The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has suspended the rates of filing fees for entities that wish to seek its opinion on contemplated acts, conducts, agreements, or decisions.

To ensure fairness and align with current economic conditions, the PCC issued Memorandum Circular No. 24-001 on 1 August 2024, suspending the implementation of Section 3.4 of the 2017 PCC Rules of Procedure, which prescribes the rates of filing fees for Binding Ruling requests.

Section 3.4 of the 2017 Rules of Procedure required a filing fee of one to three percent (1%-3%) of the requesting entity’s assets or annual revenue, whichever is higher, for a Binding Ruling request that was accepted.

The move is intended to encourage voluntary compliance through the use of non-adversarial administrative remedies under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA).

Under Section 37(a) of the PCA, any entity uncertain about the competitive legality of a planned action, behavior, agreement, or decision can seek a binding ruling from the Commission. The PCA defines an entity as “any person, natural or juridical, sole proprietorship, partnership, combination or association in any form, whether incorporated or not, domestic or foreign, including those owned or controlled by the government engaged directly or indirectly in any economic activity.”

The Commission has introduced interim guidelines to determine filing fees for Binding Ruling requests on a case-by-case basis. These guidelines consider factors such as the request’s complexity, the business’s nature, the required assessment time and resources, the potential economic impact, the requesting entity’s financial capacity, and administrative costs, among others.