By The Star Staff
The Puerto Rico Department of State, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Treasury Department will hold a presentation on new regulatory requirements on Wednesday for individuals who ultimately own or control companies.
Secretary of State Omar J. Marrero Díaz made the announcement Monday.
“In 2021, the United States Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act to safeguard the financial system from illicit use,” Marrero said. “This law requires companies operating in the United States to report information about the beneficial owners and any other person who exercises substantial control over the affairs and decisions of the entity.”
“It is extremely important that every corporation or limited liability company, or LLC, submit their initial report directly to FinCEN,” the secretary of state said. “An important aspect of this law is that the principal officers of the entity in question would also be responsible for non-compliance under the law. That is why we reiterate our call for any entity that qualifies to send the form as soon as possible and to attend this presentation to clarify any doubts.”
The presentation, which will take place at the State Department Theater in Old San Juan, will feature Jimmy Kirby, deputy director of FinCEN, who will explain details about the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), as well as the reports required by the law.
With the objective of combating money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud and other illicit activities, the CTA created a rule to submit information about the beneficial owner (Beneficial Ownership Information, or BOI), where reporting companies must disclose certain information about the entity as well as personally identifiable information about its beneficial owners, Kirby noted.
The rule, Marrero added, establishes that reporting companies must submit a BOI Initial Report whose expiration date depends on the company’s date of creation or registration.
“Reporting companies created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025 to submit their Initial BOI Report,” Marrero stressed.
Meanwhile, those companies created or registered during 2024 will have up to 90 calendar days to submit their BOI report, counting from the date of the company’s creation.
Those companies created or registered to do business on or after Jan. 1, 2025, will have up to 30 calendar days to submit their report.
Comments