• If the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) finds out that the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) was established so as to seek the benefits of the REIT Act without a true, intention to carry out its provisions and/or the IRR, the Commission shall revoke or cancel the registration of the securities of the REIT.
  

• If the offender is a corporation, partnership or association or other juridical entity, the penalty may be imposed upon such juridical entity and/or upon the officer or officers of the corporation, partnership, association or entity responsible for the violation.
  

• The prosecution and conviction of the offender and the imposition of the penalties shall be without prejudice to the administrative, civil and criminal liabilities of the offender under the Securities Regulations Code (SRC).

Continue reading . . .

• Income payments to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) shall be subject to a lower creditable withholding tax of one percent (1%).
  

• A REIT shall be subject to value – added tax (VAT) on its gross sales from any disposal of real property, and on its gross receipts from the rental of such real property.
  

• The sale or transfer of real property to REITs, which includes the sale or transfer of any and all security interest thereto, shall be subject to fifty percent (50%) of the applicable Documentary Stamp Tax (DST).

Continue reading . . .

• To maintain the quality of management of the REIT and afford better protection to REIT investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission), or the concerned regulatory agency, shall prescribe or pass upon and review the qualifications of individuals elected or appointed as directors or officers of the REIT, REIT fund managers, REIT property managers, distributors and other REIT participants and disqualify those found unfit.
  

• The appropriate regulatory agency may disqualify, suspend or remove any director or officer who commits or omits an act which renders him unfit for the position.
  

• In determining whether an individual is fit and proper to hold the position, regard shall be given to his integrity, experience, education, training and competence.

Continue reading . . .

• Without need of prior approval, a non-Philippine national may, upon registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or with the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection (BTRCP) of the Department of Trade and Industry in the case of single proprietorships, do business or invest in a domestic enterprise up to one hundred percent (100%) of its capital.

• The SEC or BTRCP shall not impose any limitations on the extent of foreign ownership in an enterprise additional to those provided in the Foreign Investments Act of 1991.

• A non-Philippine national intending to engage in the same line of business as an existing joint venture, in which he or his majority shareholder is a substantial partner, must disclose the fact and the names and addresses of the partners in the existing joint venture in his application for registration with SEC.

Continue reading . . .