FinCEN announced this morning that, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s order yesterday, enforcement of reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act remains on hold due to the continuing stay (i.e., pause) on the effective date of the reporting requirement issued by a second Texas federal court in the case of Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, which you can read here.
FinCEN posted the following on its website:
In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.
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On January 23, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the government’s motion to stay a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas (Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. McHenry—formerly, Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland). As a separate nationwide order issued by a different federal judge in Texas (Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury) still remains in place, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN despite the Supreme Court’s action in Texas Top Cop Shop. Reporting companies also are not subject to liability if they fail to file this information while the Smith order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.
It remains unclear whether further action will be taken in the Smith case to lift the stay (pause) on the effective date of the reporting requirement.
We will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely.
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