Tax Code reform published: what changes
The Organic Law Amending the Tax Code (Ley Orgánica Reformatoria al Código Tributario) was published in the Ninth Supplement to Official Gazette (Registro Oficial) No. 392 on 19 October 2026 and has been in force since that date. On the same day, the National Assembly accepted the President’s partial veto. The reform neither creates nor abolishes any tax: it reorganizes procedure.
What to review this week
- Extraordinary review appeal. On grounds 1 to 4, it may be filed only within one year of notification of the act. The tax authority has 180 days to decide; if it does not, the act is deemed upheld (tacit denial). Pending appeals must be decided within 180 days of publication.
- Administrative claims. The SRI must decide within 120 business days. It may suspend that period only once to request documents, provided the request is made within 60 days and the suspension does not exceed 90 days, or while it carries out a supplementary assessment.
- Notifications. If the taxpayer has designated an email address or electronic mailbox in the file, the SRI must use it as a priority. Taxpayers should update this information in every open proceeding.
- Enforced collection. The objection claim (demanda de excepciones) is filed, at the debtor’s choice, before the judge or before the enforcement officer, within 20 days of notification of the payment order. Filing it suspends the collection officer’s authority, and precautionary measures pass to the judge.
Legality and SRI interpretive criteria
Technical sheets, manuals, instructions and internal criteria may not create, modify or extinguish obligations, exemptions or benefits. Circulars bind officials, not taxpayers. Changes of criteria with general effect must be set out in a published rule and apply only prospectively, unless they favor the taxpayer. Rules on taxes with an annual period apply from the following 1 January; rules on taxes with shorter periods, from the following month.
Assessments and refunds
- A subsequent assessment may be made only once in respect of each item or line.
- If a refund is not made within 120 days, or is incorrect, the taxpayer may file a claim within 20 business days or go directly to court.
- Where the decision on a claim results in amounts in the taxpayer’s favor, the refund is ordered in the same act, provided no more than three years have passed since payment.
Penalties
- Minor infringements (contravenciones): a fine of between 6% of one unified basic wage and three basic wages.
- Regulatory breaches (faltas reglamentarias): a fine of between 6% of one unified basic wage and two basic wages.
- Foreign assets not reported in the net worth return (Internal Tax Regime Law): a fine of 0.5% of the unreported value, capped at 2,075 basic wages; halved if the assets are reported before the SRI gives notice of the infringement.
Other changes
The statute is renamed the Organic Tax Code (Código Orgánico Tributario), and the courts become the District Tax Litigation Courts (Tribunales Distritales de lo Contencioso Tributario). Provisions of the Organic General Code of Procedure (COGEP) on tax litigation actions are also amended.
Author: Bolívar Figueroa Martínez, Founding Partner. Source: Organic Law Amending the Tax Code, Official Gazette, Ninth Supplement No. 392, 19 October 2026. This alert is for information only and does not constitute advice on any specific case.
