Legal abandonment of goods at customs:
if your container has been sitting in the warehouse for weeks without clearance, the rescue clock is running and you should act before it expires.

You do not lose them while you are within the rescue period: the interested party may rescue them within the month following the date on which the abandonment arose (Art. 171, par. 1, and Art. 293, num. 1). Once that term passes without a legalization declaration, DIAN may dispose of the goods because they belong to the Nation. That is why you should act at once and not wait for the last day.

A legalization declaration is filed in which the customs duties and taxes are paid and, as rescue payment, ten percent (10%) of the customs value of the goods; payment of the storage costs accrued must also be proven (Art. 293, num. 1). Illustrative example: if the customs value were COP 100 million, the rescue payment would be COP 10 million, plus duties and storage. Once the declaration is accepted, release is authorized the same day (Art. 292). The storage amount depends on the warehouse and the time, so ask for a detailed statement.

Once the rescue period ends without a legalization declaration, DIAN may dispose of the goods because they belong to the Nation (Art. 171, par. 1). Forms of disposal include sale, donation, assignment, destruction and waste management (Art. 736); if the goods are completely damaged, pose a risk or have an expired shelf date, the warehouse must destroy them with abbreviated authorization, and storage or destruction costs fall on the holder of the transport document (Art. 171, par. 2). In addition, the customs payment obligation is extinguished by the abandonment (Art. 19, num. 3), but you lose the goods.

No. Legal abandonment arises from the expiry of the storage period; seizure and forfeiture are a penalty procedure on different grounds, now governed by Law 2586 of 2026. If the goods end up seized, rescuing them costs more: 50% of the customs value after seizure and 75% if the forfeiture resolution has been issued and is not yet final, plus duties and taxes (Decree 1165, Art. 293, num. 2). In an inspection, if quantities exceeding or goods different from those declared are found, that part is seized separately (Art. 183). If that procedure is what concerns you, see seizure and forfeiture.

Voluntary abandonment is the act by which the person entitled to dispose of the goods tells DIAN they are being left in favor of the Nation, in whole or in part, provided the authority accepts; whoever offers them must bear the costs it causes, including destruction if necessary (Art. 3). The request is filed in writing with the Regional Directorate having jurisdiction where the goods are, at least ten (10) business days before the storage period in the warehouse expires (Resolution 46 of 2019, Art. 204). If it is not accepted, goods within the storage term must be re-shipped. It is an exit for goods that are no longer worth importing, not a way to avoid costs.

To rescue goods in abandonment you must prove payment of the storage costs accrued (Art. 293, num. 1). Article 734 governs who bears storage when the goods fall into abandonment and the rescue period ends: if the authorized warehouse reported in due time, the costs fall on DIAN, and if it failed to report in contingency cases, DIAN does not bear them. Each case requires reviewing dates, the warehouse's reports and the statement.

Article 15 of Law 2586 of 2026 includes, among others, two infractions by the declarant: placing under re-shipment goods that are in abandonment or have been placed under an import modality, with a fine of 10% of the FOB value per operation and not less than 200 UVT (num. 15.2.2.5); and filing an import declaration obtaining automatic release when the goods are in abandonment and the rescue payment has not been paid, with a fine of 400 UVT (num. 15.26.2.2). The law applies from its promulgation and repealed Decree-Law 920 of 2023 (Art. 114).

The most common are not fixing the expiry of the one-month storage period with a date, not requesting the extension before the term expires (it is granted immediately if requested in time, Resolution 46 of 2019, Art. 205), not attending the customs inspection (the suspension of the term does not apply if the declarant does not attend, Art. 183), filing a declaration with errors that block release, waiting until the last day of the rescue period, and re-shipping or seeking release without having paid the rescue payment when abandonment already exists. All are prevented with a calendar and an early legal review.

Yes, when the facts allow. We review whether the arrival date was counted correctly (Art. 157), whether an extension was requested in time, whether the term was suspended by transit (Art. 171) or by customs inspection (Art. 183), whether DIAN declared a contingency of the electronic systems (Art. 27) and whether the warehouse reported correctly. If DIAN rejects the legalization declaration or imposes a penalty, appeals and the lawsuit provided by the applicable rules are available. No result is guaranteed.

Decree 659 of 2024 modified several rules: the definition of legal abandonment in Article 3 now refers to Article 169, which governs stay at the place of arrival, and it adds to Article 293 a paragraph under which goods in abandonment under that Article 169 would not be rescuable. But the amended Articles 169 and 293 take effect from the day after DIAN certifies, by a resolution published in the Official Gazette, the operation of the relevant electronic systems (Art. 67). In DIAN's official compilation reviewed in October 2026 those texts still appear as pending. A lawyer must confirm the status of that certification on the day your case is handled.

Ligal is a firm specialized in tax, customs and criminal tax law. Under the direction of Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and ex-DIAN, together with Jeysson Pulido, accountant, and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants), we combine the legal argument with the accounting calculation and handle the case from start to finish: checking deadlines, the legalization declaration, the defense before DIAN, the appeals and, if one is opened, the criminal front. Our work is backed by 5.0 / 5 on Google with 36 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The team handles real audit, enforced-collection and tax-litigation cases. No result is guaranteed.