The Costa Rican Tax Administration 'Ministerio de Hacienda' has implemented new decrees to control the legitimization of capital and to root out illicit financial gains throughout corporations in Costa Rica.
On January 22, 2021 a new resolution (DGT-R-02-2021) that modifies the previous resolution (DGT-R-075-2019) was announced. This latest resolution ratifies that the 'inactive corporations' are required to 1) register with the Ministry of Finance in the Single Tax Registry (RUT) under code number 960113 and 2) submit annual returns of their assets, liability and shared capital. In the past, only corporations which were active, or producing income, had a filing obligation with the Tax Office.
The new law requires 2 forms, D-140 and a to-be-determined form, to be filed. There are heavy fines for failure to comply, from $500 USD to $75,000 USD.
The definition of an inactive corporation is, '…those companies incorporated in the country that do not have lucrative, income producing, activity of a Costa Rican source.' This includes all commercial companies, branches of foreign companies and individual limited liability companies.
There are 2 steps required to be in compliance with the new law:
File form D-140 'Declaración de Inscripción en el Registro Único Tributario' , via the Virtual Tax Administration (ATV) available on the website www.hacienda.go.cr. This form covers information such as who is the legal representative, address data, contact information, etc.
File a tax form, to be defined, and that will be available via ATV. The form will be a simpler version of a D101 form (used for an active corporation) for a declaration of assets, liabilities and shared capital for any and all CR corporations.
NOTE:
The process to file and submit the tax forms, is through the Tax Department online portal called ATV. The only way to have an account with ATV is if the taxpayer has (1) A CR identification card or residency card or (2) applies for a taxpayer identification number (NITE) and you have a digital signature card. If for any reason you cannot get access to ATV then you must have an authorized person or accountant to access the account to file the forms on behalf of the corporation.
The corporate books should be updated with the same information that will be declared on the Tax Forms, in order to reflect all agreements related to the corporation balance, assets, liabilities and equity value.
Deadlines:
The first filing for the 'inactive corporations' will be within 2.5 months from the date that the Tax Office notifies that the new tax forms are available, sometime within the second or third quarter of 2021.
The details of this law can be complex and we are here to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us at info@gmattorneyscr.com
