Panama Pacific as Free Zone
In Panama there are three different laws for special economic zones. One of them is the special area of Panama Pacifico.
Through Law 41, a special legal, fiscal, customs, labor, immigration and business regime is created for the establishment and operation of a Special Economic Area in the district of Arraiján, aimed at encouraging and ensuring the flow and free movement of goods, services, and capital in order to promote investment, job creation and make Panama a very competitive country in the global economy.
Panama as headquarters of Multinationals
With Law 41 of 2007, everything related to operations and benefits for the headquarters of multinational companies, located in Panama, was regulated.
Law 41 defines as a SEM company how “That multinational company that from Panama carries out operations aimed at offering the services defined in this Law to its Headquarters or its subsidiaries or its affiliates or associated companies, or that establishes its Headquarters in Panama.” Such is the spirit of the norm.
Later, decrees 45 and 57, and resolution 15-58, expanded some details of law 41.
To date, Panama has more than 120 companies to which the Technical Secretariat of the Multinational Company Headquarters License Commission has granted a license that allows them to benefit from a series of labor and tax benefits, in addition to the general ones provided by being Panama a logistics, digital and commercial hub, which in turn has a quantifiable effect on transit times and the distribution and redistribution of goods.