From 1 January 2017 Panamanian companies that do not carry on business in Panama are required to keep accounting records and underlying documentation in the office of their registered agent in Panama or in other place outside Panama as determined by a company’s management bodies.
The ‘accounting records’ mean the information which reflects company’s transactions, assets, liabilities and capital, and allows to show the financial position of a company and to prepare its financial statements.
The ‘underlying documents’ mean contracts, invoices, receipts and any other documents which support company’s transactions.
In case if the accounting records are kept outside the office of a registered agent, a company must provide a registered agent with the following information:
- physical address where the accounting records and underlying documents are kept;
- name and contact details of a person who keeps them.
Besides this, a company must inform its registered agent of any changes in this address or contact details within 15 business days after the date of such changes.
Accounting records must be kept and be available for 5 years beginning with the last day of a calendar year in which the respective transactions were made or a year in which the company ceased its activities.
A company must provide its registered agent (upon request of Panama’s competent authorities) its accounting records and underlying documents within 15 business days from the receipt of such request by the registered agent.
