Tier 1 · Current forestry incentive regime
Law 69 of October 30, 2017 — Reforesta Panamá Program
"Creating an Incentive Program for Forest Coverage and Natural Forest Conservation." The law that rewrote Panama's forestry incentive regime after 25 years of Law 24/1992 — shifting from tax exemption to direct subsidy through a public fund.
The paradigm shift
Law 24/1992 incentivized reforestation via tax exemption: the investor paid less income tax on forestry profits. Law 69/2017 shifts the model to direct subsidy: the State creates a fund (Reforesta Panamá) that pays landowners for forest coverage and conservation services. Both models partially coexist — Law 69 did not derogate Law 24 in full, but specific articles.
🌳 Reforesta Panamá Fund
Public fund with mixed administration and assets. Receives contributions from the General State Budget, donations, public and private financing, and other contributions. Serves the Million Hectares Reforested Alliance and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
What this law modifies in earlier statutes
Article 26 — Derogates Article 6 of Law 24/1992
Article of the original direct-incentives regime linked to Forest Registry registration. Verbatim text in full analysis.
Article 27 — Derogates Article 7 of Law 24/1992
The most cited article of Law 24: contained income tax exemption on forestry profits of registered plantations. Its derogation is the basis of current confusion over "applicability" of Law 24/1992.
Article 28 — Derogates Article 91 of Law 1/1994
Article of the Panamanian Forestry Law related to the forestry fiscal regime. Verbatim text in full analysis.
The law also modifies specific articles and adds Article 95-A of another statute (Tax Code or Forestry Law, as applicable) — full detail in the PDF.
What this law creates
- Forest Coverage Incentives Program — public policy instrument for reforestation, conservation and restoration.
- Reforesta Panamá Fund — mixed administration, mixed assets.
- Explicit recognition of forest ecosystem services.
- Benefits for multiple activities: protection of natural forests, assisted natural regeneration, restoration, agroforestry, silvopastoral and silvo-agricultural systems, sustainable management, commercial plantations, forest product processing, nurseries, research, sustainable forest product exports.
- Objectives linked to the Million Hectares Reforested Alliance.
Complete analysis · Law 69 of 2017
Verbatim text of derogating articles (26, 27, 28), step-by-step Fund application, subsidy amounts by hectare and activity, and compatibility with Forestry Visa and QIV.
Or included in the Complete Legal Framework bundle USD 99.
Official sources
Full text: National Assembly · LEGISPAN · Official Gazette No. 28,397-C of October 30, 2017.
Regulation: Executive Decree 129 of 2018 · vLex Panama.
International mirror: UNEP Law & Environment Assistance Platform · ECOLEX · FAOLEX (FAO).