The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has temporarily suspended the filing fees for entities seeking its opinion on contemplated acts, agreements, or decisions.
PCC, in a move to ensure fairness and adapt to current economic conditions, issued memorandum circular (MC) No. 24-001 on Aug. 1, 2024, suspending Section 3.4 of the 2017 PCC Rules of Procedure, which set the rates for Binding Ruling requests.
Section 3.4 previously required filing fees ranging from one to three percent of the requesting entity’s assets or annual revenue, whichever was higher.
The suspension promotes voluntary compliance by encouraging the use of non-adversarial remedies under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA).
Under Section 37(a) of the PCA, entities uncertain about the competitive legality of their actions, agreements, or decisions can request a binding ruling from the Commission.
The PCA defines an entity as any person, natural or juridical, whether local or foreign, including government-controlled businesses engaged in economic activities.
The PCC has also introduced interim guidelines to determine filing fees for Binding Ruling requests on a case-by-case basis, considering factors like complexity, business nature, potential economic impact, financial capacity, and administrative costs.
