LENDING and financing companies that have annual fees due during the enhanced community quarantine are asked to settle their dues with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) starting next week.
In a notice on its website, the SEC said it had resumed physical operations of its Corporate Governance and Finance Department (CGFD) at its Pasay City headquarters since June 1.
Along with this, CGFD-supervised companies such as investment firms, registered issuers of proprietary and non-proprietary shares/timeshares, public companies, financing companies, lending companies, foundations and microfinance NGOS may resume transactions with the physical office of the department.
Annual fees of lending and financing companies that were due starting March 16 until June 15, or the period of the strict lockdown and the weeks that followed, must settle and pay from June 15 to June 28.
For the issuance of payment assessment forms for dues such as filing fees, annual fees and penalties, companies may request and be issued electronic copies of the form by emailing cgfd@sec.gov.ph.
The CGFD office will also start receiving hard copies of information statements, registration statements, tender offer reports, requests for exemption and exemptive relief, and applications for voluntary revocation.
For documents that were previously filed through email such as reports, letters and requests, the SEC said it would require submission of hard copies until June 23 via courier. For new submissions, the hard copies will be entertained after sending an advanced copy through email.
The physical office of CGFD will be open Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The easing of quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila has allowed the SEC to gradually open its headquarters, starting with its Company Registration and Monitoring Department in late May.
But even with physical operations, the SEC will still accommodate company registrations and monitoring applications through email to protect its personnel from contracting the coronavirus. It is also implementing a “no face mask, no entry” policy and limiting the number of people in its premises. — Denise A. Valdez
