Bill 77.

Summary.

The bill defines the terms used in transferring areas designated for public use, including property, real property folio, lot, urban development, subdivision, developer, and public easement. Public easements include strips of land used, among other purposes, to protect beaches, rivers, and streams, and to accommodate sanitation, electricity, water, gas, telecommunications, and transportation routes. It also defines the public use certificate as the document establishing when properties, areas, or land designated for easements and parks became public use areas.

To transfer property to the Nation, an owner or authorized representative applies to the State Property Directorate (Dirección de Bienes Patrimoniales del Estado) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas). The application includes certificates from the Public Registry of Panama (Registro Público de Panamá) concerning the property and, where applicable, the legal entity; identification and authorization documents; favorable records from the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas) and the National Water Supply and Sewerage Institute (Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales); plans registered by the Ministry of Housing and Land Management (Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial) and the National Land Administration Authority (Autoridad Nacional de Administración de Tierras); a location sketch; and digital files. The Directorate has sixty (60) business days to admit the application, arrange an appraisal, and resolve to accept the property without payment. The transferor signs the deed and supplies tax and utility clearance certificates. The head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance or a delegate then signs within the following fifteen (15) business days. The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) has fifteen (15) business days to endorse the deed before registration. Preparation of the deed requires the exemption resolution provided for in the Tax Code (Código Fiscal).

If the developer no longer exists, is absent, or is an inactive company, a resident or public entity may request the exceptional procedure from the National One Stop Office Directorate (Dirección Nacional de Ventanilla Única). It checks the project and the registry status. The State Property Directorate reports within fifteen (15) business days whether a transfer proceeding is pending. To authorize the exceptional route, the National One Stop Office Directorate establishes that the owner cannot participate, that three (3) years or more have passed since the last registration or subdivision, and that no transfer proceeding remains active. The Ministry of Housing and Land Management arranges the relevant plan, carries out expropriation under existing rules, and informs the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Public Works when the process concludes. If the owner is located, that person is notified so the proceeding can continue.

Formalization requires an inventory and government appraisal, or a private appraisal submitted by the owner and ratified by the State Property Directorate. Expropriation cases require appraisals from the Comptroller’s Office (Contraloría). The bill amends item 11 of article 764 of the Tax Code to exempt areas designated for public use from real estate tax, including areas that have not yet been constituted as separate properties. The public use certificate sets the applicable date; the Directorate General of Revenue (Dirección General de Ingresos) recognizes the exemption by resolution within ninety (90) business days and specifies the debt to be forgiven. The provision also authorizes forgiveness of arrears and issuance of an endorsed clearance certificate while an exemption application is pending.

Applying owners would pay for the registration of transfers of road easements. The regime would exclude developments expressly subject to horizontal property ownership or a similar regime and declares itself a matter of public order and social interest. The bill supersedes Law 198 of February 15, 2021, and provides for commencement on the day following promulgation. Its provisions concern the named public bodies, municipalities, and the real estate, construction, public utility, and road infrastructure sectors.