The Department of Finance recently signed Revenue Regulations No. 12-2024 (“RR 12-2024”) removing the expiration date of electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (“eCAR”) issued for the transfer of real properties.
The eCAR is issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (“BIR”) and serves as proof that the transfer of real property was reported and that the relevant taxes have been paid by the taxpayer. It allows the Land Registration Authority (“LRA”)/Registry of Deeds (“RD”) to transfer the ownership of real properties. The eCAR replaces the manually prepared Certificate Authorizing Registration.
Prior to the issuance of RR 12-2024, eCARs had a validity period of five (5) years from the date of issuance. However, not all eCARs are presented to the RD within the five (5)-year validity period and the concerned parties would have to request for the reissuance of a new eCAR after the validity period has expired, thereby resulting in additional cost on the part of the taxpayer and workload on the part of the BIR.
With the issuance of RR 12-2024, the eCAR is now valid from the date of its issuance until such time that it is presented to the RD.
RR 12-2024 also provides that all eCARs issued through the BIR’s eCAR System, which is linked to the LRA System, shall remain valid and will no longer require revalidation even if the same is presented to the RD beyond the specified validity period.