The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will meet with business groups on Thursday, Oct. 12, to discuss complaints on the proposed revised schedule of certain fees and charges which is deemed too high.

In a statement, the SEC welcomed the points and notes the concerns raised by business groups led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc., Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Chamber of Thrift Banks, Philippine Retailers Association, Philippine Franchise Association, Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and International Studies, and Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc.

“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 noted.

The SEC pointed out that the revised schedule of fees and charges was released as early as Aug. 2, 2023 for the purpose of soliciting comments, suggestions and/or inputs from stakeholders and that it has yet to implement any adjustments in the current schedule of fees and charges.

“Upon receipt of the (the groups’) letter on October 9, 2023, the SEC immediately scheduled a roundtable discussion with the concerned business groups on Thursday, October 12, 2023, to address the points raised in their letter,” the SEC said.

It added that, “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.”

“Any policy must be thoroughly discussed and debated. Accordingly, public consultation has been integral in the policy-making process of the SEC, in line and even beyond the requirements of the law.

“The Commission is committed to hearing all comments and suggestions from its stakeholders before issuing the new and final schedule of fees for its services,” it added.

It also noted that, “in the same manner, the Commission has always been committed to transparent and accurate data in the interest of fairness to all concerned.

“As such, the SEC looks forward to meeting the business groups for an opportunity to be clarified on certain data and statements in their letter, including the use of non-comparable values, and generalization of Supreme Court rulings.”

The SEC said the proposed revised schedule of fees and charges was the result of a thorough and careful study.

Before releasing the proposal, a dedicated committee was constituted to assess the current fees and charges in relation to operating costs, in order to ensure the sustainability of the Commission’s services and fulfillment of its legal mandate.

The SEC further noted that 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 that, before implementing the fees and charge applicable to IT-related services, it also similarly conducted public consultation.

In fixing the fees and charges, the SEC said it ensured that the rates would be sufficient to recover the cost of services rendered and also account for historical and projected volumes of transactions and data requests to ensure that the collections of the Commission will be sufficient to recover the increasing operating and maintenance costs of the digital services in the coming years.

Further, the fees and charges imposed by the SEC were benchmarked with those imposed on similar services in the Philippines and in other jurisdictions.

“More importantly, the fees and charges are aimed at supporting the Commission’s efforts in proactively addressing the needs of the corporate sector, giving the SEC sufficient leeway to introduce reforms and fund future innovations,” it added.