The Congress of the Republic of Guatemala approved, as a matter of national urgency, Decree 17-2025, Law for the Facilitation of Tax Refund Compliance. Said law establishes that the tax credit must be returned within a maximum term of 60 business days.
The legislation, which has not yet been approved by the President, includes ten articles reforming the Tax Code (Decree 6-91), the VAT Law (Decree 27-92) and the Law for the Strengthening of the Tax Administration (Decree 20-2006).
The timely return seeks to stimulate investment and reactivate the Guatemalan economy. The reform will improve efficiency, transparency, liquidity and confidence in public administration.
In other words, VAT refunds will no longer be sought only for exporters, but also for any taxpayer who has tax credit balances. There will therefore be a reduction of tax credit carryforwards and overpayments that affect taxpayers’ cash flow.
One of the most important points of this new legislation is the liquidity that the Bank of Guatemala must have for the refund of taxes paid in excess, since this is one of the reasons why in practice the terms are very long.
This Decree establishes the mechanisms and requirements for the presentation of applications, the creation of the corresponding fund in the Bank of Guatemala and the documents that the taxpayer must present and those that the Tax Administration Superintendency may require.
An important aspect is that if no resolution is issued within 60 days (administrative silence), the request will be considered denied and the taxpayer may appeal within the corresponding period.
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