Doing business in Panama

If you want to open or acquire a business in Panama, Bufete Illueca | Lawyers in Panama recommends you follow these steps:

There are two alternatives in organizing a business:  to do it on a personal capacity or through a legal entity. If you decide to do it through a legal entity, we recommend, for many reasons, using a Corporation.

Constituting a Panamanian corporation grants you several benefits:

1. Limits your legal responsibility to the assets of the company.
2. All contracts, including labor contracts, are subscribed in the name of the company.
3. In general, and particularly on tax matters, only the company is liable.
4. In case of a sale, you can sell the shares of the company, which makes the process easier.

In order to start operations, your business will require a Notice of Operations as well as other permits or licenses depending on the type of business. Among these permits, we find the ones issued by municipal, health, and agricultural authorities.

Your company must be registered before the Unique Taxpayer Registry of the General Directorate of Income of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and as employer before the Social Security Fund.

In order to hire personnel for the company, you will need to have your work contract templates. Labor contracts are a fundamental piece for successfully organizing your business.

• Incorporate and organize the Company through which you will operate or acquire your business.
• Process all the permissions that your business requires.
• Represent the company before different government entities (e.g. General Directorate of Income, Municipality, Social Security Fund).
• Draft the multiple contracts required by the business (e.g. work, rental, representation).
• Research on the market where you are planning to invest on, in order to provide a good frame of reference.

If you need additional information, kindly contact our team of experts at info@illueca.com.