SEC eases cost of doing business with 25 percent cut in fees

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reducing corporate document request fees by an additional 25 percent as part of efforts to lower business expenses and improve access to corporate data.

The new reduction, which will take effect on June 1, builds on the 50 percent reduction previously granted by the SEC under Memorandum Circular (MC) 6, series of 2025.

MC 6, which took effect on July 1, 2025, provided a 50-percent discount on physical and authenticated copies of company filings, including the articles of incorporation (AOI) and bylaws, the general information sheet and annual financial statements, among others.

“The SEC remains committed to lowering the cost of government services and making corporate information more accessible through digitalization and efficient regulation,” SEC chairperson Francis Lim said.

“This additional 25 percent reduction builds on the 50 percent cut we implemented in 2025 as part of our continuing effort to ease the burden on stakeholders and improve the ease of doing business. This is likewise the commission’s meaningful contribution to the celebration of Ease of Doing Business Month,” he said.

Under the new rates, physical and authenticated copies of company filings may be requested for P750 each, down from P1,000. Plain copies are now P565 each, from P750. Authenticated copies of other documents are P35 per page (previously P50), while other documents are P20 per page (previously P25).

Digital copies accessible via the Electronic SEC Education, Analysis and Research Computing Hub or eSEARCH now cost P470 for authenticated and P280 for plain copies, reduced from P625 and P375, respectively.

Meanwhile, the commission said standard rates for the use of the SEC API Marketplace — which allows the direct sending and ingestion of corporate data between applications — will remain in effect.

The SEC currently offers two packages for SEC API Services: P10,000 for 100 API calls and P50,000 for 1,000 API calls.

Lim, who started his term as SEC chair in June last year, earlier told The STAR that he is against any fee increase at the commission, noting that his goal for his term is to reduce expenses and transaction costs.

Under his leadership, Lim has committed to streamlining transactions by ensuring that all steps and requirements for SEC processes are necessary, consistent and simplified.

He said the SEC would also explore reasonable fee reductions, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises.