THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday launched a new feature in its online company registration system that allows domestic corporations to register with the commission through a simplified one-day process.
“The single-day processing of applications for company registration will help us further our goal of improving the ease of doing business in the country, complementing our other recent initiatives that aim to provide seamless transactions to the public,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said in a statement.
The One-Day Submission and Express Registration of Companies (OneSEC) of the SEC’s electronic simplified processing of application for registration company (eSPARC) may be accessed via https://secwebapps.sec.gov.ph/application.
OneSEC will accept applications for the registration of domestic stock corporations that are 100% owned by Filipinos and those which have common shares with a par value of not less than P1 and in non-decimal currency, and must be subscribed for through cash payment.
Its incorporators, directors, and subscribers must be natural persons and residents of the Philippines. They must also have a perpetual corporate term of existence and must be located outside an economic zone.
Meanwhile, its proposed corporate name must include a descriptor of its industry classification. Otherwise, OneSEC will prefill the primary purpose or main business activity based on its chosen industry classification and the applicant will not be able to modify it further.
The corporate name should not have a trade name and must not be subjected to any appeal for reconsideration.
OneSEC is also integrated with the commission’s online payment portal, the Electronic System for Payments to the SEC (eSPAYSEC).
Once applicants complete the registration process, a digital copy of their interim certificates of incorporation (COI) may be downloaded. They may submit hard copies of registration documents a year from the issuance of the certificate.
“Applicants may secure the original copy of their COI upon presentation of the digital interim COIs and proof of payment of the assessed registration fees, together with the originally signed and authenticated or notarized hard copies of their registration documents to the SEC,” the regulator said.
Meanwhile, eSPARC will now also accept applications for the registration of partnerships and foreign corporations.
Pending applications, which include those with company name reservation and applications in the perform and in-form status and those filed but not approved for payment and in compliance status, done through the SEC Company Registration System (CRS) must re-apply in eSPARC.
Applicants approved for payment holding a payment assessment form are instructed to proceed to the payment of registration fees.
“Meanwhile, applicants that have already paid their registration fees but could not upload the proof of payment in the CRS should submit the proof of payment, together with the signed and authenticated/notarized copies of the registration documents, to the selected processing office for the issuance of their COI,” the SEC said.
Firms that have uploaded their proof of payment in the CRS but have not yet been issued a COI are instructed to submit their proof of payment, signed and authenticated or notarized copies of registration documents to the selected processing office. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
