Emperador Inc. (EMI) announced updated procedures for collecting and paying the Philippine stock transaction tax (STT) on sales of its shares traded on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST).
Under the new framework, a 0.1% STT—calculated on the gross selling price of each transaction—is withheld by the seller’s Singapore broker at settlement and remitted to the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
BDO Securities Corporation will act as the receiving and remitting agent, and 17 Singapore brokers have been onboarded, including CGS-CIMB Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Securities Pte. Ltd., Daiwa Capital Markets Singapore Limited, DBS Vickers Securities (Singapore) Pte Ltd, JP Morgan Securities Singapore Private Limited and UBS Securities Pte Ltd. Brokers may also remit the tax via other channels, such as affiliated Philippine brokers.
Emperador cautioned that if a broker’s arrangement with BDO ends and no alternative remittance method is in place, clients trading through that broker may be unable to sell EMI shares on the SGX-ST until compliance procedures are re-established.
The company advised shareholders to consult professional advisers and their brokers on the tax, legal and fee implications related to STT payments to the BIR.