Today, the Corp Fin staff provided some additional relief in the context of incorporation of Part III information (very generally, information about directors and executive officers) into Forms 10-K. A you know, a company is allowed to incorporate into its Form 10-K Part III information from its definitive proxy (or information) statement if filed not later than 120 days after the end of the related fiscal year. If the definitive proxy statement is not timely filed, the company must file an amendment to its Form 10-K by the 120-day deadline to provide the omitted Part III information. New Form 10-K CDI 104.18 will allow a company to rely on the conditional relief provided by COVID-19 Order (Release No. 34-88465 (March 25, 2020) for the filing of the Part III information as long as the 120-day deadline falls within the relief period specified in the Order (March 1 and July 1, 2020) and the company meets the conditions of the Order (see this PubCo post).
Below are some refinements from the staff:
- “A registrant that timely filed its annual report on Form 10-K without relying on the COVID-19 Order should furnish a Form 8-K with the disclosures required in the Order by the 120-day deadline. The registrant would then need to provide the Part III information within 45 days of the 120-day deadline by including it in a Form 10-K/A or definitive proxy or information statement.
- A registrant may invoke the COVID-19 Order with respect to both the Form 10-K and the Part III information by furnishing a single Form 8-K by the original deadline for the Form 10-K that provides the disclosures required by the Order, indicates that the registrant will incorporate the Part III information by reference and provides the estimated date by which the Part III information will be filed. The Part III information must then be filed no later than 45 days following the 120-day deadline.
- A registrant that properly invoked the COVID-19 Order with respect to its Form 10-K by furnishing a Form 8-K but was silent on its ability to timely file Part III information may (1) include the Part III information in its Form 10-K filed within 45 days of the original Form 10-K deadline, or (2) furnish a second Form 8-K with the disclosures required in the Order by the original 120-day deadline and then file the Part III information no later than 45 days following the 120-day deadline by including it in a Form 10-K/A or definitive proxy or information statement.”
In CDI 112.02, the staff also provides some relief for MJDS filers of Form 40-F. The relief allows a filer required to file its Form 40-F on the same day that the same information is due to be filed with a Canadian regulatory authority to rely on applicable Canadian COVID-19-related relief for extension of its filing deadline (assuming proper compliance) without the need to comply with the conditions for exemptive relief in the SEC’s COVID-19 Order on the date the Form 40-F would have been due in the United States. The staff advises, however, that MJDS filers consider promptly disclosing their reliance on the Canadian COVID-19-related relief.
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