Bill 663.

Summary.

Article 7 proposes amending Article 7 of Law 506 of 2026 to establish the permitted uses of negotiable payment certificates for late-payment interest (CEPANIM) before their payment date. The certificates could serve as security for any banking obligation or transaction, as a bond in government procurement, and as security for judicial obligations. They could also be used as a means of payment or cash equivalent at local businesses that hold a valid business operating notice and accept the certificates for their products or services. Their acceptance by a business would therefore depend on that business agreeing to this means of payment.

The same article would allow the certificates to be used at face value, or 100%, to make payments toward or settle delinquent debts existing as of December 31, 2025, at the Agricultural Development Bank (Banco de Desarrollo Agropecuario), Agricultural Insurance Institute (Instituto de Seguro Agropecuario), National Water and Sewerage Institute (Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales), Urban and Household Sanitation Authority (Autoridad de Aseo Urbano y Domiciliario), and Institute for the Training and Development of Human Resources (Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos Humanos). For delinquent mortgage loans existing as of December 31, 2025, it provides for their acceptance at 100% of their original value by the National Mortgage Bank (Banco Hipotecario Nacional), Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social), Savings Bank (Caja de Ahorros), and National Bank of Panama (Banco Nacional de Panamá). It would also allow the certificates to be exchanged for cash at banks holding a general banking license, local businesses, securities firms, savings and credit cooperatives and multipurpose cooperatives, and companies legally established to operate in the Republic of Panama.

Article 8 declares the proposed law to be a matter of public order and social interest and gives it retroactive effect. Article 9 identifies the bill’s legislative and regulatory changes: the addition of a transitional paragraph to Article 694 of the Fiscal Code, the amendment of Article 7 of Law 506 of January 15, 2026, and the amendment of Executive Decree No. 170 of 1993. These references place the proposed uses of CEPANIM alongside the fiscal and regulatory changes listed in the bill itself.

Article 10 directs the Executive Branch, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas) and the General Directorate of Revenue (Dirección General de Ingresos), to issue implementing regulations for the proposed law within 10 days of its publication. Those regulations would define the technology platform for validating and recording the CEPANIM that companies submit when paying their tax obligations. Under Article 11, the law would take effect the day after its publication in the Official Gazette. Based on its content, the bill concerns those authorities, the specified recipient institutions, businesses, industry, financial institutions, cooperatives, taxpaying companies, and people or entities with the delinquent debts covered by the bill.