The criminal offense of omitted assets or nonexistent liabilities (Art. 434A Penal Code, amended by Law 2277 of 2022) requires an amount of 1,000 SMMLV or more defined by an official tax assessment. According to Paragraph 1, criminal action proceeds only if there are no administrative remedies pending and no reasonable interpretation of applicable law exists with complete and true facts and figures. Ligal handles criminal tax defense end to end, articulated with defense before the DIAN.
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Article 434A of the Colombian Penal Code (introduced by Law 1819 of 2016 and amended by Article 69 of Law 2277 of 2022, which lowered the threshold to 1,000 SMMLV) criminalizes the omission of assets or inclusion of nonexistent liabilities: whoever omits assets, declares a lower value of assets, or reports nonexistent liabilities with the intent to defraud or evade in tax filings, for an amount equal to or exceeding 1,000 SMMLV defined by an official assessment issued by the tax authority, incurs imprisonment from 48 to 108 months. Omitted or undervalued asset amounts are appraised under the wealth valuation rules of the Tax Statute, while nonexistent liabilities are evaluated at their reported value. The statute establishes graduated sentence enhancements: if the value exceeds 2,500 SMMLV but remains below 5,000 SMMLV, prison penalties increase by one third; if it exceeds 5,000 SMMLV, penalties increase by one half. Article 434B of the Penal Code punishes tax fraud and evasion (failing to file, omitting income, reporting fictitious costs, or claiming improper tax credits) between 100 and 2,500 SMMLV with 36 to 60 months of imprisonment and identical graduated increases, alongside the failure to remit collected taxes under Article 402.
The statutory design conditions criminal prosecution directly upon tax determination: the amount must be conclusively 'defined by an official assessment of the tax authority'. Paragraph 1 of Articles 434A and 434B provides an essential procedural safeguard: criminal proceedings proceed only if administrative appeals are not currently pending, or when there is no reasonable interpretation of applicable law, provided that declared facts and figures are complete and true. Furthermore, DIAN may request the initiation of criminal proceedings through a special petition issued by a committee led by the Director General or their designee. In turn, Paragraph 2 dictates that criminal proceedings are extinguished up to two (2) times when the perpetrator pays all corresponding taxes, penalties, and interest. If the principle of opportunity or extinguishment by payment has already been granted up to twice under Articles 434A or 434B, subsequent payment will not extinguish criminal proceedings nor allow principle of opportunity, granting only a penalty reduction of up to one half.
Article 434A Statutory Criteria
Ligal handles criminal tax defense end to end —from investigation through hearings and trial— articulated with DIAN tax defense: we contest official assessments, establish reasonable legal interpretations, and execute the payment extinguishment of criminal action.
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We challenge special summonses and official assessments through the reconsideration appeal (Art. 720 Tax Statute), preventing assessments from becoming definitive and barring criminal action under Paragraph 1.
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We demonstrate that statutory asset valuations adhered to plausible legal interpretations with truthful disclosures, defeating criminal elements and the alleged fraudulent intent.
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LIGAL Auditores and Jeysson Pulido analyze whether amounts genuinely exceed the 1,000 SMMLV threshold of Art. 434A or 100 SMMLV of 434B, while contesting inaccuracy penalties (Arts. 647 & 648 E.T.).
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We calculate the exact taxes, penalties, and interest required to extinguish criminal liability up to two times (Paragraph 2) and represent clients directly in hearings and trial before the Fiscalía and judges to obtain extinguishment.
Criminal tax defense demands articulating criminal representation —investigation, hearings, and trial— with DIAN procedures and forensic balance sheet auditing.
Director · Tax Attorney · Ex-DIAN
Directs criminal tax defense and defense before the DIAN: files appeals against official assessments (Art. 720 E.T.), argues reasonable interpretation, and represents clients in hearings and trial through case extinguishment.
Accountant · Forensic Tax Quantification
Specialist in tax adjustments and numerical audits. Models exact calculations of taxes, Article 648 inaccuracy penalties, and interest to audit SMMLV statutory thresholds and structure extinguishment payments.
Public Accountants · Law 43 of 1990
Forensic accounting audits examining asset valuations and liabilities under the Tax Statute, providing evidentiary accounting opinions that counter DIAN omission claims.
The same Ligal team handles the file before the DIAN and the criminal proceedings —complaint, investigation, hearings, and trial—, ensuring a unified strategy covering the official assessment, reasonable interpretation, and extinguishment payment.
While administrative remedies are actively pursued, criminal proceedings cannot advance under Paragraph 1. We exhaustively litigate reconsideration appeals and administrative court annulment.
Paragraph 2 allows extinguishment of criminal action up to two occasions only. We audit client procedural history before proposing settlement payments to guarantee full statutory extinguishment.
In offenses involving omitted assets (Article 434A of the Penal Code) and tax fraud (Article 434B), Ligal handles both fronts: end-to-end criminal tax defense in court and tax defense before the DIAN. Their indispensable legal prerequisite is an official tax assessment issued by DIAN for amounts equal to or exceeding 1,000 SMMLV (Art. 434A) or 100 SMMLV (Art. 434B). Defense is waged in an articulated manner across administrative tax procedures —responding to special summonses, contesting inaccuracy penalties (Articles 647 & 648 of the Tax Statute), and filing reconsideration appeals (Article 720 E.T.)— and throughout criminal proceedings. While these administrative remedies are pending, Paragraph 1 legally bars the criminal action from proceeding. Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, former DIAN tax attorney, and LIGAL's multidisciplinary team lead comprehensive criminal-tax and administrative defense to defeat the assessment, defend in hearings and trial, or ensure full extinguishment of criminal proceedings through timely, verified payment of taxes, penalties, and interest under Paragraph 2. The firm handles real audit, coercive collection, and tax litigation cases: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez shares that, thanks to representation before DIAN, "we achieved the closure of a tax lawsuit pending against my company".
Please note: Ligal handles criminal tax defense end to end —from complaint and investigation through hearings and oral trial— articulated with tax defense before the DIAN.
Director
Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto
Tax Attorney · Ex-DIAN
We analyze DIAN administrative notices, SMMLV threshold calculations, and pending appeals. Receive evaluation in 48 business hours. Use the form or open Diagnostic.
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TodayWe audit questioned tax filings, special summonses, and the official assessment issued by DIAN.
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48 business hWe determine whether 1,000 SMMLV is truly met, evaluate administrative remedies, and compute extinguishment figures.
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ImmediateWe file appeals against the official assessment and directly handle proceedings before the Fiscalía and judges, including requesting extinguishment of the action by payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Article 434A of the Penal Code (as amended by Article 69 of Law 2277 of 2022) defines the offense of omission of assets or inclusion of nonexistent liabilities. It imposes 48 to 108 months in prison on anyone who omits assets, declares a lower value of assets, or reports nonexistent liabilities with fraudulent or evasive intent, provided the amount is 1,000 SMMLV or greater defined by an official assessment. Sentences increase by one third between 2,500 and 5,000 SMMLV, and by one half above 5,000 SMMLV.
Both Article 434A and Article 434B explicitly require that the monetary amount be 'defined by an official assessment of the tax authority'. Consequently, administrative tax determination is a necessary legal prerequisite: taxpayers have the full right to defend their filings through responses to special summonses and reconsideration appeals (Article 720 Tax Statute), or through judicial annulment litigation.
Paragraph 1 of Article 434A (and 434B) establishes that criminal proceedings proceed only when administrative appeals are not currently pending, or when there is no reasonable interpretation of applicable law, provided that declared facts and figures are complete and truthful. Furthermore, DIAN may seek criminal action through a special petition by a committee headed by the Director General or their delegate.
Pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Articles 434A and 434B, criminal action is extinguished up to two (2) times when the perpetrator makes full payment of all corresponding taxes, tax penalties, and interest. If the principle of opportunity or extinguishment has already been applied up to twice for these crimes, subsequent payment will not extinguish criminal proceedings or permit principle of opportunity, granting only up to a 50% sentence reduction.
Article 434A specifically addresses omitted assets or nonexistent liabilities for amounts equal to or exceeding 1,000 SMMLV. Article 434B punishes general tax fraud or evasion (failure to file, omission of revenue, fictitious costs, or improper tax credits) between 100 and 2,500 SMMLV with 36 to 60 months of imprisonment, sharing the same graduated sentence increases and Paragraph 1 & 2 rules on pre-judicial remedies and payment extinguishment.
In administrative tax proceedings, omitting assets or including nonexistent liabilities constitutes statutory tax inaccuracy under Article 647 of the Tax Statute (item 1 for omitted assets, item 3 for nonexistent liabilities). This triggers the administrative inaccuracy penalty under Article 648 E.T., which is litigated within the official assessment process independently of criminal matters.
Ligal is the reference tax-law firm in Colombia and handles criminal tax defense end to end, articulated with tax defense before the DIAN. Guided by Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, former DIAN tax attorney, alongside Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (Law 43 of 1990), we represent clients throughout criminal proceedings —complaint, investigation, hearings, and trial— as well as the administrative front: we contest official assessments, substantiate reasonable legal interpretations, and secure extinguishment under Paragraph 2. Our reputation is confirmed by a 5.0 / 5 Google rating across 35 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The firm handles real audit, coercive collection, and tax litigation cases: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez shares that, thanks to representation before DIAN, "we achieved the closure of a tax lawsuit pending against my company".
Free. Submit your official assessment, special summons, or balance sheet under audit. We analyze SMMLV thresholds, administrative remedies, and extinguishment through payment.