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MONTT GROUP MAGAZINE - 2024
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of the EAS is formalized, it will be communicated to the General Directorate of Public Registries. In this regard, it has been noted that for the existence and operation of companies, registration is required in the General Directorate of Public Registries, in 2 (two) registries as the case may be (Registry of Legal Entities and Associations/Public Registry of Trade). Likewise, in accordance with Law No. 6446/2019, they must also be registered in another 2 (two) administrative registries (of legal entities/final beneficiaries), both dependent on the Ministry of Finance, whose purpose is to make transparent, update, supervise and have available to the competent authorities, obligated subjects and citizens in general, the information regarding the PJ and their final beneficiaries. Likewise, for tax purposes there is a taxpayer registry called the Single Taxpayer Registry (RUC). Although there are several state entities that have a registry of PJs, none of them had the primary function of keeping it updated and complete. Due to the above, the competent authorities of the country, with the promulgation of Law No. 6446/2019, have
created an Integrated System of Administrative Registration and Control of Legal Entities, Legal Structures and Final Beneficiaries, which will contain the required information and will make it possible to carry out procedures, data processing, as well as the certification of veracity and consistency of the information. Also as the application authority of the aforementioned Law, the General Directorate of Legal Persons and Structures and Final Beneficiaries has been created, dependent on the Ministry of Finance, within whose functions is that of managing the Integrated System of Administrative Registration and Control of Legal Entities, Legal Structures and Final Beneficiaries. d. Application of effective, dissuasive and proportional sanctions
Regarding administrative sanctions for non-compliance with the requirements of Law No. 6446/19, dissuasive and proportional penalties and consequences have been established according to the seriousness of the infraction. Sanctions are also foreseen in the field of taxation and prevention of ML and TF (when they are obligated subjects) for PJs. Criminal conduct is not classified for them according to Paraguayan legislation, however natural persons (representatives and final beneficiaries) can be prosecuted for any type of criminal conduct in which they have been improperly used.
regarding state and mixed economy companies, anaLyzing the degree of vuLnerabiLity, the former are subJect to the ruLes estabLished in the generaL budget LaW of the nation, pLus the controL carried out by the mh are factors that determine greater rigor unLike of the mixed economy, constituted as sa, Which are governed LargeLy (not entireLy) by the guideLines of private LaW. the corporate controL of these entities, again, depends LargeLy on the sharehoLders’ meeting, Where a singLe officiaL (the attorney generaL) can endorse the actions carried out by the board of directors.
In summary, until the promulgation of Law No. 6446/19, there was no state body that has the power to apply sanctions to PJs, although several entities have the power to administratively sanction PJs, depending on the area in which they are subject. Regardless of how they develop or the businesses they carry out, the country lacks an institution that is exclusively in charge of all issues that concern PJs from their creation, registration, supervision, sanction and extinction. Final Beneficiary Registration (RBF)
The RBF implementation, the law and its corresponding regulations date from the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 respectively.
Another vulnerability of the RBF is the number of HR that makes up the Management and their technical preparation in matters of AML/TF, financial intelligence and criminal investigations of Punishable Acts of ML/ TF and precedent crimes, as well as the technological infrastructure that allows really exploit its data. Regarding the group of legal entities with public purposes (whether for profit or not), in addition to the points mentioned, the following vulnerabilities are observed:
to. corruption
b. Impunity
c. Lack of application of effective, proportional and dissuasive sanctions d. Lack of Independent Control Organizations
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