As of March 26, 2020, the filing deadline for Form SD’s is unchanged from the May 31 deadline included in the text of the Conflict Minerals Rule (and in the instructions to the Form SD).  Note: because May 31, 2020 is a Sunday, the filing deadline for the Form SD’s for reporting year 2019 is Monday, June 1, 2020.

To address certain challenges created by COVID-19, on March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an Order that, among other things, extended the filing periods for certain public company reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act.  The relief granted by the Order applies to specific Securities Exchange Act reporting requirements that are listed by section.  Notably, however, Section 13(p) of the Securities Exchange Act, which requires the filing of conflict minerals disclosures on Form SD, is not included in the list of reporting requirements covered by the Order. 

Questions have been posed to the SEC staff as to whether such relief could also be granted for this year’s Form SD filing deadline.  But, until we hear more, companies would be wise to continue their work to meet the June 1, 2020 filing deadline for the 2019 reporting year.