Título IV Capítulo I. Facultades y atribuciones de la administracion tributaria

*The Tax Administration is obligated to verify the correct compliance with the tax laws. For the purposes of this Code, Tax Administration shall mean the Superintendency of Tax Administration or any other agency or entity of the State to which by law are assigned functions of administration, collection, control and audit of taxes. In the exercise of its functions the Tax Administration shall act in accordance with the rules of this Code, those of its Organic Law, and the specific laws of each tax and those of their respective regulations, with regard to the application, audit, collection and control of taxes.

For such purposes it may:

1.Require a report from any natural person or legal person, whether or not registered as a taxpayer or liable party and, as applicable, that such person declare the taxes that according to the laws correspond to him or her. It shall demand that they assess and pay the taxes, interest, surcharges and fines that are applicable.

Likewise it shall demand from taxpayers or liable parties that they provide the elements that constitute the tax base for the correct determination of the tax obligation.

*2. Require payment from taxpayers and liable parties and collect from them the tax owed, its interest and, if applicable, the surcharges and fines. The Tax Administration shall authorize the forms, and also means other than paper, that are used to facilitate compliance with the obligations.

*3. Verify the content of the declarations and information by the legal and technical means and procedures of analysis and investigation that it deems appropriate, in order to establish with precision the taxable event and the amount of the corresponding tax. For this purpose, it may require from the passive subject and from third parties any complementary information, even through computerized systems, consistent with what is established in articles 30 and 93 of this Code.

4.Impose sanctions on taxpayers and liable parties, in accordance with this Code and other tax laws.

5.Organize the system of collection, recovery, audit and control of the taxes under its charge.

*6. The attorneys who work in the Tax Administration may act in all judicial proceedings in which said Administration is a party, by designation of its head; as well as judicially collect the taxes, fines, interest, surcharges and the corresponding costs, in accordance with the specific regulations of the Tax Administration. Consequently, said professionals even though they work full time, may practice the profession of attorneys, when they act in the proceedings referred to in this subsection.

7.Hire professionals in the legal, economic, financial disciplines or other scientific or technical specialties, in cases where it is necessary for the better fulfillment of its audit and collection functions.

8.Establish general indices of profitability, averages or percentages of: gross profit, net profit, income or sales by branch of economic activity, with respect to the same commercial, industrial, agricultural and livestock, natural resource exploitation, service company line of business, as well as other professional or technical activities for the better determination of taxes.

9.Carry out appraisals of property or rights in cases in which the taxpayer, upon prior requirement, does not provide the documents or elements that allow establishing the true value thereof. The Tax Administration in setting those values shall take into consideration the normal acquisition value at the date of the transaction.

*10. Verify inventories of property or merchandise and securities. As well as verify property or merchandise subject to transport. For such purpose, the natural persons or legal persons that provide the transport service, including the driver of the respective vehicle, are obligated to demand from the sender the proofs of ownership and other documents approved in accordance with the customs regime, that cover the property or merchandise transported; likewise they are obligated to carry said documents while the transfer lasts and, like the owner of the property or merchandise, to present the same to the public officials designated by the Tax Administration, when they so require. For compliance with this power, the public security forces must provide immediately the support that the Tax Administration requests from them.

11.Request the collaboration of other agencies of the State, decentralized, autonomous entities, and any other entity of the private sector to carry out economic, financial and tax studies, aimed at establishing the marketing and normal yield reality of certain economic activities, in order to be able to establish and apply with equity the tax rules.

12.Ensure that proceedings are decided in conformity with firm administrative or jurisdictional criteria, based on law, issued in similar cases, in order to achieve unification of criteria and procedural economy.

*13. Review the books, documents and files of taxpayers and withholding or collection agents, that relate to the determination and payment of tax obligations, including the computer system used by the taxpayer to record its accounting and tax operations. For such purposes it may require, in each case, information or documentation related to the computer equipment, including that of source programs, design and programs used, as well as that related to the material instruments that allow access to the information linked to the accounting records. Likewise, it may require the production of listings and integrations and the carrying out of tests.

*Every public official or employee of the Tax Administration must give respectful treatment and prompt attention to taxpayers and their representatives. Non-compliance with this provision constitutes a serious offense that shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of article 96 of this Code.

*Numerals 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 are added by Article 12 of Decree of Congress Number 03-04 of 22-01-2004

The Tax Administration may also:

1.Establish, by mutual agreement with the taxpayer, an electronic address on the Internet, or electronic mailbox, for each of the taxpayers and liable persons, for the purpose of sending to them acknowledgments of receipt of the returns and payments made, informational bulletins, summonses, notifications and other communications of interest to them, when applicable. Once the electronic address has been established, the taxpayer must notify the Tax Administration of any changes thereto.

2.Establish procedures for the preparation, transmission and preservation by electronic means of invoices, receipts, books, registers and documents, the printout of which may constitute evidence at trial and those which are other than on paper. The Tax Administration may authorize the destruction of the documents once they have been converted into electronic registers to its satisfaction.

3.Request from and provide to the competent tax authorities of other countries with which agreements for the exchange of information have been concluded, and receive from the latter, information of a tax or financial nature, for purposes strictly linked to tax audit and tax control, provided that the confidentiality of the information is guaranteed and the provisions of Article 24 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala and Article 44 of the Organic Law of the Superintendency of Tax Administration are not violated.

4.Participate directly or indirectly in the negotiation and drafting of international treaties or agreements affecting tax collection in Guatemala.

5.Enter into agreements for mutual cooperation and exchange of information with other tax administrations.

6.Require taxpayers to submit payment of taxes by electronic means, taking into account their economic capacity, amount of sales and access to computer networks.

7.Verify by suitable means the veracity of the information provided by the taxpayer or liable person at the time of requesting their registration in the Unified Tax Register or any other register under the charge of the Tax Administration.

8.Update on its own initiative the Unified Tax Register or other registers under its charge, in accordance with the information provided by the taxpayer in any declaration of taxes.

9.Correct on its own initiative in its registers formal errors in the recording of data detected in electronic or paper forms, of declarations or payments, provided that the tax determined is not affected, of which notice must be given to the taxpayer by any means.

10.Enter into agreements with State entities, decentralized or autonomous, that allow the Tax Administration to collect on their behalf taxes, fees or contributions that said entities have under their administration.

The Tax Administration shall implement the comprehensive tax current-account system, which shall comprise the quantitative relationship of the tax debt or credit between the Treasury and the taxpayer or the liable party. One of the components of such system shall be composed of debits, their compensatory interest, surcharges, fines and corresponding punitive interest.

The balance resulting from debits and credits shall constitute the amount to be collected or to be refunded to the taxpayer or liable party, upon prior verification of the balances of each tax. The amount ultimately collected, refunded or credited to the taxpayer shall be established by adding the balances of the different taxes included within the current-account system. In the event of a refund, it shall be effected on its own initiative or upon request of the taxpayer or liable party, within the time limit of sixty days, counted from the date of the assessment approved by decision of the Tax Administration, duly notified.

If said time limit is exceeded, the Tax Administration shall recognize and pay compensatory tax interest, in accordance with the provisions of Article 61 of this Code.

No interest shall accrue on amounts in favor of taxpayers for Value Added Tax -IVA- credits, since they are taxes already collected from the final consumer.

When there exist liquid and enforceable balances in favor of the Tax Administration, it shall notify the taxpayer of such circumstance and shall require payment of the amount administratively owed, which must be made within the time limit of five (5) days, counted from the day following the notification of the requirement.

If the corresponding payment is not obtained, collection shall proceed through the Economic Coercive procedure.

The Tax Administration shall have powers of audit and investigation. For such purpose it shall take as a basis, among others:

*1. Books, documents and files, or accounting systems of the taxpayer related to its economic and financial activities to establish the tax base of the taxes and to verify payment of the tax obligation. It may review the documentation and files stored on paper or magnetic, optical or other digital storage devices of the taxpayer, and require and obtain from the latter all necessary information, even by the same means, to establish its true tax situation.

2.Information referring to volumes or quantities and values of the goods that are imported or exported.

*3. It has the power to require from the taxpayer, and the latter is obligated to submit copies, photocopies, electronic copies or by any other means, of the documentation and files stored on paper or magnetic, optical or other digital storage devices.

*Amended by Article 14 of the Decree of the Congress Number 03-04 of 22-01-2004 *Provisionally suspended by File Number 112 and 122-2004 of 20-02-2004 *Repealed Article 14 of Decree Number 03-04, which amended Article 101 of Decree Number 6-91, by Article 68 of Decree Number 20-2006 of the Congress of the Republic. *Suspends in definitive form the action of partial general unconstitutionality of Article 14 of Decree 03-04, by File Number 112 and 122-2004 of 23-06-2008

It is punishable to reveal the amount of taxes paid, profits, losses, costs and any other data relating to the reviewed accounting records to natural or legal persons. Documents or information obtained in violation of this article shall have no legal validity, nor shall they constitute evidence at trial. Public officials and public employees who participate in the application, collection, audit and control of taxes may only reveal such information to their hierarchical superiors or at the request of the courts of justice, provided that in both cases it concerns matters related to the administration, audit and collection of taxes.

The Tax Administration shall publish, at a minimum on its website, in the Official Gazette and in one of the newspapers of greatest circulation, twice during each calendar year, a list containing the data of the final judgments issued in the proceedings in tax matters in which the Tax Administration has intervened, within which at least the following shall be cited: the name of the taxpayer, the Tax Identification Number, the proceedings number, and the sanction issued.