Business groups oppose increase in SEC charges, ask for ARTA review

ELEVEN business groups opposed the proposed increases in regulatory fees and charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), describing it as money-making schemes in the guise of regulatory enhancements.

The groups, including the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines and Philippine Retailers Association, asked SEC chairperson and chief executive Emilio Aquino to submit the planned increases in regulatory fees to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) for a regulatory impact assessment (RIA).

Other signatories in the letter to the SEC are the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., Chamber of Thrift Banks, Franchise Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and International Studies and the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization Inc.

“Consistent with the ease of doing business law, we then strongly recommend that SEC submit this proposed policy to check against harmful impacts to business and the economy. We likewise raise the need for exhaustive stakeholder consultation prior to the RIA as part of the regulatory process and due diligence on the part of SEC,” the groups said in the letter dated Oct. 2, 2023.

The SEC proposed to charge corporate issuers 1⁄4 of 1 percent of the total indebtedness.  The group said that based on 2022 numbers, the new SEC fees would amount to P1.27 billion on the total bond issuances of P508 billion for that year.

The SEC also proposed to impose a fee on the total transactions cleared and settled in the previous year by Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines (SCCP) and Philippine Depository Trust Corporation (PDTC) in the amount of 0.1 basis point and 0.05 basis point, respectively. Based on 2022 transactions, this would amount to P14.51 million and P7.25 million of additional friction cost for stock market investors.

The groups said the basic principle espoused in Administrative Order No. 31, s. 2012 and DOF-DBM-NEDA Joint Circular No. 1-2013 in fixing