What is a resident agent in Panama?

The Resident Agent, in simple words, is the registered lawyer of companies, that is, he will be a point of contact between public authorities and their company.

The resident agent will be responsible for ensuring that their company is in due compliance with Panamanian regulations and will be responsible for notifying their clients of the periods of annuity to maintain the companies in force.

But, the responsibilities of the resident agent go far beyond that, since the enactment of Law 254 of November 11, 2021, the obligations of all resident agents have been expanded to ensure expanded compliance to prevent practices related to money laundering, money laundering and terrorist financing

The new responsibilities of the resident agent are:

• Registration with the Superintendency of Non-Financial Subjects as a law firm or independent lawyer.

• Implement mechanisms for the prevention and control of the Risk of Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

• Registration as one of the third parties linked to the DGI (General Directorate of Revenue), this registration must be made when registering a new company with the DGI.

• Submit an affidavit to the General Directorate of Revenue affirming the possession of the accounting books and the information of the custodian of them no later than July 15 of each calendar year.

• Single and Private Registry of Final Beneficiaries of companies registered in Panama.

It was mentioned above that all lawyers and law firms must be registered with the SSNF (Superintendency of Non-Financial Subjects), but what is it?

The Superintendency of Non-Financial Subjects (SSNF) was created by Law 124 of January 7, 2020, as an autonomous body of the State, with as its general objective, the exclusive competence to regulate and oversee non-financial obligated individuals, in accordance with the provisions of regulation 23 of 2015, on the prevention of Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The objective of the SSNF is to monitor and regulate Non-Financial Subjects in the area of preventing money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in an effective manner, to comply with the framework for the prevention of money laundering, financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the recommendations and standards of international organizations in this area.

Additionally, recently, CUR or “unique resident agent code” was created, which will be mandatory for resident agents.

The Resident Agent is important because he would have several responsibilities to ensure that the companies in his charge are in due compliance with public authorities and that he has made the registrations with SSNF and DGI in the appropriate terms.

Your resident agent must be an attorney you can trust and who can prove to be there for you when you contact him, as he will be an important element in creating your company and keeping it going. As long as you have a trusted lawyer as your resident agent, he can continue to help you with any issue you need while running your business.