The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is enforcing strict timelines for its processing of substantially all types of applications, with a “deemed approved” policy for requests left unattended beyond the prescribed period.

The landmark move to improve service delivery and reinforce its commitment to ease of doing business is outlines in Memorandum Circular No. 7, Series of 2025, titled “Affirming the Commission’s Commitment to Ease of Doing Business, and Providing for Strict Timelines in the Processing of Applications and the Guidelines for Applications Deemed Approved.”

The new policy sets clear and enforceable turnaround times for applications for permits, licenses, registrations, certificates, clearances, and other authorizations, subject to a limited list of exclusions.

“I said on Day One that I wanted the SEC to be known not only as a good regulator, but as a good facilitator of doing business,” said SEC Chairman Francis Lim, quoting from his inaugural address to SEC employees when he assumed office on June 10, 2025.

He noted that, “This policy breathes life into that promise — we are removing bottlenecks, eliminating unreasonable delays, and imposing discipline in our internal processes to give entrepreneurs and investors the level of responsiveness and certainty they deserve.”

Under the circular, simple applications must be processed within three working days while complex applications requiring evaluation or coordination must be resolved within seven working days

Highly technical applications requiring legal or financial review or inter-agency clearances must be completed within 20 working days, while transactions governed by special laws must be processed according to timelines under applicable statutes or the SEC Citizens’ Charter.

Suppose the Commission fails to act within these prescribed timelines without reverting to the applicant with a notice of deficiency. In that case, the application shall be deemed approved — provided all documentary requirements have been submitted.

Upon confirmation of completeness and lapse of the processing period, the Commission is mandated to issue the corresponding Payment Assessment Form (PAF) immediately. After payment of the assessed fees, the requested documents must be released within two working days.

Approvals under the deemed approved rule shall be subject to post-approval evaluation. Applicants found to have submitted false or misleading information or failed to submit required information or documents will face administrative penalties, including revocation of the issued approval.

“This is without prejudice to the right of the public to proceed against applicants in case they suffer damage as a result of the applicants’ false or misleading information or failure to comply with the SEC requirements,” said Lim.

The SEC clarified that the new policy will not apply in cases involving ongoing legal proceedings or regulatory investigations, fraud or misrepresentation, force majeure or uncontrollable delays, and applications requiring specialized or multi-agency evaluations where the inability of the SEC to act on the application within the prescribed timeline is attributable to other government agencies.

All applications with valid PAFs as of July 14 (the effectivity date of the Circular) will be deemed approved upon payment, with documents to be released within two working days.

Covered applications submitted at least 20 days before the effectivity of the Circular (except those reverted as of June 30, 2025) will receive their PAFs within three days from July 14, and the same deemed approved rule will apply.

For reverted applications, deficiencies must be addressed within 10 working days from July 14, otherwise they will be deemed abandoned, without prejudice to the re-filing of such applications.

Meanwhile, specific procedures were prescribed for certain pending applications, given public policy considerations involved.

These include primary registration and secondary licenses for lending and financing companies; clearances, business plan amendments, and online lending platform disclosures; and OTC market approvals and broker-dealer associations.

“We recognize that predictability in regulatory action is vital to the business community, and with this policy, we are saying clearly: the SEC will act, and act swiftly.” Lim added.

The new circular is part of a series of reforms initiated by the SEC since Lim assumed its leadership on June 10.

Earlier, the SEC issued a circular reducing by 50 percent fees for securing copies of documents from the SEC to reduce the cost of doing business. These documents are often needed by business for various purposes like getting permits and obtaining loans and other purposes to expand their business.

“I wish to publicly thank all the SEC commissioners, directors and staff for their cooperation. With the dedication and hard work that they have shown in the past month, I do not have doubt that the SEC will improve its services in a significant way — in alignment with the objectives of Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018,” Lim said.