Internet Transactions Act: Seller Verification Guide

The Internet Transactions Act, RA 11967, requires e-marketplaces to collect each online merchant’s name, valid government ID or business registration, address, and contact details before the seller can list. Platforms must also keep a seller list that is updated and verified regularly. Verifying that information at onboarding is the clearest way to show the ordinary diligence the law expects.

What the Internet Transactions Act Covers

President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 11967 on 5 December 2023. The law protects online consumers and merchants and creates an E-Commerce Bureau under the DTI. Its implementing rules followed in 2024.

The Act applies to business-to-business and business-to-consumer internet transactions where one party is in the Philippines. Foreign platforms also fall under it when they serve the Philippine market. However, consumer-to-consumer sales and online media content sit outside its scope.

Two kinds of platforms carry different duties:

• E-marketplaces connect buyers with sellers and keep oversight over how each transaction completes. Section 21 applies to them.
• Other digital platforms, such as social media or listing sites, host sellers but do not oversee the sale itself. Section 22 sets a lighter list of duties for them.

Seller Information RA 11967 Requires Before Listing

Section 21(b) is the core of seller onboarding. As far as practicable, an e-marketplace must collect the following from every online merchant, Filipino or foreign, before the seller lists anything.

Requirement	Individual seller	Business seller
Identity	Name plus at least one valid government ID	Name plus business registration documents
Location	Geographic address	Geographic address
Contact	Mobile or landline number and a valid email	Mobile or landline number and a valid email
Licensed services	Professional body membership, if the service needs a regulated profession	Same, where relevant

Then Section 21(c) adds an ongoing duty. The platform must keep a list of all registered online merchants with that information, and the law says the list must be updated and verified regularly. On a subpoena tied to a sworn complaint, the platform must also hand over specific seller details.

The platform publishes most of these details for transparency, but not the IDs, registration papers, or private contact details. Those stay internal and fall under the platform’s data privacy duties in Section 21(d).

Why Verification Limits Platform Liability

Collecting documents is not the same as checking them. Yet that difference decides who pays when a sale goes wrong.

Under Section 26, an e-marketplace becomes subsidiarily liable to the buyer in three cases. First, if it failed to exercise ordinary diligence under Sections 21 and 22 and the buyer suffered loss. Second, if it ignored a takedown order or an infringement notice. Third, if a foreign seller has no legal presence in the Philippines and the platform cannot produce the seller’s contact details after notice.

The same section also offers protection. A platform is not liable for relying in good faith on a seller’s representations or registration documents. So a documented verification step works in your favor: it shows diligence and good faith at the same time.

Fines matter too. Section 29 sets administrative fines that rise with each offense, and the DTI can issue takedown orders and publish a list of non-compliant online businesses. In short, weak seller onboarding now carries legal and reputational cost.

A Seller Verification Flow for E-Marketplaces

A good flow checks each Section 21(b) item at the moment the seller submits it. The steps below fit most marketplaces.

1. Capture the ID. The seller photographs a PhilID, driver’s license, passport, or another accepted ID. OCR reads the name, number, and birth date into the form.
2. Check the record. Next, validate the ID details against the issuing agency’s data, so an edited or invented card fails early.
3. Match the face. A live selfie, checked for liveness, should match the ID portrait. This step ties the account to a real person, not just to a document.
4. Verify the business. For companies, check the SEC or DTI registration and confirm that the person onboarding is an authorized representative.
5. Confirm contact details. Send one-time codes to the phone and email, since the law asks for working contact channels.
6. Log everything. Finally, store results with timestamps. That record becomes your proof of diligence.

For business sellers, our guide to verifying SEC and DTI registration covers the registry checks in detail. Meanwhile, the list of accepted Philippine IDs helps you decide which documents to allow.

Common Seller Onboarding Gaps

Most platforms already ask for an ID. The gaps usually sit around that step.

• Photo-only checks. A clear photo of a card proves nothing about whether the card is real. Our note on spotting fake IDs shows what forgers change.
• No person behind the document. Without a selfie match, one fraudster can open many shops with borrowed IDs.
• Banned sellers returning. A blocked seller often comes back under a new name. Duplicate face search, as described in our piece on biometric deduplication, catches the same face on a new account.
• One-time checks. Section 21(c) speaks of a list that is verified regularly, so a check at sign-up alone may fall short.

How Verihubs Supports Seller Verification

Verihubs covers the identity steps in the flow above. Its ID verification for PhilSys and other government IDs validates seller details against official data. Then face recognition with liveness for seller onboarding confirms that a live person owns the ID.

Because the checks run through APIs, marketplaces can add them to an existing seller sign-up without rebuilding it. Each result comes back with a timestamp, which helps when the DTI or a buyer asks how the platform vetted a seller.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Internet Transactions Act in the Philippines?

Republic Act No. 11967, signed on 5 December 2023, regulates business internet transactions, protects online consumers, and creates the E-Commerce Bureau under the DTI.

Does the Internet Transactions Act require seller verification?

Yes, for e-marketplaces. Section 21 requires them to collect each seller’s ID or business papers, address, and contact details before listing, and to keep that list verified regularly.

Does RA 11967 cover social media sellers?

It covers business sales on digital platforms, including social media, under lighter Section 22 duties. Purely consumer-to-consumer sales are outside its scope.

Can an e-marketplace be liable for a seller’s fraud?

Yes, subsidiarily, if it failed to exercise ordinary diligence in its Section 21 duties and the buyer suffered loss. Good-faith reliance on submitted documents is a defense.

Do foreign sellers have to submit IDs?

Yes. Section 21(b) applies to all online merchants, whether foreign or Filipino, and asks for ID or registration papers before they list.

Turning the Internet Transactions Act Into a Seller Check

RA 11967 does not tell platforms which tool to use. Instead, it sets a standard: collect the right seller details, keep them current, and act with ordinary diligence. A verified ID, a live selfie that matches it, and a checked business registration meet that standard far better than a stored photo. They also cut the fake shops and repeat offenders that hurt buyers in the first place.

Reviewing your seller onboarding for RA 11967? Plan seller verification with Verihubs before your next audit.