Countries › Panama › Guide › 3. Investing › Ten year legal and tax stability in Panama: registering a B/.2 million investment with MICI under Ley 54 de 1998

Ten year legal and tax stability in Panama: registering a B/.2 million investment with MICI under Ley 54 de 1998

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

Investors in tourism, industry, export agriculture, agroforestry, mining, export processing and free zones, telecommunications, construction, ports and railways, power, irrigation and Cabinet approved activities can register a plan of at least B/.2,000,000 with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Registration freezes the national tax regime, gives municipal tax changes effect only every five years and protects customs and labor rules for ten years. SEM and EMMA licensees get the same guarantees automatically; the 1999 regulation sets a B/.50 annual registry fee.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates as legal tender (Ley 84 de 1904; see fx/dollarization-and-the-balboa). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Minimum investment for the Ley 54 de 1998 stability regime	2000000 USDLey 54 de 1998 art. 16, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Term of legal and tax stability	10 yearsLey 54 de 1998 art. 10, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Interval at which municipal tax changes can affect a registered investment	5 yearsLey 54 de 1998 art. 10 numeral 3, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Time for the Ministry to decide on registration	60 daysLey 54 de 1998 art. 8, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Annual registry fee	50 USDDecreto Ejecutivo 9 de 1999 art. 17, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. The stability regime is available to private individuals and companies, national or foreign, investing in Panama in tourism, industry, export agriculture, agroforestry, mining, export processing zones, commercial and oil free zones, telecommunications, construction, port and railway developments, power generation, irrigation and efficient water use projects, and any other activity approved by the Cabinet on the Ministry of Commerce and Industries' recommendation.Ley 54 de 22 de julio de 1998, art. 5, 1998-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. To register, the investor presents to the entity that supervises the activity (or to DINADE at the Ministry of Commerce and Industries where there is none) an investment plan committing at least B/.2,000,000, to be executed in the term set by the sector law or otherwise within at least two years from registration. When the term ends, the investor proves the amount invested by sworn statement and a certified public accountant's certificate. The plan identifies the investor, the activity with feasibility studies, the amount and the jobs to be created.
Cost to do it: Minimum investment B/.2,000,000 (US$2,000,000), plus accountant and legal fees for the plan and certifications.
Example: A B/.3,500,000 hotel expansion registered in 2027 must be executed within the term of the tourism law or, failing one, at least two years. / US$3,500,000 investment.Ley 54 de 1998, art. 16 numeral 1, 1998-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. The supervising entity certifies the investment and sends a copy to the Ministry, which must decide on registration within sixty days by reasoned resolution; the implementing decree gives the supervising entity up to thirty business days to issue its certificate.Ley 54 de 1998 art. 8; Decreto Ejecutivo 9 de 22 de febrero de 1999 art. 8, Ley 54 art. 8; DE 9 art. 8, 1999-02-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. For ten years a registered investor enjoys: legal stability, so new rules do not alter its regime except for public utility or social interest; national tax stability, being subject only to the tax regime in force at registration; municipal tax stability, with changes applying only every five years; stability of customs regimes granted by special laws for refunds, exemptions and temporary admission (tariff changes by the Cabinet are not a breach); and stability of the labor rules applicable at hiring.
Example: A company registered when the corporate rate was 25 percent keeps that rate for ten years even if a later law raises it, unless the change is for public utility or social interest. / On US$1,000,000 of taxable income, a 25 percent frozen rate means US$250,000 of tax regardless of later increases.Ley 54 de 1998, art. 10, 1998-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. If a tax that forms part of the guaranteed regime is replaced by a new tax, the investor pays the new tax only up to the amount it would have paid under the repealed one. A registered investor may, once, opt into the general tax regime for the rest of the ten years, or renounce the guarantees at any time after notifying DINADE.Ley 54 de 1998, arts. 12 and 13, 1998-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Companies with foreign capital must waive diplomatic claims except for denial of justice, comply with environmental, sector, tax and labor obligations, and carry out and keep the investment per the plan. Breach causes loss of the guarantees by reasoned DINADE resolution after an expedited procedure, unless force majeure is proven. Persons convicted of tax or customs crimes, with unpaid enforceable tax debts, or convicted of drug, money laundering, fraud or forgery offences cannot use the regime.Ley 54 de 1998, arts. 9, 16 and 17, 1998-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. The application is filed with DINADE on a form costing B/.10, with B/.4 in stamps, and attaches a power of attorney for a lawyer, the supervising entity's certificate, a Public Registry certificate, national and municipal tax clearance certificates, a sworn statement that no disqualifying conviction exists, a sworn waiver of diplomatic claims by each foreign shareholder and a sworn statement of compliance. New investors can register before investing if they commit at least B/.2,000,000 within two years. Registration carries an annual fee of B/.50, paid on application and then when requesting the annual authenticated copy of the registration, which is valid one year.
Cost to do it: B/.10 form, B/.4 stamps, B/.50 annual registry fee (US$10, US$4 and US$50), plus DINADE inspection travel costs where it verifies an investment with no supervising entity (art. 12).
Example: Ten years of registration cost B/.500 in annual fees plus the B/.14 form and stamps. / US$514 over ten years, before professional fees.Decreto Ejecutivo 9 de 22 de febrero de 1999, arts. 10, 15, 16 and 17, 1999-02-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Companies that obtain a Multinational Headquarters (SEM) licence receive the Ley 54 art. 10 guarantees automatically from the licence date, as do companies licensed under the manufacturing services (EMMA) regime from their registration, without the B/.2,000,000 minimum.Ley 41 de 2007 art. 15-A as added by Ley 57 de 2018 art. 4; Ley 159 de 2020 art. 55, Ley 41 art. 15-A; Ley 159 art. 55, 2018-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A Mexican builder plans a B/.12,000,000 (US$12,000,000) industrial park.
It files the investment plan with DINADE, pays B/.14 for the form and stamps and the first B/.50 annual fee, and attaches sworn waivers of diplomatic claims from its foreign shareholders.
Once registered, the national tax regime in force that day applies for ten years; if the corporate rate later rose, it would keep paying at the frozen rate unless the change rested on public utility or social interest.
After the investment term it files the sworn statement and an accountant's certificate proving the B/.12,000,000 was invested.

Step by step

Confirm the activity is listed in Ley 54 art. 5 or approved by the Cabinet.
Identify the supervising entity for the sector (for example the tourism, energy or free zone authority) or use DINADE if there is none.
Prepare the investment plan: amount of at least B/.2,000,000, timetable, feasibility studies, jobs.
Obtain the supervising entity's certificate (up to thirty business days) and file the DINADE form with the documents of DE 9 art. 10.
Wait for the reasoned resolution (sixty days); keep the authenticated copy and renew it every year with the B/.50 fee.
At the end of the investment term, file the sworn statement and accountant's certificate of the amount invested.

Common traps

Stability does not freeze tariffs: the Cabinet can still change import duties.
Stability yields to measures of public utility or social interest, so it is not absolute.
Missing the investment plan, environmental, tax or labor obligations ends the guarantees, and a later conviction for tax, customs or money laundering crimes cancels the registration.
The published text of art. 10 numeral 2 has a garbled sentence on indirect taxes, so whether later ITBMS changes are frozen is not clear from the law alone; ask DINADE before relying on it.
Opting into the general regime can be done only once and locks the new regime for the remaining years.
The fees in DE 9 de 1999 are those of the regulation as published; confirm the current amount with DINADE before filing.

Sources

← Foreign investment in Panama: equal treatment, free repatriation and expropriation guarantees under Ley 54 de 1998Restricted activities for foreign investors in Panama: retail trade, land near the borders, islands, public utilities and gaming →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.