REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 38-2025 issued on April 23, 2025 clarifies the requirement of submission of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of cooperative members for the issuance of Certificate of Tax Exemption (CTE) in relation to Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 158-2022.

All cooperatives must ensure that their members possess valid TIN in compliance with Section 236 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended (Tax Code) and Revenue Regulations No. 7-2012. As a general rule, the cooperative must submit a list of all its members with their corresponding TINs to the BIR, along with other documentary requirements pursuant to Revenue Memorandum Order No. 76-2010.

However, in case the cooperatives fail to secure the TIN of all its members due to justifiable reasons, the cooperatives are given a period of nine (9) months to comply with the TIN requirement, but in no case shall it delay the processing and issuance by the concerned office of the BIR of the CTE of the cooperative.

The cooperative which fails to secure the TIN of all its members are required to submit a Sworn Affidavit stating therein all the justifiable reasons for failure to comply with the TIN requirement for its members prior to the application of CTE, and with an undertaking that the cooperative will comply with the TIN requirement within 9 months from the issuance of CTE subject to administrative penalties as prescribed under RMC No. 158-2022.

The justifiable reasons advanced shall be taken into account in formulating policies, rules and procedures to further improve taxpayers’ service and enhance the system of issuing TIN especially to individual taxpayers.

The application for CTE of the cooperative, where the only lacking requirement is the TIN of its members, will still be processed and the corresponding CTE issued by the concerned office of the BIR, provided that a Sworn Affidavit is submitted.

No CTE of the cooperatives shall be suspended/revoked and no application for CTE shall be denied solely on the basis of the non-submission of the TIN of its members until the availability of the enhanced Online Registration and Update System (ORUS) of the BIR is in place, provided that the required Sworn Affidavit is submitted. A separate revenue issuance shall be promulgated as soon as the enhanced ORUS is available and already in place.