Título II. Obligacion tributaria

The tax obligation constitutes a legal bond, of a personal nature, between the Tax Administration and other public entities that are creditors of the tax and the passive subjects thereof. Its object is the performance of a tax, it arises upon occurrence of the predicate of the taxable event provided for by law and retains its personal character unless its performance is secured by an in rem or fiduciary guarantee, over certain property or with special privileges.

The tax obligation belongs to public law and is enforceable coercively.

Privileges and guarantee of the tax credit. Agreements regarding tax matters entered into between private parties are not opposable to the Treasury nor shall they be effective to alter the status of the passive subject, except in cases where the law expressly authorizes them or recognizes effects to them and without prejudice to the validity they may have between the parties.

Taxes, whatever their nature, surcharges, interest and fines, in tax matters, enjoy the general right of privilege over all property of the debtor and shall have, even in case of bankruptcy or liquidation, priority for payment over the other credits. Mortgage and pledge credits registered in the General Register of Property prior to the date on which the action of the active subject of the tax obligation was notified to the taxpayer, and those indicated in numbers 1 and 2 of Article 392 of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, constitute an exception to this rule.

The existence of tax obligations shall not be affected by circumstances relating to the legal validity of the facts or acts performed constituting the taxable event, or to the nature of the purpose pursued by the parties in entering into them, nor by the effects attributed to them under other legal provisions, provided that the results inherent in the statutory factual hypothesis actually occur and the taxes involved are not documentary taxes.

*Added by Article 31, of the Decree of Congress Number 4-2012 on 25-02-2012 *Provisionally suspended by File Number 1898-2012 on 26-05-2012 *Declared unconstitutional by File Number 1898-2012 on 29-08-2013

of the tax obligation is the State or the public entity creditor of the tax.

The passive subject is the person obligated to comply with the tax obligations, whether as taxpayers or as a responsible party.

The functions of the tax administration are: To plan, program, organize, direct, execute, supervise and control all activities linked to tax legal relationships arising as a consequence of the application, collection and audit of taxes.

The obligors with respect to whom the same taxable event of the tax obligation occurs are jointly and severally liable for performance of said obligation.

In other cases, joint and several liability must be expressly established by law.

In tax matters, the rules on joint and several liability established by the general law shall apply, in addition to the following special provisions:

1.Performance of the obligation may be demanded, in whole or in part, from any of the obligors, at the election of the active subject, except as provided for obligors for another's debt in Article 25 of this Code.

2.Full performance of the obligation by one of the obligors releases the others.

3.Performance of a formal duty by one of the obligors does not release the others, when a specific legal provision requires the other obligors to perform it.

4.Exemption from or remission of the obligation releases all debtors, unless the total or partial benefit has been granted to one of them; in such case the active subject may demand performance from the others, with deduction of the proportional part exempted or remitted.

5.Any interruption of the limitation period, in favor of or against one of the obligors, benefits or prejudices the others.

Taxpayers are natural persons, regardless of their legal capacity under private law, and legal persons who carry out the taxable event giving rise to the tax obligation or with respect to whom the taxable event occurs.

The following constitute rights of taxpayers, who may act for themselves, through a legal representative or authorized third party, among others established by law:

1.To be treated with impartiality and ethics by the personnel serving the Superintendency of Tax Administration.

2.To have guaranteed the confidential nature of personal data, reports, tax records or others obtained by the tax administration, in the terms provided by law.

3.To be informed and assisted by the Superintendency of Tax Administration in the exercise of their rights and the fulfillment of their tax obligations.

4.To submit inquiries and to obtain the corresponding response.

5.To make all requests and questions raised in the procedures for the application of taxes.

6.To obtain at their own expense a copy of:

a)The documents comprising the administrative files;

b)The returns or reports they have submitted to the Tax Administration; and,

c)Other actions carried out in the Tax Administration in the terms provided by law, except those derived from tax investigations that have not been concluded.

7.Not to provide to the Tax Administration the personal identification documents and those used for the register, registration or updating, already submitted and which are in the possession of the Tax Administration.

8.Repetition and refund of excess payments, in the form, procedure and time limit established by law.

9.That the limitation period of the action of the Tax Administration to determine obligations, impose sanctions and demand payment of the tax debt be applied in the cases provided in this Code.

10.To know the status of the administrative actions and of the processing of the procedures to which they are a party. In this regard, the Tax Administration shall make available to taxpayers on the Institution's Internet portal a link showing the stage in which the proceedings are.

11.That the personnel of the Tax Administration, under whose responsibility the procedures to which they are a party are processed, be identified.

12.To be informed at the start of the control or audit actions, about the nature and scope thereof, as well as about their rights and obligations during the course of such actions and that they be carried out within the time limits of the law.

13.To correct returns in accordance with the provisions of this Code.

14.To challenge the decisions of the Superintendency of Tax Administration in the terms provided by law. The means for submitting challenges shall preferably be electronic.

15.To due process, hearing and defense.

16.To submit arguments and evidence, within the time limits established by the Tax Administration and in accordance with the law. The means for submitting arguments and evidence shall preferably be electronic.

17.Any request for information made by the SAT to taxpayers or third parties, for audit purposes, shall be made in the information request originating the administrative proceedings. Subsequent extensions to said request must be related to the same proceedings.

The following constitute obligations of taxpayers, whether subject to taxation or not, among others:

1.To submit declarations, notifications, self-assessments and other documents required by tax legislation and the tax administration for the performance of its functions.

2.To maintain at their tax domicile or in the Accountant's office, the accounting books and tax records established by the applicable rules, during the time limit established by law.

3.To attend to summonses, communications and notifications by electronic means or any other means valid in law issued by the Tax Administration.

4.To support all transactions carried out in the performance of their mercantile, commercial, professional and any other activities, regarding which obligations established in tax legislation exist, by means of the corresponding legal documentation.

5.To provide to the Tax Administration the information it requires for the performance of its functions, in the form and within the time limits established by law.

When the taxable event occurs in the situations listed below, the persons indicated in each case shall be liable for compliance with the formal and material tax obligations:

SITUATIONS LIABLE

1.Trusts The fiduciary.

2.Participation contract The manager, whether a natural person or a legal person, in which case the liable person shall be the legal representative thereof.

3.Co-ownership The co-owners.

4.De facto partnerships The Partners.

5.Irregular partnerships. The Partners.

*6. Undivided successions The executor, administrator or heirs.

In the foregoing cases, the Tax Administration at the request of the liable person shall make the corresponding registration. The tax regime applicable to the taxed income or property shall be determined in each law, avoiding double or multiple taxation in compliance with the rules and principles of equity and tax justice.

When in the listed situations there are enterprises owned by natural persons that are already registered as taxpayers, they may continue to be taxed as natural persons.

In any case, liability is limited to the amount of the taxed income or property, except in case of intent of the liable person.

Taxpayers or liable persons are obligated to pay taxes and to comply with the formal duties imposed by this Code or by special legal provisions; likewise, to pay interest and pecuniary sanctions, where applicable.

Exemption from payment of a tax does not release the beneficiary from compliance with the other obligations that correspond to them in accordance with the law.

The rights and obligations of the deceased taxpayer shall be exercised or, as applicable, fulfilled by the administrator or executor of the estate, heirs or legatees, without prejudice to the benefit of inventory and to the provisions of articles 25 and 26 of this Code.

The person who, without having the status of taxpayer, must, by express provision of law, fulfill the obligations attributed to the latter, is liable.

*Likewise liable is every person subject by law to compliance with another's formal obligations even when no obligation to pay taxes results therefrom.

The liable person, if he pays the tax obligation with his own money, shall have the right to the action of repetition against the taxpayer.

Second paragraph amended by Article 6 of Decree of Congress Number 58-96 of 15-08-1996

Those liable for compliance with the tax obligations, in their capacity as representatives, without this affecting their own patrimony, except in the case of intent of such representative, for the tax obligations arising from the property they administer or dispose of:

1.The parents, guardians or administrators of property of obligated minors and the representatives of incapacitated persons.

2.The legal representatives of legal persons.

3.The agents under a mandate with respect to the property they administer and dispose of.

4.The bankruptcy trustees and the depositaries in proceedings involving creditors.

The liability established in this article is limited to the value of the patrimonies under administration, except where the representatives have acted with intent, in which case they shall be liable on a joint and several basis.

As successors by particular title to the acquired property and rights, the following are jointly and severally liable with the former owners for compliance with the tax obligations generated by the ownership and transfer of the respective property:

1.Donees and legatees.

2.Acquirers of property, rights or estates, as well as successors in the assets and liabilities of businesses owned by individual or legal persons, or by collective entities with or without legal personality.

3.Individual or legal persons acquiring businesses by merger, transformation or absorption, with respect to the taxes owed by the owners of the merged, transformed or absorbed businesses.

The representatives of companies or businesses in liquidation, creditors' composition proceedings and bankruptcy shall, at the time the creditors' claims are verified, request from the Tax Administration a report on pending tax claims. The transfer or award in these cases must be made free of all tax liability.

The liability established in this article is limited to the value of the estates acquired, unless the successors have acted with willful misconduct, in which case they shall incur joint and several liability.

In the situations provided for in numeral 2 of this article, joint and several liability shall cease for the acquirer within the time limit of one year, counted from the date on which the acquirer makes communication in verifiable form to the Tax Administration of the respective contract or act giving rise to the transfer.

Persons designated by law who intervene in acts, contracts or operations in which they must effect the withholding or collection of the corresponding tax are liable as withholding or collection agents.

Withholding agents are subjects who, when paying or crediting taxed amounts to taxpayers, are legally obliged to withhold from such amounts a part thereof as payment on account of taxes owed by said taxpayers.

Collection agents are individual or juridical persons who by legal provision must collect the tax and remit it to the Treasury.

Those who, by legal provision, are authorized or must collect taxes, interest, surcharges or fines on behalf of the Tax Administration shall also be considered collection agents.

Once the withholding or collection has been effected, the only party liable to the Tax Administration for the amount withheld or collected is the withholding or collection agent.

Failure to comply with the obligation to remit to the fiscal coffers the sums that it should have withheld or collected does not exempt the agent from the obligation to remit to the fiscal coffers the sums that it should have withheld or collected, for which it shall be jointly and severally liable with the taxpayer, unless it proves that the latter made the payment.

The agent is liable to the taxpayer for withholdings or collections made without legal provisions authorizing them, without prejudice to any criminal action that may be applicable.

Every natural person or juridical person, including the State and its decentralized or autonomous entities, co-ownerships, irregular companies, de facto companies and other entities, even when they lack juridical personality, is obligated to provide to the public official of the Tax Administration who holds the delegation for such purpose, the information on acts, contracts, activities of a commercial, professional or any other nature, with third parties, that is required in order to verify the determination or generation of taxes, leaving unaffected data protected by the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala and special laws.

The Tax Administration and its public officials shall receive the information under reservation of confidentiality. When it concerns information protected by virtue of professional secrecy, the Tax Administration shall observe the legally established provisions and procedures.

The Tax Administration shall notify taxpayers or third parties, by the means it deems pertinent, that they must report on their taxable activities generating taxes, exempt activities or activities carried out with third parties, in electronic form, with a determined periodicity, facilitating for such purpose the means, formats, contents or other elements that the requested information shall contain.

The certifications, statements or other information that the Tax Administration requests from public institutions shall be issued within a time limit of no more than thirty (30) days and without generating fees.

The Superintendency of Tax Administration, through the superior authority, may require from any natural person or juridical person the periodic or occasional supply of information regarding acts, contracts or commercial relations with third parties that generate taxes, in written, electronic form, or by other suitable means, provided they relate to tax matters and do not infringe professional secrecy nor the guarantee of confidentiality established in the Political Constitution of the Republic, special laws and the provisions of this Code. In any case, the Superintendency of Tax Administration shall receive the information under reservation of confidentiality. Such information shall be submitted using a form or other means made available by the Superintendency of Tax Administration -SAT-, within the time limit of twenty days from receipt of the request.

The Tax Administration may, at its own expense, install control devices or systems that allow it to obtain information on the production, importation, distribution, purchase and sale, transportation or commercialization of goods or services, and on the operation of telecommunications traffic, directly within the taxpayer's control systems or mechanisms, such as telecommunications traffic, production, or manufacturing, packaging, filling, emptying, or transportation systems for goods and services of producers, importers or distributors of goods or services.

Information obtained in accordance with this article shall be deemed confidential, and representative of industrial secrets and may not be disclosed to third parties. The public officials and employees of the Tax Administration may not reveal or comment on such information and verified facts. Non-compliance with this prohibition shall be sanctioned in accordance with the Penal Code and, in addition, with removal from office.

The information referred to in this article must be available to the taxpayer at the time the latter requires it.

The Superintendency of Tax Administration may require from entities subject to the supervision and inspection of the Superintendency of Banks, savings and credit cooperatives, microfinance entities, and nonprofit microfinance entities, information on bank movements, transactions, investments, available assets or other operations and services carried out by any natural person or legal person, entity or estate, in those cases in which there is reasonable doubt concerning activities or operations that warrant investigation proceedings and provided that such information is requested for tax purposes, including control and oversight actions, under the confidentiality guarantees established in the Political Constitution of the Republic.

The procedure for requiring this information shall be as follows:

1.Request.

For purposes of requiring this information, the Superintendent of Tax Administration or the designated judicial representative shall appear before the competent judge, specifying:

a.Name of the natural person or legal person, entity or estate whose information is required. In the case of taxpayers domiciled in Guatemala, the tax identification number. In the case of natural persons, the unique identification code appearing in the personal identification document or the passport number in the case of foreigners shall also be provided;

b.Purpose, end or use that the Superintendency of Tax Administration intends to give to the information. In addition, it shall justify that this purpose, end or use is within its powers and functions, in accordance with the law;

c.The information required, the means and the manner in which it must be provided; and,

d.The period for which the information is required.

In the case of requirements covered by international information exchange agreements or treaties on tax matters, accepted and ratified by Guatemala, the Superintendent of Tax Administration or the designated judicial representative shall appear before the competent judge specifying the information and the terms in which the Requesting Party to the agreement or treaty has requested it, attaching a copy of the international agreement or treaty as an annex to the justification for the requirement.

2.Processing.

Once the requirements are met, the competent judge, within a time limit of no more than three (3) days, counted from the day of receipt of the request, shall decide on the matter requested by the Superintendent of Tax Administration or the designated judicial representative, without need for summons or notification to the taxpayer, natural person or legal person, entity or estate whose information was required.

3.Decision.

The judge's decision shall be notified within a time limit of no more than three (3) days to the Superintendency of Tax Administration and to the entities holding the required information. This notification may be made by any written means that ensures its notification within the established time limit.

4.Execution of the decision.

If the decision is favorable, the entities holding the information required by the Superintendency of Tax Administration shall deliver it to it in the requested form within a time limit not exceeding eight (8) days, counted from the date on which the notification is received.

The Superintendency of Tax Administration shall receive such information under guarantee of confidentiality, in accordance with the provisions of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, the law and the international agreements or treaties on tax matters accepted and ratified by Guatemala, and therefore may not disclose it to persons or entities not contemplated in these rules.

Entities holding information required by the Superintendency of Tax Administration that fail to comply with a judicial decision that grants delivery of the information requested by the SAT in the form and time limits established shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code regarding resistance to oversight action, without prejudice to the obligation to deliver such information.

5.Appeal.

If the judge's decision denies the SAT's request, this decision shall be appealable and the time period for filing the appeal shall be three (3) days. This appeal, duly reasoned, shall be filed before the judge who issued the unfavorable decision, who shall grant or deny the appeal within a time limit of two (2) days. If granted, he shall elevate the file, with a detailed report to the Second Instance Tribunal, which shall decide without further formality, confirming, revoking or modifying the First Instance judge's decision, within a time limit of three (3) days, issuing the pronouncement that corresponds at law. What was decided shall be certified by the secretary of the tribunal and the certification remitted with the case file to the Trial Court of its origin, within the following two (2) days.

6.Conclusion of the procedure.

If, from the analysis of the information obtained, the probability of violations or unlawful acts is established, the corresponding proceedings shall be initiated. In the case of violations, upon completion of the investigation procedure, the SAT shall notify the taxpayer. If criminal unlawful acts are determined, the SAT shall file the complaint with the corresponding jurisdictional body.

The taxable event or chargeable event is the factual hypothesis established by law to define the tax and whose occurrence gives rise to the birth of the tax obligation.

It is deemed that the taxable event occurs and produces effects:

1.In cases in which the statutory hypothesis is constituted only by material facts, from the moment at which all the circumstances and constituent elements thereof necessary for it to produce the effects normally corresponding to it have been accomplished; and,

2.In cases in which the statutory hypothesis comprises facts, acts or situations of a juridical nature, from the moment at which they are perfected or constituted, respectively, in accordance with the law applicable to them.

If the taxable event were a conditional juridical act or transaction, it shall produce tax effects:

1.From the moment of its execution and until the condition is fulfilled, if such condition were resolutory.

2.Upon fulfillment of the condition, if such condition were suspensive.

If the taxable event is conditioned by law, the provisions contained in the preceding article shall apply.

The tax obligation is extinguished by the following means:

1.Payment.

2.Compensation.

3.Confusion.

4.Condonation or remission.

5.Limitation period.

Payment of taxes by taxpayers or liable persons extinguishes the obligation, without prejudice to criminal liabilities if any.

The Tax Administration may require that payment of final tax debts, fines or surcharges be secured by means of any of the following guarantees:

1.Cash deposit;

2.Bond or security insurance;

3.Any other means established in the laws.

The guarantee means described above shall be constituted in favor of the Tax Administration.

In the case of a guarantee by means of a bond, for tax purposes, the Tax Administration, at any time it becomes aware of non-compliance with the guaranteed obligation, may initiate collection and enforcement thereof, provided it does so within the time limit of the limitation period established by this Code for tax obligations, which time limit begins to run from the end of the coverage period of said means of guarantee.

For purposes of this article, a bond securing tax obligations is governed by the provisions established in international treaties or agreements, this Code, tax laws and, supplementarily, the provisions of the Code of Commerce. If controversies exist, they must be resolved in the summary proceeding, with the exception of enforcement of the bond, which shall be carried out through the Economic Coercive procedure established in this Code.

Payment of the tax debt may be made by a third party, whether or not having a direct relationship with the same, whether the taxpayer or liable party expressly or tacitly consents thereto. The third party shall be subrogated only as to reimbursement of what was paid and to the substantive guarantees, preferences and privileges.

In these cases, only legally enforceable taxes may be paid.

The receipt evidencing payment by third parties shall state who made it.

Payment must be made at the place, date, time limit and in the manner indicated by law.

The amount of the tax debt may be judicially consigned by taxpayers or liable persons, in the following cases:

1.Refusal to receive payment or making such payment conditional upon payment of another tax or pecuniary sanction, or upon performance of an accessory or additional obligation, not ordered in a tax provision.

2.Making payment conditional upon compliance with administrative requirements without basis in a tax provision.

Once consignment has been declared inadmissible in whole or in part, the tax debt, interest and sanctions as applicable shall be collected.

Where there is no final determination of the amount of the tax or the assessment is not final, prior payment shall be allowed, under protest, in order not to incur fines, interest and surcharges. When the final assessment is notified, the charge or credit as applicable shall be made.

In cases in which the taxation period is annual, for purposes of the determination and payment of the tax, the specific law may provide that a tax base corresponding to a shorter period be established. In this case the taxpayer, instead of making the determination and payment of the tax on the basis of a partial closing of its operations for such shorter period, may make advance payments on account of the levy, taking as a reference the tax paid in the shorter period of the corresponding taxable year projected to one year.

The final determination of the levy shall be made upon expiry of the respective annual taxation period, on the date, with the requirements, base and form of determination established by the law on the tax in question, making the corresponding adjustments for overpayments or underpayments in relation to the levy, as finally determined.

The Superintendency of Tax Administration may grant taxpayers facilities in the payment of the tax, for up to a maximum of eighteen months, provided they so request, before the expiry of the time limit for the respective payment and the causes preventing normal performance of the obligation are justified, which facility may not be granted in the cases established in Article 91 of this Code.

The Tax Administration is empowered to grant the payment facilities referred to in this article, even when dealing with tax debts collected through the Economic-Coercive channel. In criminal matters it shall proceed only with authorization from a competent judge. In these cases no reduction shall apply.

In all cases payment of the compensatory interest generated by the tax owed shall apply, which, where a payment agreement exists, shall be computed, pursuant to Article 59 of this Code, up to the date of signing of the agreement; in addition, the sanction for default or fine for omission of the tax shall be paid.

The taxpayer who wishes to make payment of the tax, after the expiry of the time limit for payment thereof, but before having been notified of an information request for audit, may enter into a payment agreement and shall be entitled to a fifty percent (50%) reduction in compensatory interest and an eighty-five percent (85%) reduction of the sanction for default, except for the cases established in Article 91 of this Code, in which only the reduction established in said article shall apply.

The payment agreement that is signed, in the event of default in payment, shall generate interest, which shall not enjoy any reduction.

In the installment payment agreement signed between the taxpayer or liable person and the Tax Administration, in which a risk exists, the amount of the taxes, fines, costs where applicable and other surcharges that have been generated shall be guaranteed, and it shall constitute sufficient executory title for judicial collection of the debt pending cancellation. Risk exists in those cases in which the taxpayer has failed to comply, during the previous four years, with another payment agreement signed with the Tax Administration or when an Economic-Coercive procedure exists against them.

Taxpayers or liable persons to whom facilities in the payment of taxes are authorized with an acknowledgment of debt, said document shall be sufficient executory title for judicial collection of the pending debt.

The agreement shall establish that if the amounts and the conditions set in the decision are not complied with, the agreement and any relief or reduction of fine that has been authorized shall be without effect.

Individual or legal persons owning companies and entities required to register in the Commercial or Civil Registries, engaged in the production, distribution or marketing of goods, or the provision of services, shall withhold the amounts or percentages provided in each case by the respective tax law and remit them to the fiscal coffers, or to the banks of the system when so authorized, within the time limits and under the conditions specified by said law.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the taxpayer may request the Tax Administration not to carry out the withholding. In this case, the taxpayer shall pay the total tax upon its due date, under the conditions established by law. The Tax Administration shall decide within the time limit of fifteen days; otherwise, the request shall be deemed to have been resolved favorably.

Once the extension or payment facilities have been granted, the agreed installments shall be applied first to payment of the interest accrued and then to payment of the tax.

If the debtor fails to pay two consecutive installments, the granted extension shall terminate and the Tax Administration shall demand collection of the balance owed through economic-coercive proceedings.

Liquid and enforceable tax credits of the Tax Administration shall be set off, on its own initiative or at the request of the taxpayer or liable person, against the liquid and enforceable credits of the taxpayer or liable person relating to non-prescribed periods, starting with the oldest and even if arising from a different tax, provided that their collection is in charge of the same body of the Tax Administration. Setoff between balances of debtors and creditors of a tax nature shall have effects in the current account up to the limit of the smaller balance. For such purpose, the rules established in Article 99 of this Code on tax current account shall apply.

The taxpayer or responsible party may request total or partial compensation of their tax debts with other liquid and enforceable tax credits held in their favor, even when they are administered by a different body of the Tax Administration. The request shall be made before the Ministry of Public Finance.

The merger in the active subject of the tax obligation of the capacities of creditor and debtor extinguishes that obligation.

The obligation to pay accrued taxes may only be condoned or remitted by law.

Fines and surcharges may be condoned or remitted by the President of the Republic, in accordance with Article 183, subparagraph r), of the Political Constitution, without prejudice to the own powers of the Congress of the Republic and the provisions of Article 97 of this Code.

The right of the Tax Administration to conduct verifications, adjustments, rectifications or determinations of tax obligations, to assess interest and fines and to demand compliance therewith and payment thereof from taxpayers or liable persons, shall be exercised within a time limit of four (4) years.

Within the same time limit referred to in the preceding paragraph, taxpayers or liable persons shall exercise their right of repetition as to what was paid in excess or unduly collected for taxes, interest, surcharges and fines. The time limit for exercising their right of repetition provided for in the preceding paragraph begins to run from the day following that on which the undue payment was made or the excess balance was established.

The right to request the refund of the Value Added Tax fiscal credit in cash or as a credit against other taxes is also subject to a limitation period of four years, which time limit begins to run from the date on which the taxpayer, pursuant to the specific tax law, may first request the refund of such fiscal credit.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article, the time limit of the limitation period shall be extended to eight years when the taxpayer or liable party has not registered with the Tax Administration.

The time limits established in Articles 47 and 48 of this Code shall be counted from the date on which the expiry of the obligation to pay the tax occurred.

The limitation period is interrupted by:

1.The determination of the tax obligation, whether effected by the passive subject or by the Tax Administration, taking as the date of the act interrupting the limitation period the date of filing of the respective return, or the date of notification of the determination made by the Tax Administration. In the latter case, the same shall be effected in accordance with the provisions of articles 103 and 107 of this Code. The notification of the granting of a hearing for adjustments to the tax, interest, surcharges and fines does not interrupt the limitation period.

2.The notification of a decision by which the Tax Administration confirms adjustments to the tax, interest, surcharges and fines, and which contain a liquidated and enforceable amount.

*3. The filing by the taxpayer or the liable party of the remedies available in accordance with the tax legislation.

4.The express or tacit acknowledgment of the obligation, by means of undoubted facts, by the passive subject thereof.

5.The request for payment facilities, by the taxpayer or the liable party.

*6. The notification to any of the parties of the judicial action brought by the Tax Administration; as well as the notification of any decision establishing or granting dejudicializing measures issued within criminal proceedings, as well as the judgment rendered in criminal proceedings related to crimes against the tax or customs regime.

7.The partial payment of the fiscal debt in question.

8.Any precautionary order or guarantee measure, duly executed.

*9. The request for refund of amounts paid in excess or unduly, filed by the taxpayer or liable party. As well as the request for refund of fiscal credit to which the taxpayer is entitled, in accordance with the specific law.

The effect of interruption is not to count toward the limitation period all time elapsed before the interrupting act.

Once the limitation period is interrupted, the time limit shall begin to be computed again from the date on which the interruption occurred.

The limitation period is deemed waived if the debtor acknowledges owing without alleging the limitation period or if the debtor pays the time-barred debt in whole or in part. Such payment shall not be returned in any case.

The limitation period for the principal obligation extinguishes the accessory obligations.

The limitation period may be raised as an action or as an exception before the Tax Administration and shall be resolved in the form and time limits established by this Code. The decision must be approved by the corresponding authority of the Superintendency of Tax Administration or whoever performs its functions in accordance with the law.

Due to its incompatibility with the cost of administration and collection, the Tax Administration may authorize that the administrative procedure for audit adjustments to the taxes determined by means of a declaration by the taxpayer or liable person not be initiated, when they do not exceed the sum of one thousand quetzales (Q.1,000.00) in each annual tax period.

The administrative procedure shall be initiated in the cases of taxes that are not determined by means of a declaration, whatever the amount of the adjustments.

The Tax Administration may, in exceptional cases and for reasons of procedural economy, declare tax obligations uncollectible, in the following cases:

1.When the amount of the debt is up to five thousand quetzales (Q.5,000.00), provided that steps have been taken to locate the debtor, their property or rights, which may be pursued for payment of the debt, without having obtained any positive effect. The said amount comprises taxes, interest, fines and surcharges, and must refer to the same case and to the same tax period. In the event of an improper declaration of uncollectibility, liability shall be established pursuant to the provisions of Article 96 of this Code.

2.Uncollectibility may also be declared, even if it exceeds said amount:

a)When there are proceedings for insolvency involving creditors or bankruptcy, for the part of the tax obligation that could not be collected;

b)When the obligations consist of sanctions imposed on tax debtors who subsequently die or whose presumed death is declared;

*c) When the obligations refer to deceased tax debtors or to those with respect to whom absence or presumed death has been legally declared, as well as in cases in which the location or whereabouts of the debtor is impossible, according to reliable reports of the Tax Administration, when impossibility of location occurs, uncollectibility may be declared by the Superintendent of Tax Administration based on technical opinions; or when the obligations refer to legal persons extinguished or fully dissolved, except in cases of transformation or merger. In all cases under this subparagraph, provided that no property or rights have been located with which the tax debt may be enforced. For the balance of the tax debt that cannot be covered with located or identified property or rights, the declaration of uncollectibility shall proceed;

*d) When the limitation period of the tax obligation has occurred, in which case uncollectibility shall be declared on its own initiative by the Superintendent of Tax Administration, based on technical opinions, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 96 of this Code.

* Subparagraphs c) and d) of numeral 2 are amended by Article 53 of Decree of Congress Number 37-2016 of 31-08-2016

The decision declaring the uncollectibility of a tax obligation, on one or more of the grounds referred to in Article 55 of this Code, shall suspend the initiation or, as the case may be, the continuation of the collection procedure and shall be communicated to the Normative Procurement Directorate of the Ministry of Public Finance, which shall keep a register thereof and inform the other registers of State suppliers or consultants, for compliance with the provisions of the following paragraph.

The declaration of uncollectibility of a tax debt, delinquency in the payment of tax obligations or being subject to proceedings for the collection of a tax debt through economic-coercive enforcement, shall disqualify the taxpayer or the liable party from quoting, bidding and entering into the contracts referred to in the State Contracting Law, with the latter and its decentralized or autonomous institutions, including the municipalities, for four (4) years from the declaration. Such disqualification shall cease to have effect if the taxpayer or the liable party voluntarily and without further formality pays in full the corresponding tax, interest, fines and surcharges. Such disqualification shall not apply where the limitation period for the tax obligation had expired before the declaration.

As long as the time limit of the limitation period has not elapsed, the collection procedure may be continued, if the causes that gave rise to the declaration of uncollectibility disappear.

Fiscal clearance is the document by means of which the Tax Administration certifies that, as of the date of its issuance, a taxpayer is current in compliance with its formal tax duties and has paid liquid and enforceable tax debts. This document does not prejudge that the taxpayer has correctly determined its tax obligation nor limit the Tax Administration from auditing such periods.

*The time limit for issuance of the clearance is eight working days, counted from the day following receipt of the application.

If issuance of the fiscal clearance is not warranted, a certificate shall be issued indicating the formal duties or debts pending compliance.

State agencies, their decentralized or autonomous entities and other State entities responsible for the regulation, authorization, control or audit of the provision of public services shall establish the frequency with which a taxpayer providing such services must submit the fiscal clearance.

Fiscal clearance shall be an indispensable requirement to serve as an auxiliary of the customs and tax public function.

A natural person or juridical person registered with the Tax Administration as a person exempt from any tax shall obtain fiscal clearance each year in order to keep its register as an exempt person updated.

*Provisional suspension of Article 38 of Decree 4-2012 under File Number 290-2013 on 03-05-2013.

The taxpayer or responsible party who does not pay the amount of the tax obligation within the established legal time limits shall pay compensatory interest to compensate the Treasury for the unavailability of the amount of the tax when due. Such interest shall be calculated on the amount of the tax owed and shall be equivalent to the sum resulting from applying to such tax the maximum annual simple interest rate determined by the Monetary Board for tax purposes within the first fifteen days of the months of January and July of each year for the respective semester, taking as a basis the weighted bank rate for active operations for the previous semester.

The compensatory interest in favor of the Treasury shall be computed from the day fixed by law for payment of the tax, until the day on which payment thereof is actually made.

With regard to the punitive interest derived from the filing of the contentious-administrative tax appeal, Article 221 of the Political Constitution shall govern.

The calculation of such punitive interest shall be made as determined by the Monetary Board, pursuant to Article 58 of this Code.

The taxpayer or the liable party who has made undue or excess payments for taxes, fines and interest shall accrue interest until payment is made on the total or the balance resulting in their favor, according to the balance of the integrated tax current account established in Article 99 of this Code.

Interest shall be computed from the date on which the taxpayer or liable party filed the request.

In cases of a refund or undue or excess payment made by the Tax Administration, the interest shall be computed from the payment date until reimbursement, offset or credit is made, applying the annual interest rate pursuant to Article 58 of this Code.

Exemption is the total or partial dispensation from compliance with the tax obligation, which the law grants to the passive subjects thereof, when the conditions established in said law are verified.

If exempt and non-exempt parties concur in the acts or contracts, the tax obligation shall be fulfilled only in proportion to the party or parties that do not enjoy exemption.

The law establishing exemptions shall specify the conditions and requirements required for their granting, the taxes covered, whether it is total or partial and, where applicable, the time limit of its duration.

For laws containing tax benefits for the promotion of economic activities or for the development of certain geographic areas, the maximum time limit of their duration shall be ten (10) years.

Except as otherwise provided by tax law, the exemption does not extend to taxes instituted after its granting.

The tax exemptions and benefits granted shall be applicable exclusively to taxpayers who effectively and directly carry out activities, acts or contracts that are the specific subject matter or object of such exemption or benefit and as long as they comply with the legal requirements provided for in the laws granting them. In no case may the benefits obtained be transferred to third parties under any title.