Colombia’s National Tax and Customs Authority – DIAN, through Ruling No. 009219 (Int. 975) of May 29, 2026, reconsidered the position set out in Ruling No. 001221 of February 2026, regarding the application of Article 705-1 of the Tax Code and the finality terms for VAT and withholding tax returns.

What does the DIAN establish?

Under the new doctrinal criterion, the finality term for VAT and withholding tax returns is determined based on the finality term applicable to the income tax return for the same taxable year, as set out in Article 705-1 of the Tax Code.

As a result, when an income tax return is subject to a special finality term, that term may also extend to the VAT and withholding tax returns for the same taxable year.

Ruling 009219 clarifies that Article 705-1 of the Tax Code aligns the finality term and the deadline for notifying a special requirement for VAT and withholding tax returns with that of the income tax return, provided the periods coincide with the same taxable year.

How does the finality term work?

* Provided the VAT and withholding periods coincide with the taxable year of the income tax return. The ruling clarifies that offsetting a tax loss constitutes a special term only for the income tax return; in that case, if the periods coincide, VAT and withholding follow the corresponding 5-year term.

When the VAT and withholding tax periods do not coincide with the taxable year of the income tax return, the finality term for those returns will be three (3) years, regardless of any special term that may apply to the income tax return.

A relevant exception: the audit benefit

The DIAN clarifies that the audit benefit does not automatically extend to VAT and withholding tax returns.

Therefore, even when an income tax return may become final within a reduced term under Article 689-3 of the Tax Code, the VAT and withholding tax returns for the same taxable year will, in principle, retain the three (3)-year finality term.

Ruling 009219 expressly states that when the income tax return benefits from the audit benefit, the finality term for VAT and withholding tax returns will be 3 years.

What changed compared to the previous criterion?

Ruling No. 001221 of February 2026 had held that the special finality terms applicable to the income tax return did not modify or extend the general finality term for VAT and withholding tax returns.

With Ruling No. 009219 of 2026, the DIAN reconsiders this position and acknowledges the special nature of Article 705-1 of the Tax Code, whose application allows the finality terms of these returns to be aligned with those of the income tax return when the corresponding periods coincide with the same taxable year.

This interpretation is also grounded in the case law of the Council of State, Ruling of August 5, 2021, docket 22105.

What is the impact for taxpayers?

The new criterion should be considered in tax risk management and in determining which periods may still be subject to audit by the Tax Administration.

In particular, taxpayers should review:

• Income tax returns with tax losses.
• Returns related to transfer pricing.
• Periods with special finality terms.
• Whether the taxable periods of the VAT and withholding tax returns coincide with the taxable year of the income tax return.
• VAT and withholding tax returns associated with those periods.
• Audit processes involving periods whose finality must be determined under Article 705-1 of the Tax Code.

DIAN Ruling No. 009219 of 2026 represents a shift from the doctrine issued just a few months earlier and reaffirms the application of Article 705-1 of the Tax Code as the special rule for determining the finality terms of VAT and withholding tax returns.

Before concluding that a return has become final, it is necessary to jointly analyze the income tax return for the same taxable year and verify whether any of the circumstances giving rise to a special finality term are present.