SEC chief Lim mulls lowering fees for MSMEs

Newly installed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson and CEO Francis Lim is looking at lowering fees for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to encourage business registration and support growth of the sector.

“We will definitely explore reasonable reductions in our fees, particularly for MSMEs. Regulation must support, not suffocate,” Lim said in his speech at the ceremonial turnover of the SEC leadership in Makati City on Tuesday.

Lim told reporters how he ended up becoming a "victim" of high fees.

“Nagpakuha ako ng certified true copy ng article [Articles of Incorporation]… I was asked to pay more than P2,000. So that's one thing. These are the things we should do to signal to the market that it's really easy at the SEC,” he said.

Registration fees in the SEC are based on the authorized capital stock of the registering entity or the value of the transaction being registered.

Currently, the registration filing fee is 1% of the authorized capital stock or the subscription price of the subscribed capital stock, whichever is higher but not less than P2,000, while the legal research fee costs 1% of the filing fee but should not be less than P10.

Lim succeeded Emilio Aquino, whose seven-year term ended last week. —VBL, GMA Integrated News