Título I. Normas generales

A Value Added Tax is established on the acts and contracts taxed under the provisions of the present law, the administration, control, collection and auditing of which correspond to the General Directorate of Internal Revenue.

For the purposes of this law, the following shall be understood:

1)By sale: Any act or contract serving to transfer for consideration total or partial ownership of movable property or immovable property situated in the national territory, or rights in rem therein, regardless of the designation given to it by the parties and of the place where the respective act or contract is executed.

2)By service: The action or provision that a person performs for another and for which such person receives a fee, interest, premium, commission or any other form of remuneration, provided that it is not under an employment relationship.

3)By importation: The entry or introduction, upon completion of the legal formalities, of foreign movable property intended for definitive use or consumption in the country, coming from third countries or from the member countries of the Central American Common Market.

4)By exportation of goods: The sale, upon completion of all legal formalities, of national or nationalized movable property for their use or consumption abroad.

By exportation of services: The provision of services in the country, upon completion of all legal formalities, to users who have neither domicile nor residence therein and which are intended exclusively to be used abroad, provided that the foreign currencies have been negotiated in accordance with the exchange legislation in force.

5)By nationalization: Nationalization occurs at the instant in which payment of the import duties authorizing entry into the country of the respective property is made.

6)By taxpayers: Any natural person or legal 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, engaging in the national territory, habitually or periodically, in acts subject to tax in accordance with this law.

7)By taxable period: One calendar month.

8)By Directorate: The General Directorate of Internal Revenue.

* Numeral 3 as corrected by Errata of June 23, 1992.