Chang y Compania and Mag Alcoholes, are two companies that during March were audited by local authorities, after the detection of the possible crime of tax and customs fraud.
Representatives of the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT) informed that on March 10, the Juzgado Pluripersonal de Primera Instancia Penal en Materia Tributaria y Aduanera ("Pluripersonal Court of First Criminal Instance in Tax and Customs Matters") ordered the intervention of the company Mag Alcoholes, and on March 22, the Juzgado Quinto de Primera Instancia Penal ("Fifth Court of First Criminal Instance") ordered the intervention of the warehouse Chang y Compania.
In Guatemala, since March 19, APM Terminals Quetzal enabled the x-ray module for the inspection of containers that are used for exports and imports at the maritime terminal.
The maritime terminal made more than $7 million investment for the implementation of the non-intrusive inspection module for cargo transported at the terminal.
The increasing importation of used vehicles, the increase in the number of motorcycles and the perception that the risk to which drivers are exposed is low, are some of the reasons that explain why the penetration of vehicle insurance in the Guatemalan market is still only 10%.
According to data from the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) at the end of 2020 there were 4.11 million vehicles registered nationwide, this figure exceeded by 8% the 3.79 million reported at the end of 2019.
In order to force companies to comply with the payment of taxes on sales made through electronic channels, as of June 2021 SAT will begin to use a digital platform that will analyze the information that appears on social networks.
The restrictions on mobility decreed during 2020 due to the outbreak of covid-19 and the change in consumption habits, boosted the growth of online sales in the Guatemalan market.
After inconsistencies were detected between purchases reported by taxpayers and sales that the company declared to the tax authority, an investigation was initiated in Guatemala into the "La Barata" supermarket chain.
During the morning of December 7, representatives of the Public Ministry (MP) and the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT), held a press conference in which they explained some details about a new case of alleged tax fraud by the chain of stores "La Barata."
Due to the tropical storms Eta and Iota, severe damage has been reported to the road network in Central American countries, and some border posts in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador have been suspended.
Since November 17, operations were suspended at the El Corinto, El Florido and Aguas Calientes border posts. These areas, shared by Guatemala and Honduras, are not operational, according to the Guatemalan Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT).
As of October 1st, Guatemala and Honduras will begin operating three Peripheral Customs Offices, areas that will simplify procedures and allow free community mobility between both countries.
Guatemalan and Honduran taxpayers who make definitive imports to each State Party will be the ones to benefit from the implementation of this type of customs, since the goods imported under this modality will enjoy free mobility.
In this scenario of economic crisis, falling tax revenues and the need to finance recovery programs, in Guatemala and Costa Rica it is already proposed to increase current taxes and create new ones.
Guatemalan authorities are already beginning to discuss the fiscal policy they will apply in 2021, when the economy will have to face the effects of the economic crisis generated by the covid-19 outbreak.
In Guatemala, the Superintendence of Tax Administration authorized Corporación Disatel S.A. to provide the service of electronic tags for the control of containers in the country.
Authorities from both countries are fine-tuning the final details to begin construction and habilitation of the Engineers Borderland Port in Quiche, Guatemala, which will connect with Nuevo Orizaba, Chiapas, in Mexico.
Guatemalan authorities reported that the process of the Foreign Affairs Ministries is to determine where the entry and exit points of the customs will be, since on the Mexican side modifications would have to be made to match the land.
Since November 26, the Guatemalan authorities have the power to access taxpayers' bank information for tax purposes, so they can now corroborate that the bank income of companies coincide with the payment of their taxes.
After the resolution of the Constitutional Court was published in the Diario de Centroamérica on November 25, in which the appeal of unconstitutionality filed by Escalas Mercantiles S.A., which was intended to prevent the authorities from having access to the banking information of companies and individuals, the law that empowers the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) to investigate taxpayers has come into effect.
As a result of the elimination of banking secrecy in Guatemala, the business sector announces that it will be alert to "respect due process and the confidentiality of taxpayers.
One year after having suspended access to taxpayers' bank information for fiscal purposes, at the beginning of August the Constitutional Court ruled definitively and revoked the suspension, so that in the coming weeks the changes will begin to apply.
Experts and authorities believe that the ruling by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court revoking the suspension preventing access to taxpayers' bank information for fiscal purposes could be reversed with another legal action.
In recent days, the issue has become more relevant in the country, because after a year of being suspended access to banking information for tax purposes, on August 6 the Constitutional Court finally ruled, authorizing the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) to review the accounts of taxpayers.
One year after the suspension of taxpayers' access to bank information for tax purposes, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled definitively and revoked the suspension.
In recent years, the number of motorcycles in Guatemala has increased by 13%, from 1.33 million units registered in July 2017 to 1.5 million reported in the same month in 2019.
According to data from the Tax Registry of Vehicles of the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT), up to July 2019 the country's active vehicle fleet registered 3.76 million units, of which 40% corresponded to motorcycle type vehicles.