SEC warns delinquent firms of surge in penalties

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning erring corporations of a major surge in penalties ahead of the looming deadline for an amnesty program for the the late filing of required reports and financial statements.

The deadline for all amnesty applications is on Sept. 30.

“With the stricter penalties, we hope corporations will be more mindful of submitting their annual reports on time, as these are vital in ensuring the efficient functioning of the Philippine corporate sector,” SEC Chair Emilio Aquino said over the weekend.

The corporate watchdog will soon release a new set of fines and penalties for the late and nonfiling of the General Information Sheet (GIS) and Annual Financial Statement (AFS).

Under the proposed rates, domestic stock corporations with retained earnings of not more than P100,000 will incur a basic penalty of P5,000 for the late filing of their GIS or AFS, plus P1,000 for every month of continuing violation. This represents a 900-percent increase from the current rate of P500.

The same penalty applies to domestic nonstock corporations with a fund balance or equity of not more than P100,000, a 1,900-percent jump from the current penalty of P250.

Meanwhile, nonfiling of GIS or AFS by domestic stock corporations and nonstock corporations with retained earnings and fund balance/equity, respectively, of not more than P100,000 will be slapped with a basic penalty of P10,000, plus P1,000 per month of continuing violation.

The penalty for noncompliance with Memorandum Circular No. 28 will be set at P20,000, double the current rate of P10,000.

“Faithful compliance allows the SEC to manage our corporate database better and determine which companies are active or not, in turn allowing us to purge inactive corporations and protect the public from fraudulent entities,” Aquino said.

The SEC is raising awareness for its amnesty program as it also seeks to identify and clear its records of inactive corporations and entities.

These awareness efforts include regular advisories to the public on its website and even text blasts. INQ