The Securities and Exchange Commission has released a list of 22,403 corporation that to this day obstinately refuse to submit a simple piece of paper regulators call the general information sheet or GIS.
Their continued refusal risk the revocation of their franchise as corporations as the GIS and their annual financial statements form part of mandatory submissions also punishable by hefty fines.
In a notice dated 18 October this year, the SEC released a list of ordinary corporations in danger of having their certificates of incorporation revoked for failure to submit their GIS within five years from the date of their incorporation.
Under the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, if a corporation does not formally organize and commence its business within five years from the date of incorporation, its certificate of incorporation is deemed revoked as of the day following the end of the five-year period.
In a separate notice, the SEC also released a list of 298,335 ordinary corporations that failed to submit their GIS three consecutive times already, or intermittently submitted them over a five-year period. “Corporations’ timely submission of their AFS, GIS, and other reportorial requirements is vital in maintaining a healthy and vibrant corporate sector, as this helps us identify active versus inactive corporations, enhance and organize the commission’s digital database, and protect the public from fraud,” SEC chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.
The increased supervision complies with standards set by international standard-setting bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force, to ensure relevant corporate information, including beneficial ownership information in the GIS. Failure to comply with the reportorial requirements subject erring companies to penalties ranging from monetary penalties, placement under delinquency status, and suspension and revocation of certificates of incorporation.
“We reiterate our reminder to corporations to avail of the SEC amnesty program now, to avoid getting their certificates of incorporation revoked, or to avoid being placed under delinquent status,” Aquino said.
Corporations that fail to avail of the amnesty will incur higher fines as the SEC will be implementing an updated scale of fines and penalties for reportorial requirements starting 7 November this year. The SEC amnesty program has been extended until 6 November and the submission of reportorial documents until 4 December this year under Memorandum Circular No. 17, Series of 2023.
