THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) defended a plan to increase its fees and charges amid opposition from some of the country’s top business groups, saying the rates have not been adjusted since 2017.
This comes after business groups, led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), sent a letter to the SEC objecting to the proposed hike in fees and charges which they described as “obscene” and “unconscionable.”
In a five-page statement on Wednesday, the SEC said it will meet with the business groups today (Oct. 12) to address their concerns and clarify certain statements in their letter, “including the use of non-comparable values, and generalization of Supreme Court rulings.”
“The meeting will seek to unite the viewpoints of the Commission and its stakeholders toward ensuring that the new schedule of fees continues to advance the Marcos administration’s thrust of promoting business and capital formation in the country,” it said.
The corporate regulator said the proposed increase in its fees and charges was the result of “a thorough and careful study.”
“The schedule of fees and charges was last updated in 2017, based on a proposal from 2014. This means that the current rates are based on operational and administrative costs prevailing almost 10 years ago,” the SEC said.
To sustain the development of IT-related systems and the delivery of its services, the SEC said that “fees and charges must sufficiently cover the cost of maintaining and upgrading them continuously for the benefit of the transacting public.”
The SEC released the proposed schedule of new fees and charges for stakeholders’ comments on Aug. 2. No fees have been increased.
“The SEC assures stakeholders that any adjustments in the fees and charges collected from the transacting public are carefully studied to ensure that they are commensurate with the cost of regulating the corporate sector and capital market, and reasonable such that no unnecessary burden shall be passed onto the transacting public,” it said.
In an Oct. 2 letter to the SEC, the business groups urged the regulator to review, “if not totally scrap” the proposal which it described as “anti-business.”
They opposed the SEC’s proposal to charge corporate issuers one-fourth of 1% of total indebtedness when creating bonded indebtedness.
They also objected to the proposed fee on the total transactions cleared and settled in the previous year by the Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines and the Philippine Depository Trust Corp. at 0.1 basis point (bp) and 0.05 bp, respectively.
“Consistent with the ease of doing business law, we then strongly recommend that SEC submit this proposed policy to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) for a regulatory impact assessment to check against harmful impacts to business and the economy,” they said.
The business groups also argued that the SEC’s proposal could discourage the entry of new investments, as well as hinder the growth of small and medium enterprises.
Aside from the PCCI, the letter was also signed by the Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Retailers Association, Philippine Franchise Association, Chamber of Thrift Banks, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc., and Employers Confederation of the Philippines. — RMDO
