REVENUE REGULATIONS NO. 15-2001 issued October 18, 2001 revises the regulations on the manner of purchase and affixture or payment of Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) on documents/facilities evidencing taxable transactions. Generally, the payment of the DST due on any taxable document/transaction, irrespective of the amount thereof, shall be made by the filing of a tax return and the payment of the tax. If the amount of DST due on a taxable document/transaction is P 15 or less, the taxpayer has the option to pay the DST due by way of purchasing loose documentary stamps. This general manner of payment is known as “constructive stamping of DST on the taxable document/facility evidencing the transaction” or the “receipt system” whereby constructive affixture is done by affixing to the taxable document/facility evidencing the transaction the duplicate copy or certified true copy of the DST return/proof of payment of DST. Under this payment system, advance purchase of DST for future application is not allowed. In lieu of constructive stamping, the Tax Code allows the payment of DST either through the purchase and actual affixture of loose documentary stamps or by imprinting of stamps through a documentary stamp metering machine of the proper value to the document or facility evidencing a transaction sought to be taxed subject to the following conditions: 1) loose documentary stamps shall be allowed to be used only when the amount of DST due on a taxable document/transaction does not exceed P 15; and 2) once the taxpayer has been granted by the BIR the authority to use the documentary stamp metering machine, the payment of DST on all transactions of such taxpayer, irrespective of the amount of DST due on each taxable income/transaction shall be done in the manner herein provided (either through the conventional electro-mechanical DST metering machine or on-line electronic DST imprinting machine) until such time that the permit to use the DST metering machine is revoked, and that the use of the DST metering machine is no longer mandatory to the industry/business in which the taxpayer belongs. In the case of taxpayers authorized/required to use DST metering machines, two (2) or more branches but not exceeding four (4) branches of such taxpayers may be allowed to use only one (1) DST metering machine, subject to certain conditions. The medium of affixture or payment of DST on certain taxable documents/transactions (i.e. insurance policies, taxable transactions of banks, etc.) are specified in the Regulations.