Whenever you go to a 'sari-sari' store or a business establishment and the owner or cashier is short of change, they will either give you a candy or tell you that they owe you a few cents. Most buyers do not bother to demand for the exact change. After all, the amount is less than a peso. Although this is a common and acceptable act to people running a business in the Philippines, enacting a bill into a law, which requires establishments to provide exact change will render this practice a violation.
The law ensures that providing exact change to customers becomes a legal responsibility. Business owners should prepare peso coins to complete the buyer's change. Reasoning that you do not have a few cents to complete the change will no longer be an acceptable excuse.
In fact, it is much better to provide excess change that give customers less than what you owe them. If you used to consider giving candies as an acceptable option for the lack of loose coins or bills, the law will prohibit this act. Customers are also encouraged to demand for exact change.
Republic Act No. 10909
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For the purpose o this Act, the following terms shall mean:
a)Business establishment - any person, natural or juridical, whether single proprietorship, partnership or corporation, including a government-owned and -controlled corporation or a government entity exercising its proprietary functions, engaged in, or doing business in the Philippines, either in selling goods or providing services;
b) Change - the excess in the payment given by a consumer for goods and services purchased or received from a business establishment;
c) Consumer - a natural person who purchases goods or services in cash;
d) Goods - all types of tangible property that could be bought and sold, and the possession of which could be transferred in whole or in part, temporarily or permanently.
e) Gross sales - the total invoice value of sales, before deducting for customer discount, allowances and returns;
f) Insufficient change - a change that is less than what is due the consumers;
g) Price - tag any device written, printed, affixed or attached to a good, or displayed in a consumer retail or service establishment for the purpose of indicating the retail price per unit or services;
h) Services - all types of commercial activities which enable the supply, access to, consumption or use of goods, intellectual property or other services; and
i) Shortchange - the act of giving insufficient or no change to a consumer who purchased a product or service.
Sec. 6. Penalties. - Any violation of this Act as determined by the DTI under Section 5 hereof shall be punished as follows: for the first offense, a violator shall be fined five hundred pesos (P500.00) or three percent (3%) of the gross sales of the business establishment on the day of the violation, whichever is higher; for the second offense, a violator shall be fined five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) or five percent (5%) of the gross sales whichever is higher; for the third offense, a violator shall be fined fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) or seven percent (7%) of the gross sales of the business establishment on the day of the violation, whichever is higher, and the license to operate of the business establishment shall be suspended for three (3) months; and for the fourth offense, a violator shall be fined twenty-five thousand pesos (P25,000) or ten percent (10%) of the gross sales of the business establishment on the day of the violation, whichever is higher, and the license to operate of the business establishment shall be revoked.
