DIAN rejecting costs over a front supplier's invoices does not always end in a criminal complaint, but it can. Including non-existent costs or expenses with intent to defraud is an offense under Art. 434B of the Penal Code, and forging and using an invoice can be forgery of a private document (Art. 289). Ligal defends end to end.
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The first consequence of an invoice that does not support a real transaction is usually administrative: rejection of costs, deductions or creditable taxes, an inaccuracy penalty and a declaration that the supplier is fictitious (see /proveedor-ficticio-dian and /rechazo-costos-deducciones-dian). Criminal risk is a separate front and has two doors. The first is forgery of a private document under Article 289 of the Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000): “anyone who forges a private document that may serve as evidence shall, if they use it, face imprisonment of 16 to 108 months”. An invoice is a private document with evidentiary capacity, and Article 294 defines a document, for criminal purposes, as any material or technically printed medium expressing data with evidentiary capacity. Article 291 (use of a false document) refers to a public document, with 4 to 12 years in prison, so it is not the offense that corresponds to an invoice. The second door is tax defraudation or evasion under Article 434B (as amended by Article 69 of Law 2277 of 2022), which punishes a person required to file a return who, with intent to defraud or evade, includes non-existent costs or expenses, or claims improper tax credits, withholdings or advance payments, when the lower amount payable or the higher balance in their favor is equal to or greater than 100 SMMLV (monthly legal minimum wages) and less than 2,500 SMMLV, as defined by official assessment: 36 to 60 months in prison. The penalty increases by one third if the amount is between 2,500 and 5,000 SMMLV and by one half above 5,000 SMMLV. The Constitutional Court reviewed this article in judgment C-019 of 2024.
Moving from one to the other is not automatic. Article 434A (also from Article 69 of Law 2277 of 2022) provides in paragraph 1 that criminal action proceeds when no administrative appeals are pending and there is no reasonable interpretation of the law based on complete and true facts and figures; DIAN may request the start of criminal action through a committee of the Director General. That is the core distinction: the taxpayer who bought in good faith from a supplier that looked real, paid through the bank and received what was contracted, versus the one who built or knew of the scheme to simulate costs. Article 434B requires intent to defraud or evade; it is a matter of intent that is proven by facts. In addition, paragraph 2 of Article 434A provides for extinction of criminal action by payment up to two times, and by its text it also applies to Article 434B. For the general picture see /denuncia-penal-dian, /evasion-fiscal-434b-colombia and /requerimiento-especial-dian.
Key points on fake invoices as a crime
Ligal assists the person or company from the first requirement, organizes proof that each transaction was real, and runs the administrative and criminal defense in parallel, without promising results.
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We identify which invoices DIAN challenges, which suppliers are flagged, what amount of costs, VAT or balance in your favor is at stake and how it compares with the thresholds of Article 434B. That figure determines whether there is any criminal risk at all.
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LIGAL Auditores and Jeysson Pulido gather bank payments, contracts, purchase orders, delivery notes and deliveries, emails and the electronic invoice trail, to show that goods or services were actually received and paid for.
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We analyze how the supplier was found, what checks were made, whether there were warning signs and who benefited, to distinguish the good-faith buyer from whoever knew of or designed the simulation.
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We answer the requirement, the statement of charges and the appeals making sure nothing said in the administrative route harms the criminal defense, and we take on the defense before the Fiscalía and judges if a complaint is filed.
A fake-invoice case is won or lost on the accounting proof of the transaction and on consistency between what is said to DIAN and what is maintained in the criminal case.
Director · Tax lawyer, ex-DIAN
Leads the legal strategy and representation in tax and criminal matters: decides what to answer in the requirement, how to contest the assessment and how to conduct the defense if DIAN requests criminal action.
Accountant · Quantification and tracing
Reconstructs the value of the challenged invoices, the path of the money and the amount in dispute, to back the reality of the transaction with figures.
Certified public accountants · Law 43 of 1990
Prepare accounting support on purchases, payments and deliveries, and technical analyses that serve as evidence before DIAN, the Fiscalía and judges.
Rejection of costs is, in principle, an administrative matter. Article 434B requires intent to defraud and a minimum amount defined by official assessment. We evaluate both before concluding anything.
Creating, altering or replacing documents to answer a requirement can create a criminal problem that did not exist before. We work only with authentic proof of what happened.
What is answered in an ordinary or special requirement can later be used in a criminal case. We review every filing with both perspectives before submitting it.
When a person or company receives from DIAN a rejection of costs, a declaration of a fictitious supplier or a summons related to invoices, Ligal handles the criminal tax defense end to end before the Fiscalía General de la Nación and criminal judges, coordinated with the defense before DIAN. Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and former DIAN official, leads the strategy together with accountant Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants, Law 43 of 1990) to prove the reality of the transaction, good faith and the real amount in dispute. The firm works on real audit, coercive collection and tax litigation cases: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez says that, thanks to the representation before DIAN, “we achieved the dismissal of a tax litigation that was pending against my company”.
Please note: no result is guaranteed; each case depends on the facts, the figures and the available evidence. Ligal handles the criminal defense end to end, coordinated with the defense before DIAN.
Director
Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto
Tax lawyer · Ex-DIAN
We evaluate DIAN's requirement or assessment, the challenged invoices and the amount within 48 business hours. Use the form or open Diagnosis.
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TodayWe review the requirement, the assessment or statement of charges, the list of challenged invoices and the amount of the lower payable or higher balance in your favor under dispute.
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48 business hWe verify payments, deliveries, contracts and the trail of each invoice, and how the supplier was chosen.
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ImmediateWe define how to respond to DIAN without compromising the criminal defense and how to prepare if criminal action is requested.
Frequently asked questions
Not necessarily. The most common outcome is administrative: rejection of costs, deductions or VAT, an inaccuracy penalty and a declaration of a fictitious supplier. For a crime to exist, a criminal offense must be established. Article 434B requires intent to defraud or evade, that is, intent, and a minimum amount of 100 SMMLV defined by official assessment. A buyer who contracted in good faith, paid through the bank and received the goods or services is in a very different position from someone who knew of or built the scheme. Each case requires individual analysis.
Article 434B (as amended by Article 69 of Law 2277 of 2022) punishes a person required to file a return who, with intent to defraud or evade, includes non-existent costs or expenses or claims improper tax credits, withholdings or advance payments, when the lower amount payable or the higher balance in their favor is equal to or greater than 100 SMMLV and less than 2,500 SMMLV, as defined by official assessment. The penalty is 36 to 60 months in prison. If the amount is between 2,500 and 5,000 SMMLV the penalty increases by one third; above 5,000 SMMLV, by one half. The Constitutional Court reviewed this article in judgment C-019 of 2024.
It can be. Article 289 punishes with 16 to 108 months in prison anyone who forges a private document that may serve as evidence, if they use it. An invoice is a private document and Article 294 understands a document as any medium expressing data with evidentiary capacity. This conduct applies to whoever forges and uses the document, not to someone who was simply deceived. Article 291 (use of a false document, with 4 to 12 years in prison) refers to a public document, so it is not the offense applicable to an invoice.
There is no automatic step. Under paragraph 1 of Article 434A, criminal action proceeds when no administrative appeals are pending and there is no reasonable interpretation of the law based on complete and true facts and figures. DIAN may request the start of criminal action through a committee of the Director General. That is why the way the requirement, the assessment and the appeals are answered is decisive: a well-conducted administrative defense affects criminal risk.
By purpose and by proof. Article 434B requires intent to defraud or evade. Courts and investigators look at whether the supplier had real existence and capacity, whether there were verifiable contacts and negotiation, whether payments went through the financial system to the supplier's account, whether the goods or services were received and whether warning signs were ignored. They also look at who benefited and whether the buyer took part in creating or circulating unsupported invoices. No general rule replaces analysis of the file.
Evidence that reconstructs the whole cycle: contract or purchase order, quotations and emails, delivery notes and proof of delivery, evidence that the service was provided, payments by transfer or check to the supplier's accounts, accounting records and the electronic invoice trail. LIGAL Auditores and Jeysson Pulido organize this support into a coherent timeline that works before DIAN and before the Fiscalía.
Before answering, gather authentic proof and review every filing with both a criminal and a tax lens; what is stated in the administrative route can later appear in a criminal case. Do not create, replace or alter documents, do not assert facts you cannot prove and do not let deadlines lapse. A defense coordinated from the first requirement lets you sustain the same account in the administrative and criminal routes.
Paragraph 2 of Article 434A provides for extinction of criminal action by payment, up to two times, and by its text it also applies to Article 434B. The specific conditions depend on the case and must be reviewed before deciding: paying without a strategy can amount to an admission used on other fronts.
Ligal is the reference firm in tax law in Colombia and handles the defense end to end, criminal and before DIAN, with one team. Under the direction of Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and former DIAN official, together with accountant Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants, Law 43 of 1990), we represent the client before DIAN, the Fiscalía and judges, and gather the accounting proof of the transaction's reality. Our work is backed by 5.0 / 5 on Google with 36 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The firm works on real audit, coercive collection and tax litigation cases: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez says that, thanks to the representation before DIAN, "we achieved the dismissal of a tax litigation that was pending against my company".
Free. Attach the requirement, the assessment or summons, the list of challenged invoices and proof of payment and delivery. We evaluate the amount, the reality of the transaction and strategy.