Pursuant to Article 103, numeral 1 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Nicaragua (CTr), every company must register as a taxpayer before the Tax Administration, which is why newly incorporated companies go through a registration process at the General Revenue Directorate and in the taxpayer registry of the municipality where they will carry out their commercial operations.
However, the obligation to provide the basic data of the company to the Tax Administration, through the Single Taxpayer Registry (RUC), is not a one-time obligation; instead, the aforementioned article mentions that the taxpayer will have the obligation to keep such data updated in the form and conditions established by the same law.
The above is of utmost importance for all companies, since it is common that with the passage of time changes are made in the basic structure of the company, such as those related to transfers of shares, election of new directors and legal representatives, implementation of a new economic activity, modification of tax domicile or basic contact information (email, telephone, etc.); and even making agreements that modify the articles of incorporation and/or bylaws. All these changes must be reported and informed to the Tax Administration under penalty of administrative fines. Among the data that must be updated are the following:
Changes in the shareholder composition and board of directors of the company.
Changes in the legal representative and fiscal domicile.
Changes in basic contact information to receive notifications (telephone numbers, e-mails, etc.).
New economic activities not registered.
Amendments to the articles of incorporation and bylaws.
This updating procedure is of great relevance, since the non-compliance with this duty may generate fines, such as those established in numeral 1 of article 126 and numeral 1 of article 127 CTr; which literally state:
“1. Failure to register in the pertinent registries, or to provide the necessary data or to communicate their modifications, when there is an obligation to do so (…).
“The administrative infringement for the non-compliance of the formal obligations of the taxpayers and responsible parties shall be sanctioned as follows: 1. (…) With a pecuniary sanction of between a minimum of thirty to a maximum of fifty fine units, for each month of delay or non-compliance.” (One fine unit is equivalent to twenty-five cordobas).