On January 23, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order allowing the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) which requires reporting companies to disclose beneficial ownership information to the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).
This decision comes after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction last month that temporarily prohibited enforcement of the CTA. After a series of conflicting decisions issued by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at the end of December 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which according to the briefing schedule previously set, will hear oral arguments on March 25, 2025.
Reporting companies will (again) be required to submit beneficial ownership information reports to FinCEN; however, the Supreme Court’s order does not provide guidance on a new deadline for the beneficial ownership information reporting. FinCEN will likely issue revised compliance deadlines shortly.
Felhaber will continue to closely monitor any developments regarding this matter.
UPDATE
Despite the Supreme Court’s action on January 23, 2025, in Texas Top Cop Shop, FinCEN has confirmed that 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 because a separate nationwide order issued by a different federal judge in Texas (Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury) remains in place.