SEC renews call for availment of amnesty program for companies

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has renewed its call for companies to avail of its amnesty program with the deadline looming.

In a statement, the SEC urged non-compliant and suspended or revoked corporations to start 2024 with a clean slate by availing of the amnesty before the year ends.

The corporations now have less than three weeks to avail of the amnesty program until the final deadline on Dec. 31 this year.

According to the SEC, failure to avail of the amnesty will subject non-compliant and suspended or revoked corporations to a new scale of fines that will be implemented starting Jan. 1, 2024.

The amnesty program was launched last March by the SEC to improve compliance with reportorial requirements.

This will be made possible by allowing non-compliant and suspended or revoked corporations to pay a reduced penalty for the late and non-filing of their general information sheets (GIS), annual financial statement, and official contact details required under SEC Memorandum Circular 28, Series of 2020.

“Availing of the amnesty entitles non-compliant corporations to pay a fixed amnesty rate of P5,000, regardless of the number of reports and number of years they failed to submit their reports,” the SEC said.

“Meanwhile, suspended and revoked corporations shall pay only 50 percent of their total assessed fines, on top of a P3,060 petition fee,” it said.

Based on a list which the SEC released last October, there were 22,403 ordinary corporations in danger of having their certificates of incorporation revoked for their failure to submit their GIS within five years from the date of incorporation.

A separate list covering 298,335 ordinary corporations that have failed to submit their GIS for three times consecutively or intermittently within five years has likewise been released.

“Such corporations are encouraged to avail of the amnesty program to avoid getting their corporate registrations revoked or getting tagged as delinquent,” the SEC said.

“Availing of the amnesty will also allow them to continue enjoying the benefits and privileges of being a registered business in the Philippines,” it said.

The SEC said corporations applying for amnesty may proceed to the SEC Amnesty Microsite at amnesty.sec.gov.ph for step-by-step guidance on how to avail of the program.