Countries › Panama › Guide › 15. Exiting › Letting a Panamanian company lapse: suspension of corporate rights and administrative dissolution

Letting a Panamanian company lapse: suspension of corporate rights and administrative dissolution

Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Changing

Panama has no quick strike off: an entity that stops paying the B/.300 tasa única for three consecutive years, or stays without a resident agent for more than 90 days, has its corporate rights suspended by the Registro Público. A suspended entity has one year to reactivate by paying a B/.1,000 fine and curing the cause; otherwise the authority that ordered the suspension orders its dissolution. By Resolución 201-0977 of 29 January 2026 the DGI published the list of legal entities three consecutive years in arrears, starting this process for them.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates freely as legal tender; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the balboa's value is on a par with the US dollar (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Tasa única anual for companies	300 PABCódigo Fiscal art. 318-A, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Consecutive years of unpaid tasa única before suspension	3 yearsCódigo Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Days without a resident agent before suspension	90 daysCódigo Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 2, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Reactivation fine for a suspended entity	1000 PABCódigo Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 5, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Time to reactivate before dissolution is ordered	1 yearsCódigo Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 4, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	1 PAB per USDBalboa at par with the US dollar (Superintendencia de Bancos), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Sociedades anónimas, SRLs and other legal persons pay a tasa única of B/.300 a year (private interest foundations B/.400 after the first year) to keep full validity, defined as valid registration at the Registro Público; late payment carries a single B/.50 surcharge per year or fraction of a year.
Cost to do it: B/.300 a year plus B/.50 per year or fraction late.
Example: Three years unpaid: B/.900 plus B/.150 of surcharges. / US$1,050 of arrears.Código Fiscal art. 318-A as worded by Ley 52 de 2016 art. 9, art. 318-A, 2016-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The Registro Público suspends the corporate rights of a legal person that (1) stays without a resident agent for more than 90 calendar days after the previous agent's resignation, removal or end of existence; (2) is in arrears on the tasa única for three consecutive years, on prior order of the Dirección General de Ingresos, which sends six monthly reports of such entities; or (3) breaches laws that set suspension as a sanction. Failure to comply during the three months after the deadline leads the competent authority to order administrative forced liquidation.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 2 as worded by Ley 254 de 2021 art. 44, art. 318-A parágrafo 2, 2021-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Once the suspension is registered, the entity has one year to be reactivated. The cure and the reactivation request are made by any governing body, shareholder, partner or interested third party through the entity's resident agent; once reactivated the entity regains full capacity.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 4 as worded by Ley 254 de 2021 art. 44, art. 318-A parágrafo 4, 2021-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. To apply for reactivation, the applicant must pay a reactivation fine of B/.1,000 to the authority that ordered the suspension and cure the causes of the suspension.
Cost to do it: B/.1,000 fine plus all arrears; the Registro Público tariff lists reactivation of dissolved companies at B/.25 plus B/.50 for the first B/.10,000 and B/.0.75 per additional B/.1,000.
Example: Reactivating after three unpaid years: B/.1,000 fine plus B/.1,050 of fees and surcharges. / About US$2,050 before agent and registry costs.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 5 as worded by Ley 254 de 2021 art. 44, art. 318-A parágrafo 5, 2021-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. When the suspension period ends without reactivation, the Registro Público notifies the authority that ordered the suspension so that it orders dissolution; once ordered, the Registro Público carries out the dissolution with all its legal effects.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 6 as worded by Ley 254 de 2021 art. 44, art. 318-A parágrafo 6, 2021-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. While suspended, the legal person cannot start legal proceedings, do business or dispose of its assets, make claims or exercise rights, or take any corporate action binding on it; it may still apply for reactivation, defend proceedings brought against it and continue proceedings it started before the suspension.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 3 as worded by Ley 52 de 2016 art. 9, art. 318-A parágrafo 3, 2016-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. By Resolución 201-0977 of 29 January 2026, published in Gaceta Oficial 30458-B, the Dirección General de Ingresos published the list of legal persons with three consecutive years of arrears on the tasa única under art. 318-A parágrafos 2, 3 and 4.Dirección General de Ingresos, Resolución 201-0977 de 29 de enero de 2026, whole resolution, 2026-01-29 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: January 2026: the DGI published a new list of entities three consecutive years in arrears on the tasa única, the step that precedes registration of their suspension.

8. While the tasa única is unpaid, the Registro Público registers no corporate act and issues no certificates of the entity (except for authorities or third parties enforcing rights, marked as delinquent), but it still registers unilateral resignations of officers and of the resident agent.
Cost to do it: Registro Público tariff for a resignation of officers or resident agent: B/.25 qualification plus B/.25 registration per company.Código Fiscal art. 318-A parágrafo 1 as worded by Ley 52 de 2016 art. 9, art. 318-A parágrafo 1, 2016-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Stage	Trigger	Effect
Arrears	Tasa única unpaid by 15 January or 15 July	B/.50 surcharge per year or fraction; no registration of corporate acts
Suspension	Three consecutive unpaid years on DGI order, or 90 days without resident agent	No business, no disposal of assets, no binding corporate acts
Reactivation window	One year from registration of the suspension	Pay B/.1,000 fine and cure through the resident agent
Dissolution	Year ends without reactivation	Authority orders dissolution; Registro Público registers it

From dormancy to dissolution (Código Fiscal art. 318-A as amended by Ley 52 de 2016 and Ley 254 de 2021).

Step by step

Decide whether a voluntary dissolution is cleaner: it ends the company on your timetable, while the lapse route takes four years or more and leaves arrears.
If you still want the lapse route, make sure the company has no assets, contracts, bank accounts or employees, since a suspended company cannot dispose of assets.
Check the entity's status at the Registro Público before any sale or reactivation.
To reactivate, instruct the resident agent, pay the B/.1,000 fine and all arrears and cure the cause within the one year window.

Common traps

Letting a company lapse is not a clean exit: the dissolution is administrative and comes years later, and the company remains on public records as delinquent meanwhile.
A resident agent that resigns starts the 90 day clock; the resignation is registered even if the tasa única is unpaid.
Entities on the January 2026 DGI list should be regularized or dissolved deliberately rather than left to the administrative process.

Sources

← Dissolving and liquidating a solvent sociedad anónima or SRL in PanamaClosing with the DGI and PANAMAEMPRENDE: final return, RUC update and cancelling the Aviso de Operación →

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