The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has extended the Sept. 30 deadline for registration for the E-Commerce Philippine Trustmark to Dec. 31 to allow more small businesses to get the badge.
“The Trustmark is not a regulation to burden businesses but to serve as a tool that shields legitimate enterprises from scammers who undermine consumer confidence. Our aim is to make it simpler for consumers to identify and trust legitimate sellers, so entrepreneurs can focus on what truly matters -- growing their business,” DTI Secretary Cristina Roque said in a statement Friday.
In a briefing earlier in the day, Roque said major players such as TikTok, Lazada and Shopee, already have their badges and more are expected to secure theirs as the deadline nears.
“]Because you know sometimes, in things like this, they're really waiting for the last minute or they're still hoping that we can actually pull back on this Trustmark. Because they're making an issue of it or whatnot. But we stand firm that we really need to have the Trustmark in the products that are being sold,” she said.
As of Sept. 19, a total of 10,057 business have submitted their applications to secure the Trustmark, DTI E-Commerce Bureau Officer-in-Charge Eryl Royce Nagtalon said during the briefing.
Nagtalon estimated registered micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country at 1.2 million to 1.3 million, but less than half have listings on various online platforms.
He explained that while there are about 500,000 MSMEs that have shifted to e-commerce, the number might balloon to about 900,000 as some businesses offer their products not just on a single platform but on several online shopping sites.
Asked if they expect all registered MSMEs to register for the Trustmark, Nagtalon answered yes, saying it is “very good for the e-commerce system.”
“It’s good because it means the competition is very healthy, the e-commerce is very healthy,” he said.
Registration for the Trustmark is mandated under Republic Act 11967, otherwise known as the Internet Transactions Act of 2023, and the DTI’s Department Administrative Order 25-07.
Applicants need to pay the P1,000 annual application fee, PHP100 web administration fee, and P30 documentary stamp tax.
Excluded from paying the application fee and web administration fee during the first year are those that are registered under DTI’s Barangay (Village) Micro Business Enterprise.
DTI Assistant Secretary Marcus Valdez II said MSMEs are expected to grow their operations and eventually graduate to larger entities after the first year.
“If they are still in that range or in that sector after one year, then it means DTI has to do more things through our Negosyo (Business) Centers in the regional operations to help promote and help improve our small businesses to become bigger,” he said.
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