Online barter illegal: DTI

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The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yesterday said barter of goods which has become popular in social media platforms is illegal.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez told the Laging Handa virtual briefing the prevalence of barter online is very unusual because this form of trade is only allowed in certain areas in Mindanao like Sulu, Jolo and Tawi Tawi as provided in an executive order to improve the livelihood in these ares.

“In other areas, barter trade is not allowed. These should be treated as regular transactions,” Lopez said.

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He said merchants resorting to barter are violating the tax laws since these transactions should be covered by taxes.

Lopez said he has not heard of any complaints involving barter transactions but assured the DTI is actively working with the authorities to act on consumer complaints.

DTI has seen a surge of complaints in online transactions, rising 10 times to 10,000 in January to June from the whole of 2019 following the rise in the use of electronic commerce.

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