The Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) detected 312,244 taxpayers who had not submitted monthly value added tax (VAT) returns for more than three years. This group includes 259,311 who have not complied for 4 years (already disqualified) and 52,933 who have not complied for three years.
In a first phase of sanctions from October 4, 2023 to April 3, the collecting agency proceeded to notify taxpayers who had failed to comply for 48 months that they should regularize their situation, which was attended to by 6,590 of them. , who were regularized and discharged once more following the corresponding payments (taxes, fines and surcharges).
The second phase of suspension will be for those who have defaulted for 36 months (3 years) or more (the 52,933 mentioned), while taxpayers who have defaulted for more than 2 years or 24 months are 42,209,000; and those who have more than 12 omissions are 65,147 taxpayers, says the SAT.
The Superintendent of Tax Administration, Marco Livio Díaz, emphasized in his last press conference that “we continue to deactivate taxpayers who do not file returns. That is to say, they are ignored.”
Reasons for disqualification
The different reasons established in the law to apply this type of sanction are failure to pay VAT or not being located at their tax domicile, explained the SAT.
If this is the case, the reason for the suspension will be identified in the record of the Unified Tax Registry (RTU), which indicates: Suspension due to omission of VAT, article 120 of decree 6-91, Tax Code.
Auditor Edy Pérez, managing and tax partner at Grant Thornton Guatemala, said that this article allows the tax entity to suspend or disaffiliate from the RTU system taxpayers that it cannot locate or that have not submitted their returns in the last 4 years. .
This inspection has also been streamlined with the Online Electronic Invoice Regime (FEL) since it can be detected if the taxpayer has issued invoices, but is not declaring. The consequences of being suspended as a taxpayer of this tax are the following:
- Not being able to generate fiscal solvency, which is a requirement to carry out some procedures.
- Not being able to issue electronic documents through the Online Electronic Invoice Regime (FEL) such as invoices, credit or debit notes.
- Impossibility of transferring a vehicle with commercial license plates.
- Limits registration as an importer.
- You also cannot use virtual agency affiliations that require VAT affiliation in active status.
- Suspension in the issuance of VAT withholding certificates.
- It is not possible to ratify data or modify the information in the economic activity section.
- A suspension alert also appears when exchanging information with external entities, accountant data, and modifying the entity’s legal status.
How to reactivate VAT affiliation
The taxpayer may reactivate their VAT affiliation, for which they must follow the following steps:
- Identify your non-compliance in the Integrated Verifier available on the SAT portal at this link. In this you can consult regarding omissions and the situation of an invoice issuer before the SAT.
- Enter Declaraguate and generate the forms for pending declarations.
- Submit and pay the forms at the banks. Among the different VAT regimes are the General regime, Small Taxpayer, Electronic Small Taxpayer, Special Regime for Agricultural Taxpayer and Special Electronic Regime for Agricultural Taxpayer. The suspensions of VAT affiliation are being applied to any regime.
- VAT affiliation will be activated automatically. If you request a payment agreement, VAT affiliation will be activated within 24 hours. To verify your tax affiliation you can do so from your Virtual Agency, within the Inquiries option and then Affiliations and Obligations.
- However, it is necessary to keep in mind that failure to make declarations and non-payment of the tax entails a fine in the case of VAT of 100% of the tax due, plus interest and fines.
They warn of errors and fines
Mario Coyoy, auditor who is a member of the Fiscal Commission of the Guatemalan Institute of Public Accountants and Auditors (IGCPA) and partner of the firm Deloitte, regarding VAT omissions, warned that many legal entities and individuals have mistakenly interpreted that if there is no billing or operation, no VAT returns must be submitted.
However, it explains that any company that is affiliated with VAT in its RTU (which can be consulted in the Virtual Agency), any taxpayer or company has the obligation to submit its declaration.
If you have not invoiced because you do not have operations or did not make any purchase or acquisition of goods or services, what you must do is present the monthly declaration without movement or at zero.
If the declaration is not submitted, the taxpayer falls into breach of formal duties and the fines are established in article 94 of the Tax Code (lists 18 infractions).
These include that if the declarations are submitted following the deadline established in the specific tax law, the penalty is a fine of Q50 for each day of delay, with a maximum penalty of Q1 thousand, plus compensatory interest.
If the payment is voluntary (without having been required by the SAT), there may be a reduction of up to 85% of the penalty, according to article 94 A of the Tax Code and payment agreements can be sought.
In the event that there has been omitted tax (if the declaration was valid and it was not presented and paid) the penalty is 100% of the total tax payable in the case of VAT, although it has an automatic discount of 50% .
The taxpayer can only stop filing returns when he or she submits to the SAT the procedure for temporary cessation or definitive cessation of his or her establishment, the auditors explained.
Source: Mario Coyoy, auditor who is a member of the Tax Commission of the Guatemalan Institute of Public Accountants and Auditors (IGCPA) and partner of the firm Deloitte; Edy Pérez, auditor and managing and tax partner at Grant Thornton; Statements by the Superintendent of Tax Administration Marco Livio Díaz; SAT virtual conference regarding How to activate VAT affiliation.
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