The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is implementing a zero face-to-face transaction policy in its offices in Metro Manila starting Jan. 13 until further notice.
In a statement, the commission said this is in light of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The SEC said all applications for company registration, submissions of reportorial requirements, and other transactions in its main office in Pasay City and former headquarters in Mandaluyong City will be processed through its online portals, email, courier, and other remote means.
The adoption of the zero face-to-face setup is in compliance with Republic Act No. 11032, otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business Law, as the Commission seeks to effectively avoid further spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.
For the registration of domestic stock and nonstock corporations and for the recording of partnerships and licenses to do business for foreign corporations, applicants may use the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company at http://esparc.sec.gov.ph/application.
Applicants may also use the One-day Submission and E-registration of Companies under the eSPARC for the registration of domestic stock corporations, which may be one person corporations or corporations with two to 15 incorporators, board of directors and stockholders.
Meanwhile, all submissions of annual financial statements (AFS) and general information sheet (GIS) must be done through the Electronic Filing and Submission Tool (eFAST) at https://cifss-ost.sec.gov.ph/.
eFAST also accepts submissions of Sworn Statement for Foundation/ Nonstock, Non-profit Organizations Forms, General Form for Financial Statements, Special Form for Financial Statements, Affidavit of Non-Operation, to be filed with the AFS/GIS, and Affidavit of Non-Holding of Annual Meeting, to be filed with the GIS.
Other reports, documents, and communications not covered by eFAST may be submitted through email at [email protected].
Clients who wish to request for SEC documents may do so through the SEC Express System at http://www.secexpress.ph. The documents will be delivered to the mailing address of the applicant through courier within 10 to 15 days.
Meanwhile, the public may avail of online and cashless payment options through the Electronic System for Payment to the SEC (eSPAYSEC) at https://espaysec.sec.gov.ph/. The system accepts payments for registration and other transaction fees, as well as penalties, using debit and credit cards, digital wallets and other cashless payment options.
Other guidelines on the availing of the Commission’s online services may be found in the SEC Notice dated Jan. 11.
The SEC will maintain a skeleton workforce and implement other alternative work arrangements to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of services despite the adjustments in its operations.
For further inquiries, the public may contact the concerned departments or offices provided in the SEC Contact Center on the SEC website.