SEC extends deadline for GIS submission
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is giving corporations more time to submit their General Information Sheets (GIS) to cope with the new rounds of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and the transition to an online submission system.
The SEC extended the deadline in a notice issued on March 31 which announced that all stock and non-stock corporations shall have 90 days from the date of the annual stockholders’ meeting or annual members’ meeting fixed in their bylaws or as determined by the board of directors/ trustees to submit their GIS.
Meanwhile, a corporation originally due to submit the report on or before March 12 will have an additional 60 days, or until May 11, to comply with the requirement.
The adjusted deadline applies to stock corporations, which held their annual stockholders’ meetings prior and during the enrollment period for the newly launched SEC Online Submission Tool (OST).
The enrollment period opened last March 15 and will close on December 15. Stock corporations are required to enroll in and submit their annual reports through the OST starting this year. Meanwhile, nonstock corporations have until 2022 to enroll in and shift to the OST.
The adjusted deadline also covers corporations which failed to hold their annual meetings in 2020 and were initially given until January 30, 2021 to submit their GIS.
Accordingly, such corporations will have until April 30 to submit their GIS through the OST for stock corporations or over the counter for nonstock corporations.
The SEC will allow over-the-counter submissions for stock corporations, which encountered problems during their enrollment and submission in the OST, provided that they present the error message from the OST, in accordance with Section 11 of SEC Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2021.
The Commission, however, notes that its main office in Pasay City has been operating with a skeleton workforce following the reimposition of ECQ in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal amid the spike of COVID-19 cases.
For the submission of annual reports and other documents, the SEC Electronic Records Management Division will only accommodate those with confirmed appointments.
Meanwhile, the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department will only offer the following services on site:
- Receiving of applications;
- Releasing of certificates;
- Certificate typing/ printing;
- Stamping of books; and
- Preparation of source documents.
The Commission will likewise implement shortened operating hours in the payment centers located in its main office in Pasay City and its former headquarters along EDSA in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City. Payments will be accepted in the main office until 2:30 p.m. only.
The public is advised to transact business online, as the SEC will continue implementing work-from-home and other alternative work arrangements, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Civil Service Commission.