Preliminary criminal tax inquiry: what to do before formal indictment?
Know your statutory rights as a suspect, deploy forensic evidence, and halt charges with ex-DIAN attorneys and forensic accountants end-to-end.

Under paragraph 1 of Article 175 of Law 906 of 2004 (amended by Article 2 of Law 2205 of 2022), the Prosecutor has a statutory maximum of two (2) years from receipt of the criminal notice to either file an indictment or issue a reasoned order archiving the case. This term extends to three (3) years if there is a concurrence of offenses or three or more co-suspects, and to five (5) years in specialized circuit jurisdictions. Furthermore, paragraph 3 of Article 175 sets forth statutory special rules whose applicability must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, without presuming an automatic extension of all preliminary inquiry periods. Expiration of these terms does not grant automatic prescription or criminal immunity (Constitutional Court Ruling C-893 of 2012); it triggers the prosecutor's duty to issue a reasoned decision on dismissal (Art. 79) or indictment, and enables defense counsel to petition a Guarantee Judge to assert due process and judicial promptness.

Yes, the Prosecutor or judicial police (CTI) can summon you for a suspect interrogation (Art. 282 Law 906 of 2004). You are legally required to be accompanied by a criminal defense lawyer. Under the Constitution, you are not under oath, you cannot be forced to testify against yourself or immediate family, and you have the absolute right to remain silent. An interrogation conducted without counsel is legally void.

Yes. Articles 267 and 268 of Law 906 of 2004 empower suspects and their defense counsel to collect evidence, obtain forensic CPA reports, and petition the prosecutor to conduct specific investigatory acts. Submitting a rigorous forensic accounting opinion during the inquiry is often the single most effective way to prove absence of fraudulent intent and obtain an early case dismissal.

No universal or automatic dismissal exists: each tax offense has distinct statutory requirements subject to judicial verification. In withholding agent omission (Art. 402 Penal Code, amended by Law 1819 of 2016), preclusion or case dismissal applies upon extinguishing the tax obligation through effective payment or statutory compensation/offset of amounts due plus interest, without prejudice to administrative penalties; payment plans or guarantees do not extinguish the obligation or automatically close the case. In asset omission (Art. 434A) and tax evasion (Art. 434B), paragraph 1 safeguards genuine tax controversies: criminal prosecution proceeds only where no administrative appeals remain pending or where no reasonable legal interpretation exists, provided declared facts and figures are complete and truthful, subject to DIAN special committee referral. Under paragraph 2, criminal action is extinguished by payment of taxes, penalties, and interest up to two (2) times in total, jointly counting prior extinctions or principle of opportunity applications under either Article 434A or 434B; from the third instance, payment only allows up to half sentence reduction. Finally, tax payment does not extinguish independent autonomous crimes (such as document forgery, conspiracy, or money laundering), which are prosecuted and evaluated separately.

Being under preliminary inquiry is neither a conviction nor an automatic arrest warrant. Under Law 906 of 2004, deprivation of liberty and arrest warrants are restricted to statutory grounds (a reasoned written order issued by a Guarantee Judge upon motivated prosecutorial request under Art. 297, or narrow legal exceptions such as flagrante delicto). Securing any judicial warrant requires proving constitutional necessity before the court (demonstrated flight risk, evidence tampering, or danger to the community). Ligal's defense team evaluates the concrete case facts, audits the file, and demonstrates community ties and voluntary appearance before competent judicial authorities, without making ungrounded promises of automatic neutralization.