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How to Retire or Permanently Withdraw a CRM/POS Machine From BIR Use

·4 mins
Guides BIR Compliance Tax Compliance BIR Philippines

Retiring a Cash Register Machine (CRM), Point-of-Sale (POS) machine, or similar sales machine requires written notice to the BIR within 5 days of the machine’s last use, along with its final reading and its original Permit to Use (PTU), before the Revenue District Office (RDO) will cancel the machine’s registration — this is a different process from transferring or repairing a machine that stays in use.

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What governs CRM/POS retirement, and why does it require BIR approval? #

Cash register and POS machines are individually registered with the BIR because each one generates official receipts or invoices the BIR relies on for sales reporting — so a machine can’t simply be unplugged and thrown out; its registration has to be formally cancelled first.

Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2004 governs the accreditation, registration, and use of CRM/POS and other business machines that generate receipts or invoices, and Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 69-2020 sets out the current, streamlined procedure for cancelling a machine’s Permit to Use — issued to align BIR processing with the Ease of Doing Business Act (Republic Act No. 11032). RR No. 11-2004 frames the underlying obligation this way:

Registered machines may be withdrawn from use, either by retirement or sale, only upon prior application of, and approval by, the concerned RDO or LT Office — and upon approval, the user must submit the Permit to Use previously granted for that machine for immediate cancellation.

What is the step-by-step retirement procedure under RMC No. 69-2020? #

RMC No. 69-2020 lays out a defined sequence: notify, submit proof of last use, undergo inspection, and receive a Cancellation Certificate — each step exists so the BIR can match the machine’s final recorded sales against what the taxpayer has reported.

  1. Notify the RDO or LT Office in writing within 5 days from the date the machine was last used or withdrawn from use, stating the reason (retirement, sale, or permanent withdrawal)
  2. Submit the machine’s final reading — the Z-reading for a POS machine or the audit tape/reset-counter reading for a CRM — along with the corresponding page from the Cash Register Sales Book
  3. Surrender the original PTU and the machine’s decal for cancellation, together with a reprint of the last receipt or invoice issued
  4. Undergo a physical inspection of the machine by a revenue officer, who regenerates a Z-reading or reset-counter reading on the spot to match against what was submitted — inspection may only be waived in limited cases such as a software-only modification
  5. Receive the BIR’s Cancellation Certificate — issued within 7 days of the request, or within 3 working days if the inspection requirement was validly dispensed with

Once cancelled, the machine’s Permit to Use and its Machine Identification Number (MIN) are removed from the BIR’s eAccReg system, and the taxpayer should update its inventory of registered machines and any related sales book records accordingly.

What happens if a taxpayer skips the retirement process? #

Continuing to hold an unretired PTU on a machine that’s no longer in use, or failing to formally report a machine’s withdrawal, exposes the taxpayer to registration and invoicing penalties under the NIRC — the same general provisions that apply to other receipt and invoicing violations, since an unretired machine remains, on paper, an active source of BIR-monitored sales.

Summary #

Retiring a CRM or POS machine is a formal, inspected process under RMC No. 69-2020 — written notice within 5 days of last use, surrender of the final reading and the original Permit to Use, a physical inspection, and a Cancellation Certificate from the RDO — not something a taxpayer can simply stop reporting on its own. For the related process of transferring or upgrading a machine that stays in service, see Do You Need to Notify the BIR Before Transferring, Repairing, or Upgrading Your CRM or POS Machine?, and for the broader compliance checklist covering machine violations, see BIR Compromise Penalties for Cash Register Machine (CRM) and POS Compliance Failures: A Checklist.