The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Monday it extended its amnesty program until the end of 2023 to give non-compliant and suspended or revoked corporations a final chance to avail of lower fines and penalties.
Based on the Memorandum Circular No. 20 issued on Nov. 3, the SEC would extend the deadline for corporations to file their amnesty application and settle the amnesty fees to Dec. 31, 2023.
The amnesty program provides corporations, which incurred penalties for the late and non-filing of their General Information Sheet (GIS), Annual Financial Statements (AFS) and official contact details, a reduction on penalties for non-compliance with their reportorial requirements, as provided under Revised Corporation Code (RCC).
Corporations may avail of amnesty by accepting the web-based expression of interest form on their SEC Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST) accounts. Submission of all other requirements will be accepted until January 31, 2024, so long as the company has filed its expression of interest before Dec. 31.
Non-compliant corporations were asked to upload and submit their latest due GIS and AFS on eFAST before Jan. 31, 2024.
Meanwhile, suspended and revoked corporations will be required to submit their respective petitions to lift their suspension or revocation on eFAST, along with their latest GIS and AFS, within the same period.
The SEC will also require them to submit additional requirements such as copies of their certificates of incorporation, latest mayor’s or business permits and certificates of registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue by Jan, 31, 2024.
It said that if an applicant failed to submit the complete set of requirements by Jan. 31, 2024, the amnesty fee paid, as well as the P3,060 petition fee initially collected from suspended/revoked corporation, would be forfeited in favor of the SEC.
The SEC earlier released a list of 22,403 ordinary corporations that are in danger of having their certificates of incorporation revoked for their failure to submit their GIS within five years from the date of incorporation.
It also listed 298,335 ordinary corporations that failed to submit their GIS for three times consecutively or intermittently within a five-year period.