The law approved in the second debate establishes procedures and dates by which taxpayers may assert their tax rights.

From the National Assembly of Panama press release:

January 21st, 2019. After introducing new modifications, Law 692, by means of which the Tax Procedure Code is adopted, was approved in the second debate.

The regulation was on the agenda for the third debate, but was returned to the second debate in order to make new reforms as a result of the consensus between the benches and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In this regard, MEF minister Eyda Varela de Chinchilla said that most of the modifications were formal and not substantive, which is why she said she felt satisfied because it is a project that represents the fulfillment of a government debt to its taxpayers.

According to Varela de Chinchilla, this code establishes procedures and dates through which taxpayers can assert their rights in this matter, such as the creation of judges and arbitrations, in an agile environment and, likewise, they can be attended to when they present claims.

The Executive Body maintains that approval of this Tax Code is urgently needed to comply with standards required by bodies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove the country from a possible tax haven.

See Law 692.