The Tax Administration held a press conference on January 19, 2022, in which it presented the 2021 Results and the Audit Plan for 2022.
 
The general purpose of the 2022 Audit Plan is focused on the following subjects:

• Planning, programming, and execution of efficient audit processes with objective selection criteria, that would allow the sustained increase of collection and the reduction of the gap in tax breaches.
• Promotion of an assertive audit that would increase risk perception.
• Promotion of an effective tax collection.
• Reduction of tax breaches.

 
These are the strategies with which the Tax Administration intends to implement the 2022 Audit Plan:

• Implementation and improvement of audits, per economic sector.
• Using of information cross-checking developed in the Data Government of SAT.
• Strengthening of subsequent audits on foreign trade, based on integral risk management.
• Promotion of the previous mechanism to resolve tax conflict to immediately obtain collection.
• Control of 6,010 Special Taxpayers and Big Regional Taxpayers, through historical series of data and profit indexes, associated with their expenses and economic activity.
• Implementation of new standardized working papers and audit procedures.
• Implementation of audit programs based on sectoral studies.
• Improvement of tax presence through the implementation of the new Electronic Audit System that allow auditors to gain up-to-the-minute access to the Tax Administration’s platform from their remote equipment, upon carrying out audits at taxpayers’ addresses.

 
These are the 2022 Audit Plan Programs:

• Toll Manufacturers: Review of the authorized toll manufacturers.
• Free Zones: The Tax Administration will determine if products are sold in the local market.
• Registered Importers: The Tax Administration has determined that some importers invoice the product at importation costs, and their sales equal their purchases.
• Defector Taxpayers: These are taxpayers who were ranked as big regional taxpayers and who moved their tax addresses to another region, so that they may cease to be considered special taxpayers and not be audited.
• Taxpayers who have tax addresses in high-crime areas to avoid audits: The Tax Administration has identified addresses in these areas where taxpayers are not actually located. They are just addresses to receive notifications.
• Deferred Income Tax: The deferred income tax of taxpayers who must present audited financial statements will be audited.
• Value in Customs and Tariff Classification: Subsequent audits will increase. Different customs and offices of the Tax Administration are being instructed to carry out audits after the goods have been dispatched.
• Courier: Battling the “pay per weight” advertising. The payment must be for the price and type of goods.
• Warehousing Companies: It has been identified that some taxpayers have lowered their taxation, using warehousing companies. A program to check the inventory of the warehousing companies is being worked on.
• Cross-Checking of Data: Programs of the Tax Administration, such as the Online Electronic Invoice and withholdings, which allow more control.
• Economic Sector: To start the audits, the Tax Administration analyses the taxpayers who pay less than average, per economic sector.
• Government providers.
• Transfer Pricing.
• Income Tax Audits (25% and 7% Regimes): According to the Tax Administration, there are taxpayers who are registered in the 25% regimen (Lucrative Activities Profits) who register other companies in the 7% regime (Optional Simplified Regime on Lucrative Activities Income) to lower the profits of the entity, but these are operations that do not have any economic support, per the opinion of the Tax Administration.
• Acquisitions and transfers through the Unified Central American Sole Declaration: Central American program to facilitate trade. These processes will be subsequently audited with the verification offices.
• Audits to sub-distributors.
• Other programs.

For more information, please contact:

María de Lourdes Villanueva maria.villanueva@carrillolaw.com