Tuesday 22nd December, 2015

The Colombian Tax Authority (DIAN) announced that electronic invoicing will be mandated for specified companies starting from January 2016.

The mandate in regulation Decree 2242 is a way of supporting Colombia’s goal of reducing tax evasion from 22% to zero by companies conducting business in the country.

During the initial phase, 30 of the largest companies, mostly in the consumer products industry, will start using the pilot on 1st January, 2016 and it will be mandated to go live within six months. After that, the next round of companies will be mandated to implement electronic invoicing within a six month deadline.

Colombia is in the process of defining a “catalogue of participants” that will be designated based on a number of factors including in-country revenue, invoice volume and sector.

The DIAN is expected to release technical specifications in the first quarter of 2016.

Colombia’s recent announcement makes it the eighth country within Latin America to mandate new tax and electronic invoicing policies.