If you maintain an “ACTIVE” company or Foundation in Panama, please read the following Bullets. Panama has established through Law 52 of 2016 and Law 254 of 2021, the entity liability to have “ACCOUNTING RECORDS YEARLY,” even if its operation is local or international:
- Delivery date: The ACCOUNTING RECORDS must be sent to the lawyer in Panama no later than “April 30th” each year. Even if the entity is “dissolved,” the last ACCOUNTING RECORDS must be sent for the proper legal closing.
- Sending: The ACCOUNTING RECORDS can be sent in “original” or “scanned copy.”
- Custody: The Attorney in Panama will keep these ACCOUNTING RECORDS in “confidential custody, which can only be requested by a competent authority in Panama.
- Documents Abroad: If the ACCOUNTING RECORDS are outside of Panama, the client must inform the attorney in Panama about this fact through a “LETTER,” let it know: a) Name, b) Email, c) Telephone, and d) Address, of the professional who is the custodian of the documents abroad.
- Type of Documents: ACCOUNTING RECORDS are “Income Tax Returns” or “Financial Statements,” in addition to “supporting documents,” such as invoices or receipts.
- Information in Documents: The ACCOUNTING RECORDS must reflect the: “Assets, Patrimony, Income and Expenses” of the Panama entity, even if it owns properties or performs commercial activities within or outside Panama.
- Fines: Failure to send the ACCOUNTING RECORDS yearly may generate: (a) FINES from $5,000 to $1,000,000. b) SUSPENSION in the Panama Registry, c) The lawyer must SURRENDER as Resident Agent in Panama, compulsory.
If you already have your company’s or foundation’s “Accounting Records,” contact your resident agent in Panama to comply “in due time” with this new annual requirement and avoid fines.
PGS ATTORNEYS
Mail@PanamGS.com
www.PanamaGs.com
