On December 26, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit entered an order that has the effect of again prohibiting the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and staying all CTA filing deadlines. A Fifth Circuit panel has reinstated a nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of the CTA.
Just days earlier, a different panel of the Fifth Circuit entered a stay of the District Court’s injunction order, resulting in the reinstatement of all CTA filing requirements and deadlines. Following the entry of that order, the Treasury Department extended the deadline for reporting companies that were created or registered prior to January 1, 2024 until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN. In vacating the prior order, the Fifth Circuit panel indicated that:
“The merits panel now has the appeal, which remains expedited, and a briefing schedule will issue forthwith. However, in order to preserve the constitutional status quo while the merits panel considers the parties’ weighty substantive arguments, that part of the motions-panel order granting the Government’s motion to stay the district court’s preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the CTA and the Reporting Rule is VACATED.”
Entities with reporting obligations under the CTA should be on alert for further developments.
