By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

As of September 1st, more than 370,000 companies will have an obligation to comply with the Transparency and Final Beneficiaries Registry at the Central Bank*.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the goal of this registry is to reduce tax evasion, allow the exchange of tax information with other countries with which Costa Rica has signed agreements, fight against the money laundering, and fight against the financing of terrorism.

According to the Central Bank, the information contained in this registry will be used exclusively by the General Directorate of Taxation of the Ministry of Finance, and the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs.

According to the Central Bank, it has developed a high level of technology in terms of security to protect company information.

"There is a guarantee that the computerized system complies with the information security measures accepted internationally, in accordance with the highest standards of confidentiality which is required to obtain the certification required by the law," said Eduardo Prado, Manager of the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

The Central Bank has the role of administrator of the registry of shareholders and is the custodian of the information.

The companies or organizations required by law to comply with the registration are companies, trusts, non-profit organizations, Limited Liability Companies, Foreign Corporation Branches, and third-party resource managers, among others.

The legal representative of each company is responsible for making the registration. The requirement is to have a digital signature registered with the Central Bank.

In case the legal representative cannot make the declaration, there is the possibility to assign another person, with a legal authorization previously certified by an attorney or notary.

The registration with the Central Bank will be obligatory during the following months:

- In September, the registration for companies with the last two digits of 0 or 1 on their ID (Cédula Jurídica).

- In October, companies with an ID ending in 2 or 3.

- In November, companies with an ID ending in 4 or 5.

- In December, companies with an ID ending in 6 or 7.

- In January 2020, with an ID ending in 8 or 9.


According to the law, this report must be registered, every April of each new year.

The information to present in the report must include the name of the shareholders, company address, the total value of shares, the shares beneficiaries, the name of the manager, and his /her address.

The report can be filled at Central Bank's website, CentralDirecto.fi.cr, using the digital signature.

According to the Ministry of Finance, noncompliance with the law, the owners will be fined between $2,361 and $78,700.

According to National Registry Data, more than 119,000 company representatives have not yet requested the digital signature, which is the first requirement to register the shareholder form.

The Ministry of Finance calls upon taxpayers to comply with this shareholder report.

More information on this report can be found by calling the Ministry at (506) 2539-4647 or (506) 2284-5000.





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Is it mandatory in your country to report the details of a company's shareholders? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

 

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