By: Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
The Internet Transactions Act of 2023
(Part II)
In the previous issue, we started featuring Republic Act No. 11967, or The Internet Transactions Act of 2023. To avoid ambiguity about the meaning of the technical terms related to Internet transactions, the law defines important terms used. We continue with the terminologies used in the law in this issue.
As used in the Act:
Goods refer to physically or digitally produced items over which ownership or proprietary rights may be established and transferred from one (1) institutional unit to another by entering into a transaction;
Internet Transaction refers to the sale or lease of digital or non-digital goods and services over the internet. For purposes of this Act, internet transactions shall also refer to e-commerce;
Online Consumer refers to a natural or juridical person who purchases, leases, receives, or subscribes to goods or services over the internet for a fee;
Online Merchant refers to a person selling non-financial goods or services to online consumers through an e-marketplace or third-party digital platform. An e-retailer shall also be considered an online merchant if it offers the same goods or services outside its own website through a third-party digital platform and the online consumer purchases, leases, subscribes to, or obtains the service of the e-retailer through the said third-party platform; and
Producer refers to the manufacturer or importer of goods, or any person purporting to be a manufacturer, who places its name, trademark, or other distinctive sign on goods.
Since Internet transactions have no physical boundaries, the law has made it clear that a person who engages in e-commerce, who avails of the Philippine market to the extent of establishing minimum contacts herein, shall be subject to applicable Philippine laws and regulations and cannot evade legal liability in the Philippines despite lack of legal presence in the country (Section 5).
Unless otherwise specified, this Act shall be construed to ensure that those who engage in e-commerce shall not enjoy any beneficial treatment that is more favorable, nor be placed at a disadvantage, in relation to other enterprises that offer goods and services offline in the Philippines (Section 6). (more on this next issue)