With no establishment and no RUC, the SFEP does not reach you – imports are documented on the buyer's side. Revisit if you set up locally: new RUCs issue e-invoices from registration, and invoicing public entities runs through the SFEP.

SFEP obligations attach to RUC-registered taxpayers operating in Panama – the sources read show no e-invoicing regime for non-residents without establishment. But a RUC with Panamanian-source activity can carry issuer duties like any resident's, and supplying public entities requires SFEP e-invoices. Confirm your status with the DGI before relying on an exemption.

Panama's regime is hybrid – authorised fiscal devices or SFEP e-invoices under Ley 256/2021, with new RUCs e-invoice-only since 2022. If you issue e-invoices, the DGI's free issuer stays available only while gross income is B/. 36,000 or less and you issue no more than 100 documents a month; cross either line and a certified PAC becomes mandatory (Res. 201-6299/2025).

If you invoice electronically rather than through authorised fiscal devices, the 2026 change bites: since 1 January 2026 the DGI's free issuer is limited to taxpayers with gross income of B/. 36,000 or less and no more than 100 documents a month (Res. 201-6299/2025). Above either threshold you must run through a certified PAC for CUFE authorisation – and public entities accept only SFEP e-invoices.