Inability
to timely file Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 due to circumstances related to COVID-19
DarkPulse,
Inc. (the “Company”) will be unable to file its 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K by the original deadline of March 30,
2020 due to circumstances related to COVID-19. On March 20, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a stay at home order to
protect the health and well-being of all New Yorkers and to establish consistency across the state in order to slow the spread
of COVID-19. New York is therefore under strict quarantine control and travel has been severely restricted, resulting in disruptions
to work, communications, and access to files (due to limited access to facilities). As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, management’s
full efforts have been focused on operating its business, evaluating available funding and working with its vendors and employees.
Further, the Company has been following the recommendations of local
health authorities to minimize exposure risk for its team members for the past several weeks, including the temporary closures
of its corporate offices and having team members work remotely. As such, the Company’s
finance team will be unable to complete the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements and the Form 10-K
until after March 30, 2020.
The
Company is relying on the SEC order dated March 4, 2020 (Release No. 34-88318) to extend the due date for the filing of its Form
10-K until May 14, 2020 (45 days after the original due date). The Company will work diligently to comply with such requirements,
and at this time, management believes that it will need the entire available extension period.
Additional
risk factor disclosure
Following
is a risk factor relating to COVID-19.
Pandemics
or disease outbreaks, such as the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus) pandemic may disrupt our business, which could materially
affect our operations and results of operations.
An
outbreak of respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan city, Hubei province, PRC, in late 2019 and has been expanding
globally. COVID-19 is considered to be highly contagious and poses a serious public health threat.
On
March 20, 2020, the New York Governor announced the lockdown of New York in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. Since then,
other measures have been imposed in other countries and major cities in the USA, including New York City, and throughout the world
in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The World Health Organization (the “WHO”) is closely monitoring and
evaluating the situation. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic, expanding its assessment of
the threat beyond the global health emergency it had announced in January. Any outbreak of such epidemic illness or other adverse
public health developments in the USA or elsewhere in the world may materially and adversely affect the global economy, our markets
and our business.
In
the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak has caused disruptions to our corporate operations, and to our development operations,
which have resulted in delays on existing projects. A prolonged disruption or any further unforeseen delay in our operations or
within any of our business activities could continue to result in, increased costs and reduced revenue. We could also be adversely
affected if government authorities impose additional restrictions on public gatherings, human interactions, mandatory closures,
seek voluntary closures, restrict hours of operations or impose curfews, restrict the import or export of products or if suppliers
issue mass recalls of products.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This
Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements relate to future events or the Company’s future
financial performance. The Company has attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,”
“believes,” “expects,” “can,” “continues,” “could,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,”
“should” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the matters set forth in this Form 8-K or other reports or documents the
Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ
materially from those projected. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements
are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Undue reliance should
not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company’s expectations are
as of the date this Form 8-K is filed, and the Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the
date this Form 8-K is filed to conform these statements to actual results, unless required by law. All of the forward-looking statements
are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in this
Form 8-K.