Registrar of Corporations John David A. Reyes, center, poses with staff members Tershias Tenorio-Tesero, left, and Jovan Fred at the Department of Commerce on Capital Hill.
THE Department of Commerce has reduced its filing fees by 25%, Secretary Remedio C. Mafnas and Registrar of Corporation John David A. Reyes told Variety on Friday.
“I am happy to announce this. We have reduced the filing fees effective Dec. 19, 2024. At least we gave the businesses a break. They have been struggling since we had typhoons, and then Covid,” Mafnas said.
She said the decision was pursuant to a sunset provision, Section 4 of Public Law 21-37, which authorizes Commerce to reduce its fees if the department is not able to procure an online platform for business registration.
Mafnas said Commerce procured and implemented the online platform EnerGov but has not yet gone live.
Nevertheless, she said, they need to give businesses a break by reducing the filing fees.
“It is [now] a good timing for us to implement that sunset clause,” she added.
Reyes said P.L. 21-37, which was enacted in 2020, “raised the fees [at] a very unfortunate time. [The fees] are very expensive for businesses. Since the Covid pandemic and typhoons, it feels like the businesses never got a break.”
Reyes said Commerce doesn’t have to reduce the fees, but “I was looking at it, and I said, we need to reduce these fees. The economy is not doing good so why would we charge more? Why would we hurt our own businesses, our own people? People need a break.”
Reduced fee schedule
The new fees are as follows:
1) Articles of organization, reduced to $112.50 from $150.
2) Articles of incorporation, reduced to $112.50 from $150.
3.) Application for reinstatement following administrative dissolution, reduced to $187.50 from $250.
4) Application for certificate of authority for a foreign corporation, reduced to $187.50 from $250.
5) Application for an amended certificate of authority for a foreign corporation, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
6) Non-profit corporation (petition, charter and by-laws) reduced to $22.50 from $30.
7) Registration of partnership, reduced to $75 from $100.
8) Amended articles of organization, reduced to $75 from $100.
9) Amended articles of incorporation, reduced to $75 from $100.
10) Restated articles of incorporation, reduced to $75 from $100.
11) Articles of dissolution/termination, reduced to $37.50 from $100.
12) Articles of merger or share exchange, reduced to $75 from $100.
13) Articles of revocation of dissolution, reduced to $37.50 from $100.
14) Annual and initial corporation report, reduced to $75 from $100.
15) Application for certificate of withdrawal, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
16) Articles of correction, reduced to $18.75 from $25.
17) Service of process served on the Registrar of Corporations, reduced to $150 from $200.
18) Any other document required by the Registrar of Corporations, such as by-laws affidavit, minutes, resolution, amendment to the annual report and amendment to by-laws, operating agreement, stocks, resignation as officer or director, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
19) Non-profit corporation report, initial, reduced to $7.50 from $10.
20) Application for certificate of existence or authorization or good standing, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
21) Registered agent form, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
22) Agent’s statement of change or registered office or resignation, reduced to $7.50 from $10.
23) Application for reservation of name, notice or transfer of reserved name, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
24) Application for registered name, application for renewal of registered name, reduced to $37.50 from $50.
25) Corporation’s statement of change of registered agent or registered office or both, reduced to $18.75 from $25.
26) Certificate or certification of document, reduced to $15 from $20, and additional copy reduced to 75 cents from $1.
27) Expedited service fee for a business organization document filing, reduced to $112.50 from $150.
27) Expedited service fee for a certified research request, reduced to $112.50 from $150.
Penalties
As for the penalties outlined in P.L. 21-37, Mafnas said they are working closely with Rep. Thomas John Manglona, the chair of the House Committee on Commerce, to reduce them, as well.
She said the sunset provision of the fee hike law does not apply to penalties so reducing them requires legislation.
Right now, P.L. 21-37 imposes a $150 penalty on documents received after March 1; $10 per day for annual reports received after March 2, in addition to a $150 penalty for late filing; a $25 penalty for late filing on non-profit corporation report; and $5 per day for non-profit annual reports received after March 2 in addition to a $25 penalty for late filing.
Mafnas said whether a business is big or small, “we are all in the same situation, we are all struggling.”
Reyes said the penalties have to be amended because not all businesses are the same. He said bigger businesses can deal with penalties much easier than small businesses.
“The small businesses are really what we want to help because some don’t have enough money to pay off the penalties,” he said.
“It’s even more difficult for non-profit organizations because obviously, they don’t make money and any penalty has to come out of the pocket of members or directors,” he added. “A lot of the time, it kills non-profits, it kills small businesses because they cannot afford it,” he said.
For example, if a small Christian church didn’t file for two years, its daily penalties could total $5,000, which would come out of the pockets of the church members, Reyes said.
