The Tax Authority announced special audits in companies with "related parties abroad", which can be avoided by presenting an Agreement on Advance Pricing.
This year nine audits are being carried out with the objective of corroborating "... suspicions raised when key rights or trade credits have been created." According to a study conducted by risk teams to implement transfer pricing, coffee, bananas, sugar, fuels and metals sectors are reporting increased risk in their transactions.
Employers are complaining that the lack of clarity over how the income tax law is applied is generating legal uncertainty.
The law on income tax that arose from the tax reforms two years ago is still raising doubts among private entrepreneurs, who believe that the lack of clarity on how it should be implemented not only casts doubts and causes legal uncertainty, but also generates more informality.
The Department of Fiscalization at the Guatemalan Tax Authority has presented the 2013 Audit Plan.
The analysis by Dr. Edgar Mendoza helps determine whether or not to regularize the tax status of Guatemalan companies, in light of actions projected by the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT):
"... According to the presentation made by the Chief of Tax Control, the 2013 Audit Plan rests on the following backbones, namely: a) comprehensive risk model, b) Strengthening the functions and control structure, c) mode of control actions. "
The American Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce noted that the implementation of the Act without the respective regulations is confusing, taking away transparency in the system and increasing costs.
The Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has requested that the Government suspend the Customs Act, which was included in the recently approved tax reform.