NOW Telecom seeks review of NTC's P4.04-billion fee assessment in the Philippines

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NOW Telecom reviews NTC fee

Highlights

NOW Telecom is contesting the National Telecommunications Commission's P4.04-billion fee and penalty assessment, disputing the capital basis for calculation.
NOW Telecom requested a year-by-year review and recomputation of the assessments since 2005, asking for suspension of collection during the process.
The dispute adds to NOW Corp.'s regulatory challenges, following a February Securities and Exchange Commission denial of appeal and upholding of a P1-million market disclosure fine.

Assessment dispute and review request

As reported by BusinessWorld Online, NOW Corp. said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday that its associate, NOW Telecom Co., Inc., is contesting a P4.04-billion assessment by the National Telecommunications Commission, including penalties tied to supervision and regulation fees.

NOW Corp. said NOW Telecom received a demand letter from the NTC after the regulator issued a payment order on Sept. 30. The company said NOW Telecom is questioning the basis of the assessment, particularly the capital amounts used in the computation.

According to NOW Corp., the dispute centers on discrepancies between the capital amounts shown in NOW Telecom's audited financial statements and those applied in the NTC's assessment. It said the issue particularly involves the treatment of additional paid-in capital following changes in NOW Telecom's capital structure.

In an Oct. 9 letter to the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the NTC, NOW Telecom requested a year-by-year review, recomputation, and reconciliation of the assessments beginning 2005. It also asked that collection of the amount be suspended while the review and reconciliation are under way.

NOW Corp. said it has no information on whether that request has been approved. It added that it will evaluate relevant developments and their potential financial reporting implications under applicable accounting standards.

Regulatory context and potential implications

The assessment adds to NOW Corp.'s broader regulatory challenges in the Philippines telecommunications sector. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission En Banc denied the company's appeal and upheld a P1-million fine for a securities law violation involving market disclosures.

That case stemmed from a regulatory filing made by NOW Corp. in 2021 after reports that the government, through the NTC, was seeking to resolve NOW Telecom's alleged P2.6-billion unpaid fees. The latest dispute could affect the company's regulatory exposure and financial reporting, depending on the outcome of the review request.

Our earlier article covered Philippine community groups pressing the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corp. to deliver long-delayed remedies over alleged environmental and social harm linked to IFC-backed coal projects affecting more than 120,000 people. It noted that campaigners are intensifying pressure during the World Bank Group’s 2026 Annual Meetings in Bangkok, citing both the impacts on local communities and the financial returns tied to the investments, while arguing that recommended remedial actions have yet to be implemented.

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