diff --git a/distroless/private/group.bzl b/distroless/private/group.bzl
index e273612..28f2dfd 100644
--- a/distroless/private/group.bzl
+++ b/distroless/private/group.bzl
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def group(name, groups, **kwargs):
         stamp = 0,
         template = [
             "#mtree",
-            "etc/group uid=0 gid=0 mode=0644 time=0 type=file content={content}",
+            "etc/group uid=0 gid=0 mode=0644 time=0.0 type=file content={content}",
             "",
         ],
         substitutions = {
diff --git a/distroless/private/tar.bzl b/distroless/private/tar.bzl
index 514461f..408023d 100644
--- a/distroless/private/tar.bzl
+++ b/distroless/private/tar.bzl
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@
 
 BSDTAR_TOOLCHAIN = "@aspect_bazel_lib//lib:tar_toolchain_type"
 
-def _mtree_line(dest, type, content = None, uid = "0", gid = "0", time = "1672560000", mode = "0755"):
+DEFAULT_GID = "0"
+DEFAULT_UID = "0"
+DEFAULT_TIME = "0.0"
+DEFAULT_MODE = "0755"
+
+def _mtree_line(dest, type, content = None, uid = DEFAULT_UID, gid = DEFAULT_GID, time = DEFAULT_TIME, mode = DEFAULT_MODE):
     # mtree expects paths to start with ./ so normalize paths that starts with
     # `/` or relative path (without / and ./)
     if not dest.startswith("."):
@@ -21,7 +26,7 @@ def _mtree_line(dest, type, content = None, uid = "0", gid = "0", time = "167256
         spec.append("content=" + content)
     return " ".join(spec)
 
-def _add_parents(path, uid = "0", gid = "0", time = "1672560000", mode = "0755"):
+def _add_parents(path, uid = DEFAULT_UID, gid = DEFAULT_GID, time = DEFAULT_TIME, mode = DEFAULT_MODE):
     lines = []
     segments = path.split("/")
     segments.pop()
diff --git a/examples/cacerts/BUILD.bazel b/examples/cacerts/BUILD.bazel
index 03bdd0d..373d91c 100644
--- a/examples/cacerts/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/examples/cacerts/BUILD.bazel
@@ -11,14 +11,14 @@ assert_tar_listing(
     actual = "cacerts",
     expected = """\
 #mtree
-./etc time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl/certs time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt nlink=0 time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=200313 cksum=3175436394 sha1digest=01b4ff230afaeeda5cddaf9a002cec9bc9a6d1b4
-./usr time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./usr/share time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./usr/share/doc time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./usr/share/doc/ca-certificates time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./usr/share/doc/ca-certificates/copyright nlink=0 time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=18940 cksum=3142022593 sha1digest=4c49e10ddbcfc0f36816df7f9cb503d665621017
+./etc time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl/certs time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt nlink=0 time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=200313 cksum=3175436394 sha1digest=01b4ff230afaeeda5cddaf9a002cec9bc9a6d1b4
+./usr time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./usr/share time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./usr/share/doc time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./usr/share/doc/ca-certificates time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./usr/share/doc/ca-certificates/copyright nlink=0 time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=18940 cksum=3142022593 sha1digest=4c49e10ddbcfc0f36816df7f9cb503d665621017
 """,
 )
diff --git a/examples/home/BUILD.bazel b/examples/home/BUILD.bazel
index 1919573..4ec14cc 100644
--- a/examples/home/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/examples/home/BUILD.bazel
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ assert_tar_listing(
     actual = "home",
     expected = """\
 #mtree
-./home time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./home/nonroot time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=666 uid=666 type=dir
-./root time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./home time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./home/nonroot time=0.0 mode=755 gid=666 uid=666 type=dir
+./root time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
 """,
 )
diff --git a/examples/java_keystore/BUILD.bazel b/examples/java_keystore/BUILD.bazel
index b7fd0ad..1623d53 100644
--- a/examples/java_keystore/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/examples/java_keystore/BUILD.bazel
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ assert_tar_listing(
     actual = "java_keystore",
     expected = """\
 #mtree
-./etc time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl/certs time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl/certs/java time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
-./etc/ssl/certs/java/cacerts nlink=0 time=1672560000.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=5349 cksum=3752477219 sha1digest=015078faa5537fcabb6c7e73fe2dedf8241b106d
+./etc time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl/certs time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl/certs/java time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=dir
+./etc/ssl/certs/java/cacerts nlink=0 time=0.0 mode=755 gid=0 uid=0 type=file size=5349 cksum=3752477219 sha1digest=015078faa5537fcabb6c7e73fe2dedf8241b106d
 """,
 )