Reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC
The board of directors of the Panama Canal Authority set the net-ton fee (derecho por tonelada neta) that the Authority pays to the National Treasury at B/.1.75 per net tonne through Acuerdo No. 459 of 11 August 2026, published in the Panama Canal Record on 30 September. The National Assembly approved the budget in third debate on 28 September, with direct contributions to the Treasury of B/.3,608 million, and the Authority states that tolls do not change.
Nature and competence of the Panama Canal Authority in Law No. 19
The Panama Canal Authority is, under Article 1 of Law No. 19 of 1997, an autonomous legal entity under public law. Article 4 reserves to it, exclusively, the operation, administration, functioning, conservation, maintenance, improvement and modernization of the canal and its related services, and Article 7 gives it financial autonomy, its own assets and the right to administer them.
Article 12 divides command: the board of directors sets policy and supervises the administration; the administrator carries it out and answers for the day-to-day running of the canal. The board has 11 directors (Article 13) and is chaired by the Minister for Canal Affairs, José Ramón Icaza. The administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, was appointed by the board on 21 May 2026 for the 2026–2033 term and took office on 7 September 2026, according to the Authority’s communiqués.
Among the board’s functions, item 3 of Article 18 allows it to set «the tolls, fees and charges for the use of the canal and its related services, subject to the final approval of the Cabinet Council». Item 4 allows it to adopt the annual budget proposal and present it to the Cabinet Council, which in turn submits it to the Legislative Assembly.
Acuerdo No. 459 sets the net-ton fee at B/.1.75
Acuerdo No. 459 of the board of directors adopts the budget proposal for 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 and considers that, in accordance with Article 39 of Law No. 19 and according to the financial, operational and budgetary circumstances of 2027, the board determined to set the net-ton fee that the Authority pays to the National Treasury at B/.1.75.
The Agreement relies on Article 316 of the Political Constitution (the Authority’s exclusive competence over the canal), on Article 320 of the Constitution and item 4 of Article 18 of Law No. 19 (adoption of the budget proposal) and on Article 11 of the Finance Regulation, approved by Acuerdo No. 9 of 19 April 1999, which sets the fiscal year from 1 October to 30 September.
Article 39 of Law No. 19 obliges the Authority to pay the national treasury annually fees per net ton, charged to ships subject to tolls, which are to be set by the Authority and may not be lower than what the Republic of Panama was due to receive for the same items on 31 December 1999. The second article of the Agreement authorizes the chairman of the board to present the proposal to the Cabinet Council, and the Authority presented it on 1 September 2026. The Agreement was published 50 days after its date.
In that communiqué, the Authority stated that with the update the fee «does not increase the total amount the State receives, but changes the composition of the payment», that it is not a toll increase and that it is «an expense for the Panama Canal Authority», so it affects its net profit and operating margin but not the contributions to the Treasury, «made up of surpluses, the per-ton fee and service fees».
From toll revenue to contributions to the Treasury according to Acuerdo No. 459
The income and expense table of Acuerdo No. 459 for 2027 deducts the net-ton fee (B/.965.4 million) and the services provided by other State entities (B/.2.4 million) before net profit, and leaves a surplus of B/.2,640.0 million after provisions and reserves. The three amounts add up to B/.3,607.8 million, the B/.3,608 million of direct contributions of the Authority.
| Item of Acuerdo No. 459 | B/. million |
|---|---|
| Toll income | 3,874.6 |
| Other transit services through the Canal | 1,533.5 |
| Sale of electricity, drinking water and miscellaneous | 147.3 |
| Total income | 5,555.3 |
| Total operating expenses | 1,784.5 |
| Net-ton fee | 965.4 |
| Services provided by other State entities | 2.4 |
| Net profit, with financial income and costs | 3,249.5 |
| Provisions and reserves | 609.6 |
| Surplus after provisions and reserves | 2,640.0 |
The provisions and reserves of B/.609.6 million bring together B/.134.9 million for the investment programme, B/.83.1 million for financing payments, B/.385.2 million of equity reserves and B/.6.4 million of concession and investment contributions; the investment programme for the year adds up to B/.341.3 million.
Symbol Consulting’s calculation from that table: the net-ton fee is 26.8% of the B/.3,607.8 million of contributions and 24.9% of toll income, which in turn is 69.7% of total income. The third line of the contributions, «services provided by other State entities», is by the sum the one the Authority’s communiqué calls «service fees»: B/.2.4 million.
Divided by B/.1.75, the fee of B/.965.4 million is equivalent to about 551.6 million net tonnes, and not to the 457.3 million CP/SUAB tonnes projected in the communiqué of 1 September; neither the Agreement nor the communiqué states the calculation base. On that implied base, at B/.1.00 the fee would have been B/.551.6 million, B/.413.7 million less, which would pass to the surplus if the total does not change, as the Authority indicates.
Who pays what around the canal under Law No. 19
Law No. 19 distinguishes flows of money around the canal: the tolls and fees that the user pays to the Authority (Article 9), the net-ton fee and the surpluses that the Authority pays to the national treasury (Articles 39 and 41), and the tax exemption of transit and of the Authority itself (Articles 10 and 43). The 2027 budget moves only one of those flows: the net-ton fee.
| Item | Who pays | Who receives | Legal basis | In FY 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolls | The ship in transit | The Authority | Articles 9 and 18, item 3 | Structure unchanged, according to the Authority |
| Fees and charges for services provided by the Authority | The user of the service | The Authority | Article 9 | Current rates unmodified, according to the Authority |
| Net-ton fee | The Authority | National Treasury | Article 39 | B/.1.75; B/.965.4 million |
| Surpluses | The Authority | National Treasury | Article 41 | B/.2,640.0 million |
| Services provided by other State entities | The Authority | State entities | — | B/.2.4 million |
| Social security, education insurance, employer-employee contribution and employees’ income tax | The Authority and its employees | The State | Article 43, for the contributions | B/.329 million of other payments to the State |
| Other national or municipal taxes on transit | No one | — | Article 10 | Legal rule, outside the budget |
Article 10 provides that, by reason of their transit through the canal, ships, their cargo, passengers, owners and operators are not subject to any tax, duty, fee, levy, charge or contribution, national or municipal, except as established in Article 9. Article 43 exempts the Authority from every national or municipal tax, other than social security contributions, education insurance, occupational risks, public-service fees and what Article 39 provides.
The toll structure is published in the Official Tariff Series 1010.0000 – Tolls, in the version dated 1 January 2025: a fixed rate by vessel size category and lock, plus a capacity rate by charging unit, among them the CP/SUAB net tonne. That per-tonne toll is paid by the ship; the net-ton fee of Article 39 is another item, which according to the Authority is an expense of its own.
The Cabinet Council and the National Assembly in the budget cycle
The Panama Canal Authority does not approve its tariffs or its budget alone. Item 3 of Article 18 subjects tolls, fees and charges to the final approval of the Cabinet Council, and Article 37 provides that the budget proposal goes through the Cabinet Council to the Legislative Assembly, which can only approve or reject it; rejection requires the vote of an absolute majority of its members.
Article 36 excludes the Authority’s budget from the general State budget. If the Assembly rejects it, the previous year’s budget stays in force with the adjustments the board proposes and the Cabinet Council approves; if it is not voted by the first day of the fiscal year, the Authority’s proposal takes effect by decision of the Cabinet Council. In 2026 that rule was not triggered: the Budget Committee approved it in first debate on 14 September, and the Assembly approved it in second debate on 24 September and in third debate on 28 September, before the fiscal year began. Article 40 adds control of the funds: internal audit, independent external auditors and, in every case, subsequent audit by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
What changes and what does not change for the Canal user in fiscal year 2027
For a shipowner, an agent or a logistics operator with transits through the canal, the budget for fiscal year 2027 changes neither the toll structure nor the current rates, according to the Authority. The B/.1.75 net-ton fee is an expense of the Authority of B/.965.4 million, 26.8% of its contributions to the Treasury, and is deducted before the surplus is calculated.
Three documents allow this to be checked without intermediaries: the Official Tariff Series 1010.0000 for tolls, the Authority’s budget communiqués and the Panama Canal Record, where the board’s agreements are published. The administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, took office on 7 September 2026, with the 2027 budget already adopted by the board of directors.
One point remains open: the tonnage base on which the fee is calculated. With B/.1.75 per net tonne, the table of the Agreement implies 551.6 million tonnes, a figure that neither the Agreement nor the Authority’s communiqués explain against the 457.3 million projected CP/SUAB tonnes.
Fuentes
Law No. 19 of 1997 is cited from the text published on the Panama Canal Authority portal, and Acuerdo No. 459 from the 30 September 2026 issue of the Panama Canal Record, Volume 28, Number 4, pages 2 to 4. The figures for contributions, tolls and projected tonnage come from the Authority’s communiqués of 1, 14, 24 and 28 September 2026.
The appointments are taken from the communiqués of 21 May and 7 September 2026. What does not match: 965.4 million divided by 1.75 gives 551.6 million net tonnes, and the communiqué projects 457.3 million CP/SUAB tonnes; the communiqué calls «service fees» what the Agreement titles «services provided by other State entities». The percentages in this text are Symbol Consulting calculations on the Agreement’s figures, not figures from the Authority.
This material was reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC, an advisory firm that provides company setup and licensing, tax and regulatory compliance, and market entry consulting across multiple countries.
General analysis of laws in force. This does not constitute legal, tax, immigration or financial advice.
