BOIR / CTA for Indian owners, current status 2026.

The Corporate Transparency Act (part of the National Defense Authorization Act 2021) requires 'reporting companies' — broadly, US-formed corporations and LLCs and foreign entities registered to do business in the US — to file a Beneficial Ownership Information Report with FinCEN naming each beneficial owner (individual with 25%+ ownership or substantial control).

Original penalties: USD 500 per day for ongoing non-compliance, up to USD 10,000 criminal penalty and 2 years imprisonment for wilful violation.

Information reported per beneficial owner: full name, date of birth, residential address, unique identifying number (passport, driver licence), image of the identification document.

Multiple federal courts enjoined CTA enforcement in 2024 on constitutional grounds (commerce-clause overreach, Fourth Amendment privacy). The Fifth Circuit and other circuits produced conflicting rulings.

In March 2025 FinCEN issued an interim final rule narrowing CTA's scope: domestic US entities and US-citizen beneficial owners of foreign entities registered in the US were exempted from BOIR filing. The remaining obligation applies to foreign reporting companies (non-US entities registered to do business in US states) with non-US-citizen beneficial owners.

Status as of 2026: the interim final rule remains in effect. Domestic US LLCs and C-Corps — the standard Delaware entity used by Indian founders — are not subject to BOIR filing under the current rule. This may change if the final rule or further litigation shifts position.

Based on the March 2025 interim final rule:

• Delaware LLC owned by an Indian individual (standard case): domestic US entity, not currently required to file BOIR. Monitor FinCEN updates for the final rule.
• Delaware C-Corp with Indian founder-shareholders: same — domestic entity, not currently filing. Monitor.
• Indian company registered to do business in a US state (foreign reporting company): potentially within scope. Beneficial-owner analysis required; if any non-US-citizen beneficial owner, filing may be required.
• Non-US-formed holding entity (e.g. BVI, Cayman, Singapore) registered in a US state: potentially within scope. Case-by-case analysis.

Important caveat: FinCEN's interim rule is subject to revision. The final rule or a subsequent executive-order change could restore domestic-entity obligations. Entities that previously filed under the pre-2025 rules do not need to withdraw — filed BOIRs remain on file with FinCEN.

For an Indian founder with a Delaware LLC or C-Corp (the standard case):

1. Document the current entity classification (domestic reporting company; exempt from BOIR under the March 2025 interim final rule).
2. Retain beneficial-ownership documentation internally — names, dates of birth, addresses, ID copies — so that filing can be executed within 30 days if the rule changes.
3. Subscribe to FinCEN updates and/or have a US CA/attorney who monitors final rule issuance.
4. If the entity is a foreign reporting company (unusual for Indian founders): engage a specialist to run the beneficial-owner analysis and file BOIR as required.

For entities that filed BOIR under the pre-2025 rule: the filing remains on record with FinCEN. No action required to withdraw. Future updates (change of address, change of ID document) should be reported under the pre-2025 process even if newly-arising obligations are different.