SEC sets final amnesty deadline for Nov. 6, 2023

MANILA  -Owners of corporations that have yet to file required documents and financial reports were given a final one-month extension, or until Nov. 6, to avail themselves of an amnesty program before facing higher fines and penalties, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

This covers corporations that have incurred penalties for the late and non-filing of their annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS) and official contact details.

“The final extension of the amnesty period is a compassionate allowance granted by the SEC to corporations who repeatedly fail to comply with their reportorial requirements,” SEC Chair Emilio B. Aquino said.

He said more than 54,000 corporations have already availed themselves of the amnesty since the program was rolled out in March.

READ: Businesses urged to start ‘fresh’ in amnesty trade-off as filing deadline looms

“We encourage more companies to take this opportunity to avoid higher fines and penalties once new guidelines are released in November,” Aquino said.

Corporations may avail themselves of amnesty by accepting the web-based Expression of Interest form on their SEC Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST) accounts. Those that have successfully filed their amnesty applications by Nov. 6 must then submit the complete set of amnesty requirements through eFAST by Dec. 4.

For non-compliant corporations, their latest due GIS and AFS must be uploaded and submitted on eFAST before Dec. 4. Suspended and revoked corporations must submit their respective petitions to lift their suspension or revocation on eFAST, along with their latest GIS and AFS, within the same period.