Corporate Transparency Act – District Court’s Order and Injunction is Stayed by U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
By Alan S. Wernick, Esq., Wernick & Associates, LTD.
On December 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, granted a temporary stay of the Order and Injunction by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, regarding the Corporate Transparency Act.
A December 23, 2024, Alert from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) stated that in light of the abovementioned decision, reporting companies, except as indicated in the Alert, are once again required to file Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) with FinCEN. However, the Alert recognizes that reporting companies may need additional time to comply given the time period during which the preliminary injunction was in effect. As such, the Alert states:
- Reporting companies that were created or registered prior to January 1, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN. (These companies would otherwise have been required to report by January 1, 2025.)
- Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after September 4, 2024 that had a filing deadline between December 3, 2024 and December 23, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
- Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after December 3, 2024 and on or before December 23, 2024 have an additional 21 days from their original filing deadline to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
- Reporting companies that qualify for disaster relief may have extended deadlines that fall beyond January 13, 2025. These companies should abide by whichever deadline falls later.
- Reporting companies that are created or registered in the United States on or after January 1, 2025 have 30 days to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN after receiving actual or public notice that their creation or registration is effective.
A copy of the FinCEN BOI Alert is available at https://www.fincen.gov/boi.
A copy of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, December 23, 2024, decision in Texas Top Cop Shop, Incorporated, et al. vs. Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General, et al. (No. 24-40792), is available at https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/60a5136f2c6c8e4fb3a130d9/6769e20a1ec75a2f1d51fbf7_24-40792_Order%20re%20Stay%20of%20Injunction.pdf
20241223 © 2024 Alan S. Wernick