TRANSPARENCY AND FINAL BENEFICIARIES REGISTRY TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE END OF APRIL

After varies adjournments, the time has come for the obligated parties to submit the transparency and final beneficiaries registry (“RTBF”) by the end of April 2021. Obligated parties have time throughout the whole month of April to submit the Registry through the digital platform created by the Central Bank of Costa Rica called “Central Directo”. Through this compliance requirement, Costa Rican Authorities aim to allow an effective control in the fight against tax fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing.

Obligated parties to submit the report by the end of April are:

• Legal persons and other legal structures domiciled in Costa Rica.
• Third-party resource managers on behalf of their clients.
• Non-profit organizations

Private Trusts, including foreign trusts that carry out activities in Costa Rica, are included in the list of obligated parties, but they have time until June 2021 to file the RTBF.

It is important to clarify that any Costa Rican corporation, regardless of their “active” or “inactive” condition before the Tax Administration, must submit the RTBF, the inactive condition does not grant an exception with respect to the RTFB obligation.

The entire process must be done through the digital platform, and a Costa Rican digital signature (duly authorized and granted by the Costa Rican Central Bank) is required. The RTBF must include names and personal information of all shareholders and final beneficiaries that have direct or indirect control over the entity.

Fines for not submitting the RTBF correspond to two percent (2%) of the gross income of the legal person, with a minimum of three (3) base-salaries (approximately US$2,000). The Costa Rican National Registry will not register any documents and transactions nor issue certificates for corporations not compliant with the RTBF obligations.

To receive assistance for the preparation and submittance of the RTBF, please feel free to email us: contact@cribo.cr.

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