DTI pushes for PWD and senior citizen discounts for e-commerce and online selling!


This includes a 12% VAT Exemption as well!

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has released a note that urges online sellers and e-commerce companies to also honor PWD and Senior Citizens discounts similar to how they work in offline and physical markets.

The memorandum named “Guidelines on the Provision of the Mandatory Statutory Benefits and Privileges of the Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities on their Purchases through Online (e-commerce) and Phone Call/SMS” calls for the amended RA 9257 and RA 9442 laws which honor a 20% discount for selected products in online shops, as well as 12% VAT exemptions. In addition, senior citizens and PWDs could also receive a 5% discount on basic commodities and would have a total cap of Php1,300 for both online and offline transactions with no carryovers for the unused amount. This amount shall be spent on at least four kinds of basic commodities.

This Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) also requests online stores and e-commerce shops to tweak their website/application so that this PWD and Senior Citizen discount could be honored. The redesign may include the establishment accepting the user’s PWD or Senior Citizen ID, and the use of discounts and vouchers, whether physical or digital, the discount should be added atop of the voucher.

In order to receive this special discount, a user must declare they are indeed, in fact, a PWD or senior citizen. With that, they need to send a seller valid documents such as a scanned copy of their PWD or Senior Citizen ID as well as the front and last page of the purchase booklet. The same documentation must be presented upon the delivery of goods and orders.

Source: DTI