THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is extending the deadline for regulatory filings of listed companies following the extension of quarantine related to the new coronavirus disease pandemic.
The SEC has extended to July 20, 2020 the submission of listed companies’ integrated annual corporate governance report (I-ACGR).
The extension shall automatically apply.
Publicly-listed companies may choose to submit the I-ACGR on the original deadline.
The SEC said under “normal circumstances,” publicly listed companies are required to submit the I-ACGR every May 30 while they remain listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, pursuant to SEC Memorandum Circular No. 15, Series of 2017.
The SEC said it has also extended the deadline for the submission of the sustainability report for publicly-listed companies for fiscal year ending December 2019 and November 2019.
The SEC through Memorandum Circular No. 13, Series of 2020 allowed publicly-listed companies to submit the sustainability report, as an attachment to the annual report until June 30, 2020 or 60 days from the lifting of travel restrictions, whichever comes later.
“The new deadline aligns with the extension of the filing period for the annual report and/or audited financial statement, as earlier provided under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 5, Series of 2020,” the SEC said.
“An annual report filed without the sustainability report shall not be considered incomplete, provided the latter shall be submitted by June 30, 2020. In such cases, the concerned company shall file an amended annual report,” the SEC said.
“A sustainability report filed through an amended annual report shall be accompanied by a copy of the previously submitted annual report and a certification signed by the company’s president,” the SEC added.
The SEC said a listed company may avail of the extension without having to file a request.
The Commission has required publicly- listed companies to submit the sustainability report as part of the annual report starting this year, under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2019.
The circular outlining the sustainability reporting guidelines provide that nonattachment of the sustainability report shall be subject to the penalty imposable for the submission of incomplete annual report.
“Companies submitting the sustainability report within the extended filing period, as provided in the recently issued circular, shall not incur penalties,” the SEC said.
