What Is the BIR eDST System and Who Must Use It to Pay Documentary Stamp Tax?

The BIR eDST System is the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s web-based platform for computing, imprinting, and paying Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) on taxable documents electronically, in place of physical loose stamps. First established under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 7-2009 for banks, insurers, and similar high-volume filers, an enhanced version under RR No. 28-2025 (issued December 22, 2025) expanded mandatory coverage to government agencies, LGUs, and notaries public, and introduced two payment modules for generating the electronic stamp.

What is the BIR eDST System? #

The eDST (Electronic Documentary Stamp Tax) System is a web-based application that computes DST due on a taxable document and produces a secured electronic stamp — a printed imprint carrying a verification code — in place of a physical loose documentary stamp affixed by hand. It was introduced to replace an older device called the Documentary Stamp Tax Electronic Imprinting Machine (DSEIM), which had known limitations around loading capacity, transaction errors, security, and reporting. Because the eDST imprint is generated and logged online, the BIR can trace a specific stamp back to the taxpayer, the document, and the tax paid, closing a gap that loose paper stamps left open to reuse or counterfeiting.

Who must use the eDST System? #

Mandatory eDST use has always been tied to taxpayer categories that generate high volumes of DST-taxable documents, and RR No. 28-2025 widened that list considerably beyond the original 2009 group. A taxpayer outside these categories may still enroll voluntarily, but is not required to.

For a corporation issuing shares of stock — one of the most common DST triggers covered elsewhere on this site — eDST enrollment matters mainly if the issuer itself falls into one of these mandated categories (for example, a bank or insurance company issuing its own shares); an ordinary non-mandated corporation issuing shares can still file manually. See Documentary Stamp Tax on Original Issuance of Shares of Stock for the current CMEPA-era rate on that transaction.

The Deposit Module vs the Non-Deposit Module #

RR No. 28-2025 requires every mandated taxpayer to enroll in the enhanced eDST System through one of two payment modules, and a taxpayer cannot use both at once — the choice locks in once selected. The two modules handle payment timing differently:

• Deposit Module — the taxpayer maintains a pre-funded balance. An advance deposit is credited to the taxpayer’s ledger account inside the eDST System, and the system deducts the corresponding tax due every time a documentary stamp is printed on a taxable document.
• Non-Deposit Module — the taxpayer prints stamps without funding an account in advance, but must pay the total DST due for the month before the applicable filing deadline, in the same way DST has traditionally been settled.

As described in secondary tax-advisory summaries of the regulation, the Deposit Module works on a running-balance basis:

“The Deposit Module shall refer to the module of the enhanced eDST system which requires an advance deposit to be credited to the system’s taxpayer’s ledger account and shall be deducted with the tax due for every printing of the documentary stamp on the taxable document.”

This is a secondary-source rendering of the RR No. 28-2025 provision (as summarized by tax advisory publications reporting on the regulation), not a quote independently confirmed against the BIR’s own published text of the RR — treat the substance as reliable but verify exact wording against the official issuance before citing it in a formal filing.

How the eDST process works #

Enrolling in and using the eDST System runs through the same eFPS account a taxpayer already uses for other electronic filings, not a separate standalone login. In practice, the process follows this sequence:

1. Enroll in eFPS first. eDST enrollment is only available to taxpayers already registered in the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS); eDST is not accessible on its own.
2. Apply for eDST access. The taxpayer submits an eDST enrollment application through the BIR’s eServices, selecting either the Deposit Module or the Non-Deposit Module.
3. Fund the account, if using the Deposit Module. Deposit Module users credit an advance balance to their eDST ledger before printing stamps against it.
4. Encode the document and generate the stamp. For each taxable document, the taxpayer enters the transaction details into the eDST System, which computes the DST due and produces a printable electronic stamp bearing a verification code.
5. File BIR Form 2000 through eFPS. For the monthly DST declaration, the taxpayer marks “eDST System” as the mode of affixture and reports the period’s transactions under the summary schedule, which totals the tax due automatically.
6. Pay the balance, if using the Non-Deposit Module. Non-Deposit Module users settle the month’s total DST through eFPS by the filing deadline; Deposit Module users have already paid down their ledger as each stamp was printed.
7. Keep the stamped documents and confirmation. The printed eDST imprint on each document, together with the eFPS filing confirmation, is the taxpayer’s proof that DST was both computed and paid for that transaction.

Regardless of module, the monthly BIR Form 2000 filing deadline stays the same as for manually stamped transactions — five days after the close of the month in which the document was made, signed, issued, accepted, or transferred, under Section 200 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC). See Documentary Stamp Tax: What It Is and When BIR Form 2000 Applies for the general filing deadline rule and how it was reaffirmed in Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 67-2024.

Can a mandated taxpayer still use loose stamps? #

A taxpayer mandated to use the eDST System generally cannot substitute loose documentary stamps or constructive affixture for a document that eDST is meant to cover — the whole point of the mandate is to remove the paper-stamp option for high-volume filers. Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 56-2025, which updated earlier guidance in RMC No. 92-2024, narrowed the remaining use of loose stamps: they may still be sold and affixed, but only for documents carrying a DST of ₱30.00, and only where that document is not otherwise required to be processed through eDST. This distinction matters most for notaries public, who under the enhanced eDST mandate now generate an electronic stamp for the jurat or acknowledgment on covered notarial acts rather than affixing the familiar ₱30 loose stamp — a change that does not affect the separate DST owed on the underlying document itself (a loan agreement, a deed, or a lease, for example).

Worked example: a bank issuing a promissory note through eDST #

A universal bank, mandated to use eDST as a financial intermediary under RR No. 7-2009, extends a ₱5,000,000 short-term loan to a corporate borrower under a promissory note dated July 15, 2026, and is enrolled in the Non-Deposit Module.

Because the bank is a mandated eDST user, it could not have affixed a ₱37,500 loose stamp to the note even if one were available — the electronic imprint is the only compliant method for a covered document under its mandate.

Frequently asked questions #

What is the BIR eDST System? #

The BIR eDST (Electronic Documentary Stamp Tax) System is a web-based platform that lets registered taxpayers compute, imprint, and pay Documentary Stamp Tax on taxable documents electronically instead of using physical loose stamps or the older Documentary Stamp Tax Electronic Imprinting Machine (DSEIM).

Who is required to use the eDST System? #

Under Revenue Regulations No. 7-2009 and the enhanced Revenue Regulations No. 28-2025, mandated users include banks, quasi-banks, non-bank financial intermediaries, finance companies, insurance/surety/fidelity/annuity companies, shipping and airline companies, pre-need companies, educational institutions, National Government Agencies, Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations, Local Government Units (excluding barangays), and notaries public for specific notarial acts. Other taxpayers may enroll voluntarily.

What governing regulation established the eDST System? #

Revenue Regulations No. 7-2009, issued October 2, 2009, first established the web-based eDST System to replace the Documentary Stamp Tax Electronic Imprinting Machine (DSEIM). Revenue Regulations No. 28-2025, issued December 22, 2025, introduced an enhanced version of the eDST System with expanded mandatory coverage and two new payment modules.

What is the difference between the Deposit Module and Non-Deposit Module? #

The Deposit Module requires a taxpayer to maintain an advance deposit credited to a ledger account inside the eDST System, which is deducted each time a documentary stamp is printed on a taxable document. The Non-Deposit Module lets a taxpayer print stamps without an advance deposit, provided the total Documentary Stamp Tax due is paid monthly before the filing deadline.

Do I need to be enrolled in eFPS to use eDST? #

Yes. A taxpayer must already be enrolled in the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) before enrolling in the eDST System, because the corresponding BIR Form 2000 declaration is filed through eFPS and payment for Non-Deposit Module users is settled through the same system.

Can a taxpayer still use loose documentary stamps instead of eDST? #

A taxpayer mandated to use the eDST System generally cannot rely on loose documentary stamps or constructive affixture for covered documents. Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 56-2025 clarifies that loose stamps may still be used only for documents with a Documentary Stamp Tax of ₱30.00, and only when those documents are not otherwise required to go through the eDST System — for example, certain notarial acts.

Summary #

The BIR eDST System replaces manual loose-stamp affixture with a web-based platform that computes, imprints, and logs Documentary Stamp Tax electronically, first established under RR No. 7-2009 and significantly expanded by the enhanced version in RR No. 28-2025. Mandated users — banks, insurers, shipping and airline companies, pre-need companies, schools, government agencies, LGUs, and notaries for specific acts — must enroll through eFPS in either the Deposit Module (pre-funded ledger) or the Non-Deposit Module (monthly settlement), and still file BIR Form 2000 on the same five-day-after-month-end deadline that applies to manual DST filers. For the underlying DST rules that apply regardless of filing method, see Documentary Stamp Tax: What It Is and When BIR Form 2000 Applies and DST on Loan Agreements and Promissory Notes.