E-commerce and Government

A number of authors are unhanded by the fact that they cannot fully manipulate electronic commerce sufficiently to satisfy the demands of both governments and consumers. It is an actuality for both parties. Eventually, there are suggestive solutions with it. However, it has not been fully completed in order to diminish such issue.
According to wikipedia.org, a free online encyclopedia, “Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.” The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily since the spread of the Internet. A wide variety of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well. When President Estrada signed the e-commerce law, the Philippines became only the third country in Southeast Asia with legislation to promote and protect electronic transactions. This culminates a very long and tedious process that was started way back July 1st 1998, when Senator Juan M. Flavier filed the first of many bills that would eventually lead to the Philippine Electronic Commerce Act (R.A. 8792, an act providing for the recognition and use of electronic commercial and non- commercial transactions, penalties for the unlawful use thereof, and for other purposes). The E-Commerce law addresses the significant legal challenges facing Filipinos who wish to participate in this wealth-creating global phenomenon. First, it gives validity and legal recognition to electronic documents, electronic signatures and electronic transactions. Second, it facilitates the admission of electronic documents and electronic signature as evidence in cases of disputes. Third, it outlaws and penalizes unauthorized access to information and interference in communications systems (i.e., hacking, introduction of viruses and the like). Finally, it calls upon government to formulate and institute programs that are not only supportive of e-commerce but would actually get the government online. Many questions will be raised especially in the first months of the law’s implementation. This is an initial attempt to provide some answers to questions regarding to how the law was intended to mean. This will discuss many, not all, provisions of the law that we feel is the most important for the private as well as public sectors. As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in which it may be exposed. It would not be regarded as too early to take premature steps for undertaking such a review at a time when detailed international legislation are going on to promulgate acceptable standards laws for imposition taxation in this regard. The Central Board of Revenue should take active part in promulgation of conducting research on this subject in hand and should propose any changes to tax law in the light of what emerges in development in e-business. In the meantime, Central board of Revenue will do two things: make sure that e-commerce taxation requirements are fully considered when recommending amendments are made to existing laws, and such changes should be made to national tax laws that are needed as unforeseen legal obstacles to the growth of e-commerce emerge to subject to tax revenue constraints. If there is a difficulty in fitting any of our existing tax legislation to e-commerce transactions, then CBR should look at these emerging legal problems connect with its execution and administration. Uncertainty is bad for business. Taxpayers should not be left in doubt as to the applicability of a particular provision of tax laws. This is not to say that all of the existing tax legislation should be made applicable to e-commerce. However, the fact remains that e-commerce is just another way of doing business and it should normally be subject to the same tax requirements as any other method of doing business. The development of e-commerce may require some fine tuning of our tax laws in consistent in international legislative trends. The integrity of electronic documents provides for prima facie presumptions relating to electronic signatures: that the electronic signature is that of the person to whom it correlates, and that the signature was affixed with the intention of signing or approving the electronic document. This means that when A’s signature is attached to a document, one may presume that it is A’s signature and that he was the one who signed it with the intention of signing or approving the same. The presumption is, of course merely prima facie, it may be rebutted with better evidence to the contrary. What constitutes Original Documents is also discussed in the law. This is important as it impacts on rules of evidence or court procedures where the concept of original is most vital to whether one’s piece of evidence is admitted or not. Presently, where the law requires information to be presented or retained in its original form, that requirement would be deemed met by an electronic data message or document if the integrity of the information is shown by evidence aliunde or otherwise and that it is capable of being displayed to the person to whom it is to be presented. This provision of law will be of great help to those who go to court presenting electronic evidence. While the old paradigms could only conceive of original document as just being generally singular, this paves the way for the existence of many “originals” as long as the provision’s criteria of integrity and reliability are met. Nothing represents the modern office more than filing cabinets. Offices have rooms full of filing cabinets largely because there are no other ways of keeping files that are required by government or by law. This Act may yet make filing cabinets obsolete. Under this law, the retention of documents in its original form is satisfied by retaining them in the form of an electronic data message or electronic document as long as the criteria of accessibility, integrity, and identification of person and time are assured. The person required to retain the forms may also do it by using the services of a third party. This may be applied where the government, say the BIR, requires the retention of receipts for at least three years, for audit purposes. This can free corporations from having to keep the required documents in paper form. Affidavits are dealt with under Sections 14 and 15. The requirements in Section 9 on integrity, and Section 12 on admissibility may be established by affidavit. This is useful as the requirements may prove to be too stringent and inflexible. Of course, as in any statement contained in affidavits and presented in courts, such are subject to the right of the person against whom the affidavit is executed, to test the accuracy and truth of the affidavit by cross-examination. This Law applies to any kind of information in the form of a data message used in the context of commercial activities. This Act shall apply to any kind of electronic data message and electronic document used in the context of commercial and noncommercial activities to include domestic and international dealings, transactions, arrangements, agreements, contracts and exchanges and storage of information.These Rules apply where electronic signatures are used in the context of commercial activities. They do not override any rule of law intended for the protection of consumers. Any distinctive mark, characteristic and/or sound in electronic form, representing the identity of a person and attached to or logically associated with the electronic data message or any methodology or procedures employed by a person and executed or adopted by such person with the intention of authenticating or approving an electronic document. An electronic signature on the electronic document shall be equivalent to the signature of a person on a written document if the signature is an electronic signature and proved by showing that a prescribed procedure, not alterable by the parties interested in the electronic document, existed under which – a method is used to identify the party sought to be bound and to indicate said party’s access to the electronic document necessary for his consent or approval through the electronic signature; Said method is reliable and appropriate for the purpose for which the electronic document was generated or communicated, in the light of all circumstances, including any relevant agreement; It is necessary for the party sought to be bound, in order to proceed further with the transaction, to have executed or provided the electronic signature; and The other party is authorised and enabled to verify the electronic signature and to make the decision to proceed with the transaction authenticated by the same. Electronic documents shall have the legal effect, validity or enforceability as any other document or legal writing, and – where the law requires a document to be in writing, that requirement is met by an electronic document if the said electronic document maintains its integrity and reliability and can be authenticated so as to be usable for subsequent reference, in that – the electronic document has remained complete and unaltered, apart from the addition of any endorsement and any authorised change, or any change which arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; and the electronic document is reliable in the light of the purpose for which it was generated and in the light of all relevant circumstances. Paragraph applies whether the requirement therein is in the form of an obligation or whether the law simply provides consequences for the document not being presented or retained in its original form. A foreign certificate shall be deemed to have the same effect as that given to a certificate issued under this Act provided that a trustworthy system which is no less reliable than the trustworthy system under this Act is issued in the issuance of such foreign certificate and that the issuance is in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by the Commission. An electronic signature created and supported by a foreign certificate under section 38 shall be deemed to have the same effect as that given to an electronic signature supported by a certificate under this Act. The Internet has transformed the way individuals and companies conduct economic activity. Its now possible for individual firms to sell their products on the other side of the world and for individuals to purchase desired products and services from around the world via computer transactions. The economic, legal, and privacy implications of this have come to the attention of government agencies as well as they grapple with the economic, financial, personal, and other implications of these developments. These governments are producing numerous resources on electronic commerce or ecommerce as it is often called. E-commerce law will regulate the procedure of a concluding of online retail contracts and ensure its legal equality with the other forms of transactions. The norms of the law on e-signature shall extend on civil contracts in electronic form, including but not limited to sale and purchase, distribution of the goods, service contract, commission, storage, carriage, transport freight forward etc. The norms of the Law shall not however extend to such contracts, which, in accordance with RA legislation have to be notarized and/or registered. The law should also limit the liability of intermediaries in accordance with the general principles of civil legislation of the countries.
Thus, electronic commerce is one of the most significant law in our country and in the whole world. Like every area of business these days, ecommerce is surrounded by a maze of red tape, rules and regulations. In fact, selling online tends to be worse because of the international dimension. And any slip-ups you make are there for the world to see so it's doubly important to be legal and decent. It should be taken care of on how to blemish such law. Finally, assuming that you are legal and decent, let the world know. Anything that adds to your credibility will help online.


Reference:
http://www.smallbusinesssuccess.biz/articles_week/ecommerce_legislation_taxation.htm

http://synergy.media.am/Downloads/e-commerce-indicators-eng.htm