Tax Alert No. 18 [Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 29-2021 dated 26 February 2021]

Due to the continuing effect of COVID-19 pandemic, and taking into account the mandates of Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, or the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018”, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue has issued RMC No. 29-2021 to provide the policies and guidelines for the use of e-signature on certain BIR Forms/Certificates.

The salient provisions of RMC No. 29-2021 are:

• The withholding agents or its duly authorized representatives have the option to use e-signature in BIR Form Nos. 2304 (Certificate of Income Payment Not Subject to Withholding Tax), 2306 (Certificate of Final Tax Withheld at Source), 2307 (Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source) and 2316 (Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld). The Form shall also contain the manual/e-signature of the payee. The e-signature serves as the functional equivalent of the manual signature on the said Form/Certificate.
• There is no requirement for BIR approval for the usage of e-signature in the above mentioned Forms/Certificates.
• The Forms/Certificates should be the exact replica or copy of the latest version officially printed by the BIR or revised Form/Certificate, if any.
• The e-signature made herein gives rise to the following presumptions:
  • The e-signature is that of the person to whom it correlates;
  • The e-signature was affixed by that person with the intention of authenticating or approving the electronic document to which it is related or to indicate such person’s consent to the transaction embodied therein; and
  • The methods or processes utilized to affix or verify the e-signature operated without error or fault
• The withholding agent shall make sure that the Form/Certificate with e-signature shall only be issued once. In case of re-issuance or the payee requested for another copy, the re-issued Form/Certificate should contain a “RE-PRINT” watermark in Cambria font and font size of 144. This is to avoid double take up of tax credits, especially BIR Form No. 2307.
• In case of falsity or any misrepresentations contained in the Form/Certificate, those responsible therefore shall be held criminally, civilly and administratively liable.

You may access the full version of this issuance through the BIR website.