Given the Feb. 18 ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith v. U.S. Department of Treasury, beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are back in effect, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network stated.

According to the Journal of Accountancy, the decision granted the Department of Justice's (DOJ) request for a stay of the court's nationwide injunction.

But, the FinCEN acknowledges that reporting firms might need extra time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations. Thus it announced that it is generally extending the deadline 30 calendar days from Feb. 19  for most firms.

In the alert, FinCEN said that the Treasury Department, which it is under, is committed to mitigating the regulatory burden on companies. This is why in the 30-day period, FinCEN will assess its options to further modify deadlines, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that present the most considerable national security risks.

FinCEN will also start a process in 2025 to revise the BOI reporting rule to limit the burden on lower-risk entities such as many U.S. small businesses.

In the announcement, the FinCEN listed the updated deadlines: 

• For most reporting firms, the new deadline to file an initial, updated and/or corrected BOI report is now March 21. FinCEN will be giving an update before that date about any further change of this deadline. FinCEN that it recognizes that reporting firms might  need extra time to comply with their BOI reporting obligations once this update is given.

• Reporting firms that were previously granted a reporting deadline later than March 21must file their initial BOI report by that later deadline. For instance, if a firms reporting deadline is in April 2025 because it qualifies for certain disaster relief extensions, it should follow the April deadline, not the March deadline.

• As indicated in the alert titled “Notice Regarding National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.)”, Plaintiffs in National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv01448 (N.D. Ala.)—namely, Isaac Winkles, reporting firms for which Isaac Winkles is the beneficial owner or applicant, the National Small Business Association, and members of the National Small Business Association (as of March 1, 2024)—are not currently required to report their beneficial ownership information to FinCEN at this time.

• For updates on other litigation related to the CTA and its effect on reporting requirements for certain plaintiffs, see the following alerts:

For more information, see FinCEN Notice, FIN-2025-CTA1, FinCEN Extends Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Deadline by 30 Days; Announces Intention to Revise Reporting Rule (Feb. 18).

Reporting firms could report their beneficial ownership information directly to FinCEN, free of charge, using FinCEN’s E-Filing system available at https://boiefiling.fincen.gov. Additional information is available at fincen.gov/boi.