SEC fees hike bid ‘obscene’ — groups
The imposition of additional charges to Registrations and Filing Fees are ‘unreasonable,’ if not, ‘obscene’
Daily TribuneThe imposition of additional charges to Registrations and Filing Fees are ‘unreasonable,’ if not, ‘obscene’
The country's largest business organizations have joined forces to berate moves by the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase their fees and charges that will be shouldered by business owners.
In a letter to Atty. Emilio Aquino, chairperson and CEO of SEC, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Federation Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., the Management Association of the Philippines and Philippine Retailers Association, among others, said the imposition of additional charges to Registrations and Filing Fees are "unreasonable," if not, "obscene."
According to the groups, the SEC plans to increase charges for filing Articles of Partnership from P2,000 to P2,500, capital partnership from P2,000 to P2,500, Amended Articles of Partnership from P2,000 to P2,500, Deed of Assignment of Partner Interest from P2,000 to P2,500, Articles of Dissolution of Partnership from P1,000 to P2,500, and Affidavits of Withdrawal of Partner from P1,000 to P2,500, among other price increases.
For "Creation of Bonded Indebtedness," SEC now proposes to charge corporate Issuers ¼ of 1 percent of the total indebtedness.
"Using 2022 numbers, SEC's fees would amount to P1.27 billion on the total bond issuances of P508 billion for that year," the letter said.
Impose a fee on total transactions
"SEC also proposes to impose a fee on the total transactions cleared and settled in the previous year by Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines and Philippine Depository Trust Corporation in the amount of 0.1 basis point and 0.05 basis point, respectively. Based on 2022 transactions, this would amount to P14.51 million and P7.25 million of additional friction costs for stock market investors," it further read.
With this, the groups strongly recommend that the SEC should submit the proposed policy to the Anti-Red Tape Authority for a Regulatory Impact Assessment to check against harmful impacts on business and the economy consistent with the Ease of Doing Business Law.
"We likewise raise the need for exhaustive stakeholder consultation prior to the RIA as part of the regulatory process and due diligence on the part of the SEC. Rallying behind the "Bagong Pilipinas" brand of governance, we raise the challenge for SEC to step up in contributing to this vision by reviewing, if not totally scrapping this proposal as anti-business and therefore detrimental to the economy and our people," the groups said.
