On October 26, 2016, Colombia’s DIAN (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales) announced the successful completion of its e-invoicing pilot program, meaning that mandated participation will soon begin to roll out. As the leader in Latin American electronic invoicing and fiscal reporting, Sovos participated in Colombia’s pilot program with key customers. With the announcement of the end of the pilot, we are now opening up implementation slots based on the data schemas finalized in the program. Please join us for a webinar on Thursday, December 15th at 12pm ET on “How to Prepare for Compliance Changes in Mexico and Colombia.”
The pilot program included 57 volunteer companies of diverse sizes and industries. Taking place from April through October 2016, the DIAN used the pilot to improve its procedures, address participant concerns and determine if the electronic invoicing systems performed according to its standards. After successful completion, the tax administration will first enable taxpayers to voluntarily opt in to start electronic invoicing before it starts mandating compliance, which is anticipated to begin in 2017.
Multinationals with operations in Colombia need to begin preparing now, as the first wave of mandates are most likely to affect these large enterprises. Following the models of Mexico, Chile and Brazil, the DIAN has already declared that mandates will be based on the following criteria:
- Volume of transactions
- Revenues
- Volume of assets
- IVA refunds
- Industry / sectors with the greatest risk of tax evasion
Colombia is anxious to finalize its e-invoicing program, citing social and economic benefits that will boost the competitiveness and growth of the economy. By 2018, it expects that the majority of taxpayers will have implemented e-invoicing. Global enterprises, however, won’t be able to wait that long to begin complying with the new legislation. Contact us to learn more about our current Colombian implementation slots.
