SEC adds requirements in corporate registration

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is integrating certain reportorial requirements with its registration process to make it easier for corporations to comply.

The SEC recently issued SEC Memorandum Circular 23 which provides for the integration of newly registered corporations’ compliance with reportorial requirements with SEC Memorandum Circulars 28 and 1.

MC 28 requires every corporation and other regulated entity to create and designate an official email address and cellphone number while MC 1 provides the guidelines in preventing the misuse of corporations for illicit activities through measures designed to promote transparency of beneficial ownership.

It requires incorporators to disclose to the SEC the identities on whose behalf the registration of the corporation was applied for.

“Corporations’ reportorial and other regulatory requirements provide vital information and insights to policymakers, regulators, law enforcers, businesses, investors and other stakeholders,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said.

“In this light, we are making it easier for corporations to comply with these requirements, as well as for stakeholders to access and use them to inform their decisions and actions,” he said.

Thus, starting Dec. 18, new corporations no longer have to submit separate reports for their official and alternate email addresses and mobile phone numbers required under MC 28, as well as information on their beneficial owners pursuant to MC 1.

In addition, new corporations shall now be automatically enrolled in eFAST, the SEC’s online system for submission of reportorial requirements.

Following the launch of eFAST in 2021, all registered corporations have been required to submit their annual reportorial requirements such as the General Information Sheet and annual financial statements using eFAST.

Corporations previously had to undergo a separate enrollment process for their company accounts and authorized filer accounts before they could submit their reports using eFAST.

The SEC said it has been continuously improving its processes to ensure the ease of forming a corporation and complying with regulatory requirements.

In 2021, the SEC launched eSPARC, allowing new businesses to complete their registration process in three days, down from 34 days consisting of 16 steps previously. The process could be even faster through OneSEC, where one applicant has posted a record of one minute and 14 seconds from the start of application to the receipt of a digital Certificate of Incorporation.

It also launched eFAST to allow corporations to submit their reports completely online. With eFAST, corporations no longer have to submit hard copies of their reports to the SEC.