SEC lifts appeal deadline on revocation

The Securities and Exchange Commission has lifted the deadline for delinquent corporations to appeal its orders of revocation or suspension.

Firms whose registration with the SEC had been suspended or revoked were earlier given until the end of the year to appeal their case.

According to the SEC, delinquent corporations just need to file the reports and pay the penalty.

SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa said the move is in line with the government’s goal of easing requirements on doing business in the country.

“These moves are consistent with the SEC’s pending proposal in Congress to amend the Corporation Code and allow perpetual term for corporations,” Herbosa said.

At the same time, the corporate regulator said non-filing of reports should not be treated as a petty infraction because these reports are important for transparency and integrity of the country’s corporate database.

“These reports are also relied upon by the investing public. For instance, a company’s financial statements provide investors and creditors information on a company’s financial performance. As capital providers, investors and creditors rely on a company’s financial condition for both the safety and profitability of their investments,” she said.

Under Presidential Decree No.902-A, the SEC has the power to suspend or revoke, after notice and hearing, the certificate of registration of corporations upon any of the grounds provided by law.

A delinquent corporation is given 30 days to comply with the reportorial requirements.

If no compliance is made within the 30-day grace period, the SEC’s Company Registration and Monitoring Department will enter a “suspended status” in the affected firm’s records.

The suspension order shall remain until the submission by the delinquent corporation of its latest reports and payment of corresponding penalties. A petition to lift the order of suspension must be filed together with the required reports before the company can be taken out of the suspension status.

The SEC, however, stressed that the petition to lift the order of suspension shall not apply to corporations whose certificates of registration had already been revoked or whose corporate terms already expired.