SEC, BIR join forces to support ease of doing business initiatives

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have forged an alliance to support ease of doing business and deepen the capital market.

Both agencies signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for closer collaboration in identifying opportunities for policy harmonization and improving information governance.

The collaboration is expected to reduce duplicative submissions, promote consistent and traceable financial information as well as enable both agencies to perform their regulatory functions more efficiently while advancing the government’s ease of doing business agenda.

Among the key initiatives envisioned under the partnership is the proposed unified audited financial statements (AFS) submission portal, which will be pursued through a separate memorandum of agreement.

The portal, once implemented, will provide corporations with a single submission point for their AFS, allowing the documents to be securely transmitted to the appropriate receiving systems of the SEC and the BIR.

SEC commissioner McJill Bryant Fernandez said sustained collaboration among government institutions is important in pursuing meaningful regulatory reforms.

He said effective regulation is not achieved by individual agencies acting in isolation, but is reinforced when institutions come together, leverage each other’s expertise and pursue reforms through a coordinated whole-of-government approach.

“By aligning our efforts where appropriate, we not only reduce unnecessary regulatory friction but also build a more efficient, transparent and responsive business environment that supports investment, strengthens compliance and contributes to the sustained growth of the Philippine economy,” he said.

BIR commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza, for his part, said the partnership reflects both agencies’ shared objective of reducing unnecessary duplication and making compliance easier for the business community.

“The MOU with the SEC brings our agencies into closer coordination as we work toward a more streamlined process for the submission of audited financial statements by SEC-registered corporations,” he said.

Beyond streamlining overlapping processes, the SEC said the collaboration would also support broader efforts to strengthen the country’s regulatory ecosystem and deepen the Philippine capital market.