In the revision made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Costa Rica appears in the list of nations that still have not made significant progress in fiscal transparency.

See: "Shareholder Registry Revived in Costa Rica"

A statement from the Finance Ministry says that "...The rating of "partially met" leaves Costa Rica with pending tasks on tax transparency.  The reason for this rating is lack of access to information on the beneficiaries of legal entities, as is the case with three other countries (El Salvador, Poland and Turkey) out of all those evaluated, countries who also maintain the rating of "Not Compliant" on that particular aspect."

See ratings by the OECD.

More on this topic

Shareholder Registry: New Deadline in Costa Rica

April 2021

Initially the ordinary period to declare the beneficial owners of the companies was due on April 30, but the authorities decided to extend the deadline to May 31.

This declaration was to be submitted during the month of April; according to resolution N°DGT-ICD-R-06-2020, however, due to the state of emergency facing the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these institutions agreed to extend the deadline, in order to guarantee the fulfillment of this obligation and facilitate voluntary compliance, informed the Ministry of Finance.

Shareholders Registry: Projecting Backlogs in Costa Rica

September 2019

Businessmen ask for an immediate extension in the application of any fines, as many representatives of companies have not yet managed their digital signature and at this time, there is no capacity installed in the authorized posts.

Since September 1, the process of registration of approximately 370,000 legal persons began. They will have the obligation to comply with the "Registry of Transparency and Final Beneficiaries," and the legal documents ending in 0 and 1 should have done so first.

Costa Rica: Shareholder Registration Begins in September

August 2019

As of September 1, approximately 370,000 legal entities will be required to comply with the Registry of Transparency and Final Beneficiaries, with the legal documents ending in 0 and 1 being the ones that must do so first.

However, as of September 1, 2019, legal entities who prefer it, regardless of the last digit of their identity card, may make their declaration and send it in advance.

Shareholder Registration Postponed

February 2019

Because of doubts that have arisen in the business sector, in Costa Rica it was reported that the start of shareholder registration was postponed six months and will enter into force on September 1 of this year.

The aim of this process is to facilitate compliance with the obligation that companies must inform the Treasury on the composition of its share capital, as well as the identification of final beneficiaries, under the provisions of the Law to Improve the Fight against Tax Fraud, a statement from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).