REGISTERED corporations should expect heftier penalties for late and non-filing of reportorial requirements as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will implement a new scale of fines beginning April 1.

The SEC last Wednesday issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 6, Series of 2024, which updates the penalties for late and non-submission of audited financial statements (AFS) and the general information sheet (GIS).

The order also covers adjusted fees for non-compliance with MC 28, Series of 2020, which mandates corporations to create and designate an email account and mobile number for transactions with the commission.

The previous scale of penalties was implemented more than two decades ago, the corporate regulator said in a statement on Sunday.

"The higher fines and penalties come after the implementation of the SEC amnesty program, which gave corporations a chance to settle the fines and penalties they have accumulated for non-compliance with reportorial requirements at a lower cost," it added.

Under the revised scale, one-person corporations (OPCs) and domestic stock firms with retained income of P100,000 or below will have to pay P5,000 for late filing plus P1,000 for every month of continuing violation.

"The same penalty applies to domestic non-stock corporations with a fund balance or equity of not more than P100,000," the SEC said.

For the non-filing of GIS or AFS, companies with retained earnings and a fund balance of P100,000 or less face a basic penalty of P10,000 and an additional P1,000 per month for a continuing violation.

Foreign stock firms with a combined equity of less than P100,000, meanwhile, will be fined P10,000 plus a P6,000 or P12,000 late penalty, respectively, if reports are filed after 30 or 60 days.

Foreign non-stock corporations with income of less than P100,000 will incur a base penalty of P5,000 and an additional P6,000 if the reports are filed after 30 days or P12,000 if after 60 days.

"A fine of P10,000 plus a penalty of P12,000 shall be imposed for the non-filing of reports by both foreign stock and non-stock corporations with accumulated income, fund balance, or members' equity of less than P100,000," the SEC said.

The corporate watchdog also doubled the penalty for non-compliance with MC 28 to P20,000 from P10,000.

The filing of the MC 28 report was considered late if it was made after 30 calendar days from the issuance of the certificate of registration, license, or authority for all types of corporations.

The submission of reportorial requirements, including the GIS and AFS, is mandated under Republic Act 11232 or the Revised Corporation Code.