant, and the framework contemplates you. The Act also carries a Trustmark scheme administered through the DTI, intended to signal legitimacy to consumers.
Duties on Merchants and Platforms
The Act imposes obligations designed to make online sellers as accountable as physical ones. In broad terms, these run to honest representations about goods and services, disclosure of the seller’s identity and contact details, respect for consumer rights over defective or misdescribed products, and the handling of complaints.
Platforms bear their own duties rather than sitting neutrally above the transaction. Notably, e-marketplaces and other digital platforms are obliged to prohibit the sale and advertisement of regulated products on their platforms — a direct answer to the trade in unregistered medicines, food supplements, and other regulated goods conducted through online storefronts. Platforms are also expected to maintain systems for taking down unlawful listings and for dealing with merchants who breach the rules.
Why This Matters to Ordinary Sellers
Three practical consequences deserve attention.
First, “I only sell on social media” is not an exemption. If you are conducting business, the ordinary obligations follow: register with the DTI or SEC, register with the BIR, issue receipts, and comply with consumer law. The ITA reinforces rather than replaces those duties.
Second, the consumer’s existing rights still apply online. The Consumer Act’s rules on warranties and defective products, the Data Privacy Act’s rules on the personal information you collect from buyers, and the criminal law on estafa all continue to operate. The ITA adds a regulator and a framework; it does not displace them.
Third, enforcement now has a home. Before, an aggrieved online buyer's realistic options were a criminal complaint or nothing. The E-Commerce Bureau gives a dedicated administrative channel, and the Act contemplates enforcement measures against non-compliant merchants and platforms.
What Sellers Should Do Now
- Regularise the business: DTI or SEC registration, BIR registration and receipts, and local permits. An unregistered online store is exposed on every front at once.
- Be accurate: describe the product honestly, publish clear prices, shipping terms, and a return policy, and honour it. Most disputes are about expectation, not fraud.
- Keep records: order confirmations, chats, proof of delivery. They are your defence when a buyer alleges non-delivery.
- Mind the data: buyer names, addresses, and numbers are personal information under the Data Privacy Act, and casually posting a buyer's details to shame them is its own violation.
- Do not sell regulated products without the required licence — platforms are now specifically obliged to stop this, and the DTI has been explicit that unlicensed sale and advertisement of regulated products is prohibited.
For Buyers
Keep the listing, the chat, and the proof of payment; they are the case. Raise the issue with the merchant and the platform first, since both now have complaint obligations. If that fails, the DTI is the consumer regulator, and where the facts show deceit and damage, an online scam remains prosecutable as estafa, with the penalty raised one degree because it was committed through information and communications technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Internet Transactions Act? Republic Act No. 11967, signed on 5 December 2023, is the law establishing a regulatory framework for e-commerce in the Philippines. It created the E-Commerce Bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry to protect online consumers and merchants engaged in internet transactions.
Does the law apply to me if I only sell on social media? If you are selling goods or services online as a business, you are an online merchant within the framework's contemplation. Selling through social media does not exempt you from registering with the DTI or SEC and the BIR, issuing receipts, and complying with consumer law.
What duties does the law place on online platforms? E-marketplaces and digital platforms carry their own obligations rather than sitting neutrally above the transaction. Among others, they are obliged to prohibit the sale and advertisement of regulated products on their platforms, and to maintain systems for handling unlawful listings and non-compliant merchants.
What can I do if an online seller scammed me? Keep the listing, chat, and proof of payment, raise the matter with the merchant and the platform, and bring it to the DTI as the consumer regulator. Where there was deceit and damage, the conduct remains prosecutable as estafa, with the penalty one degree higher because it was committed through information and communications technology.
This commentary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
If you sell online and want to be compliant, or you have been wronged in an online transaction, our firm can advise you. You may reach us via Viber or WhatsApp, call us at 0995 433 5550, or send an email to vivasnobles@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.