Incorporating an Offshore Company in Panama
In Panama most entities are governed by public notaries that are under the direction of the government. The law in Panama allows any two people who are acting as organizers and their subscribers to go before a pubic notary to organize and legalize a corporation.
For people that want to incorporate a Panama company without visiting Panama this is very possible. The services of a Panama law firm or management services company with access to legal services will be required to facilitate the completion of all required documents as well as act as your representative and sponsor. In order to meet the due diligence required by law in Panama a law firm will ask you for; 3 name choices for your company.
The name you choose to register must end with one of the accepted choices in Panama which include; Corp., Inc., Corporation, Incorporated and S.A. You can incorporate a Panama company for just about any reason relatively easily, with the exception of banking and insurance, with no minimum capital requirements.
If you incorporate your Panama corporation with less than $10,000 you will need to pay a $300 per year registration fee which is due annually. You will need to use a minimum of 3 directors which can be anyone from just about anywhere. The caveat example is if you are interested in registering the corporation anonymously in bearer share format you will need to use the services of nominee directors. These can be supplied by most Panama law firms but make sure when you order your corporate package that it includes undated resignation letters from these nominees or you run the risk of someone seizing control of your company that you don't even know.
Your company will also need a president, treasurer, and secretary, because they are required. You can choose anyone you want to fill these positions. It is okay for one person to hold more than one office, but it is advisable that the president hold only one. You will also select one of these officers to act as vice president. You may have other vice presidents, but it isn't necessary. You may also declare other offices if you wish. The company can be based anywhere in the world, but it is advisable to stick with Panama or another tax haven as the listed domicile. The Panamanian Company you are creating has to have a Registered Agent domiciled in Panama. The agent has to be a practicing lawyer or law firm.
You can incorporate your Panama company for a short time or indefinitely with the latter being the more common option. Typically, a Panama law firm will take about a week to form your offshore company once they have received all of the correct notarized documents from the client.
You can have your own corporation created in just as little time, with less of the uncertainty that these shelf corporations create. It is not required to have corporate seals or minutes books if the corporation does not operate in Panama. The certified copy of your Articles of incorporation should be more than enough to open a bank account or conduct other business. Of course if you have them that is fine as well, but they are not required for most operations. It can cost upwards of 7,000 dollars to have one single corporation formed by one of these services.
When registering your corporation it is best to select a firm that operates on a flat fee basis, because then you know what you are getting into and can make adjustments to your finances accordingly. When you are looking for a company to work with it is important to keep in mind that the entire cost should never exceed $ 3000.00 including all expenses. To renew and register it should never cost more than $800 total.
Be wary of packages that look "too good to be true". There are a number of little gotcha's where a law firm will try to make their package cost less than a competitor's but what they don't tell you is if you try to get a bank account with the corporation they register you will be turned down.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
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