Panama: local rules

Panama's transfer pricing rules are in Chapter IX of the Codigo Fiscal, articles 762-A to 762-M. They were added by Ley 33 of 2010 and changed by Ley 52 of 2012, Ley 114 of 2013 and Ley 69 of 2018. Decreto Ejecutivo 390 of 2016 is the regulation. Related-party deals must be priced as independent parties would price them. The rules cover any deal with related parties that are tax residents of other countries and that affects the income tax base (art. 762-D). Art. 762-L also brings in deals with related parties in Panamanian free zones and special economic areas, such as the Colon Free Zone and Panama Pacifico. The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines are the technical reference when they fit the Code (art. 762-D).

There are three layers. First, the Informe de Precios de Transferencia (Formulario 930) is filed every year on e-Tax 2.0 within six months after the fiscal year end (art. 762-I). The DGI allows no extension and no amended report: a filed report can only be cancelled on request and filed again inside the same period. Version 3 of the form (DGI Resolution 201-4247 of 16 June 2026) applies from fiscal year 2026. Second, a transfer pricing study (local file) must exist when the Formulario 930 is filed and must be handed over within 45 days of a DGI request (art. 762-J). Day periods count working days only, so this is 45 working days. Third, group information (a master file) must be available and given when the DGI asks (art. 762-K and Decreto 390 art. 11). There is no size threshold, and documents must be in Spanish.

Art. 762-F sets an order of methods: comparable uncontrolled price, resale price and cost plus come first. If they cannot be applied because the deals are complex or data is missing, the transactional net margin method or profit split is used. The arm's length range is the interquartile range (Decreto 390 art. 9). A local comparable takes priority over a foreign one when one exists (Decreto 390 art. 5). In Panama's answers to the OECD (February 2022), Panama reported no safe harbours and no advance pricing agreement programme.

Not filing the Formulario 930 is fined 1% of the gross amount of related-party transactions, up to B/. 1,000,000 (art. 762-I). Art. 756 of the Codigo Fiscal, as rewritten by Ley 254 of 2021, fines anyone who does not hand over requested reports or documents within the time the DGI sets: B/. 1,000 to B/. 5,000 the first time and B/. 5,000 to B/. 10,000 for a repeat, plus closure of the business for 2 days the first time and up to 10 days for a repeat. Advisers apply this to a study or master file that is not delivered. A Panamanian parent that does not file its CbC report is fined B/. 100,000 plus B/. 5,000 a day until it files; wrong data costs B/. 25,000 and deliberately altered data up to B/. 500,000 (art. 756).

No enacted Pillar Two rules were found as of 27 October 2026: no income inclusion rule, undertaxed profits rule or domestic minimum top-up tax, so no Pillar Two deadline is shown. Deloitte's 2026 Panama guide says the government is only considering such rules. Ley 526 of 28 May 2026 is a different measure: entities of multinational groups that earn foreign-source passive income must show economic substance in Panama from 2027, or pay a 15% tax on that income. Panamanian entities of large groups can still face top-up taxes in other countries.

The corporate income tax return (Declaracion Jurada de Rentas) is due by 31 March for a calendar year, or within three months after a special fiscal year ends (Codigo Fiscal art. 710 and DGI guidance). A request made before that date gives one more month to file, but the estimated tax must still be paid by the original date. Country-by-country reporting only applies to ultimate parents resident in Panama of groups above EUR 750 million (Decreto Ejecutivo 46 of 2019). Under the Codigo de Procedimiento Tributario (Ley 76 of 2019), arts. 21 and 22, a deadline that ends on a holiday or a day the tax office or the receiving banks are closed moves to the next working day.