SEC: No deadline extension for delinquent firms

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) said there will be no extension for the Nov. 30 deadline of the recently launched enhanced compliance incentive plan (ECIP) for delinquent companies.

“We’re sticking to the Nov. 30 deadline; there is no plan for an extension,” SEC Commissioner Javey Paul D. Francisco told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a forum in Quezon City last week.

“We just want people to have a compliance culture,” he added.

Launched on Sept. 2, the ECIP lets corporations settle fines and penalties for the late or nonfiling of their annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS), and noncompliance with Memorandum Circular No. 28 for only P20,000.

MC 28 mandates corporations to identify and submit official and alternative mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses for their transactions with the corporate regulator.

Suspended or revoked corporations may apply for the lifting of the order suspending or revoking their corporate registration by paying a P3,060 petition fee and settling only 50% of their total assessed fines and penalties.

Corporations that do not avail themselves of the ECIP are at risk of higher penalties for noncompliance with reportorial requirements.

The updated scale of fines and penalties is at least 900% higher than the previous rates, which had been in effect for over 22 years

Mr. Francisco said the ECIP helps the country’s efforts to exit the financial action task force’s (FATF) “gray list” of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for “dirty money” risks.

The commission is tasked with ensuring beneficial ownership compliance and transparency for local corporations.

“We are about 68% compliance so far, higher from like 25% at the start of last year. We recently launched the version two of the amnesty program, which is the ECIP, from Sept. 2 until end of November,” Mr. Francisco said.

“Hopefully, we can ramp up even more to higher compliance rates. Our target back then was 65%, and it was acceptable to assessors. But of course, we want the highest possible compliance rate,” he added.

In July, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said the country was eyeing to exit the FATF’s “gray list” by January 2025.

The FATF in its June update kept the Philippines in its “gray list” for a third straight year or since June 2021.

It said the Philippines has made “significant” steps in improving its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism regime but still needs to address remaining deficiencies. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave