On December 29, 2021, Agreement Agreement 459-2021 of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare was published in the Official Gazette by means of which the "Electronic System for the reception of the Employer's Report and Employees' Payrolls" was created with the purpose of complying with the employer's obligations regarding the electronic reception of the employees' payrolls receipt.  

These obligations are set forth in article 61 a) of the Labor Code[1], article 36 bis of the Free Zone Law, Decree 65-89 of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala[2]; and article 33 of the Law for the Promotion and Development of the Export and Manufacturing Activity, Decree 29-89 of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala[3].

Pursuant to article 2 of the Agreement, the report must be sent within the first two months of each year and the procedure must be carried out through an Excel Form. This form is available on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to be submitted to the Directorate of Labor Statistics and General Labor Inspection.

Article 3 establishes that the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in all its offices, shall make available a person from the team to provide training and guidance to employers who need it.

The Ministerial Agreement became effective as of January 1, 2022.

For more information, please contact:

• Luis Mazareigos mailto:luis.mazariegos@carrillolaw.com
• José Pedro Aguirre Jose.Aguirre@carrillolaw.com
• Katherine Rodríguez Katherine.Rodriguez@carrillolaw.com

[1] Article 61: (...) a) Send within the non-extendable term of the first two months of each year to the corresponding administrative unit of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, directly or through the labor authorities of the place where the respective company is located, a printed report (...).

[2] Article 36 bis: Companies qualified under this Law must comply with the following: (...) b) Provide the electronic spreadsheet of payments of labor and employer's contributions to the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security. (...) f) Comply with the laws of the country, particularly those of a labor nature. g) Companies engaged in the production and transformation of raw materials into finished product, shall submit to the Tax Administration, in the means determined by it, during the first twenty (20) working days of each month, a report on the transformation coefficient determined for their productive processes. (...) Individuals or legal entities, owners of entities or companies, partners or shareholders thereof, shall transfer the total payroll of workers annually to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the General Labor Inspectorate.

[3] Article 33: Companies qualified under this Law shall comply with the following: (...) c) Provide the electronic spreadsheet of payments of labor and employer's contributions to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute.