In a tax-crime case, the numbers are often the heart of the matter: amounts, omissions, invoices and accounting consistency. Under Article 405 of Law 906 of 2004 (the Colombian Criminal Procedure Code, CPP), expert evidence is admissible when valuations requiring scientific, technical, artistic or specialized knowledge are needed, and Articles 413 to 415 allow the parties to present reports by experts of their own choosing. But filing a report is not enough: if the expert does not testify orally at trial, the report is not admissible as evidence (Art. 415). At Ligal, that work is done by our own accountants, coordinated with our tax criminal defense lawyers, who prepare the report, appear at trial and are examined. We do not promise outcomes.
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Expert evidence is admissible, under Article 405 of the CPP (Law 906 of 2004), “when it is necessary to make valuations that require scientific, technical, artistic or specialized knowledge,” and the rules on testimony apply to the expert as appropriate. In a tax-crime case this is a typical use: amounts, omissions, invoices and accounting consistency are matters on which the judge often needs a technical explanation; it is not a monopoly of accountants, simply a frequent application. Under Article 406, the report is signed by those who took part and all experts give their opinion under oath. Article 344 provides that discovery begins at the hearing on the formulation of the indictment: the defense may ask the judge to order the Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía) to disclose a specific item of evidence and, if it is pertinent, the judge orders it to be disclosed, exhibited or copied, within a maximum of three days.
The parties may present reports by experts of their own choosing (“peritos de su confianza”) and ask that they be called for examination at the oral trial, attaching a certification of the expert’s suitability (Art. 413). If the judge admits the report at the preparatory hearing, the judge immediately orders the signing experts to be summoned to the oral trial to be examined and cross-examined (Art. 414). Every expert declaration must be preceded by a summarized report stating the basis of the opinion, which must be made known to the other parties at least five days before the public hearing where the expert evidence will be received, without prejudice to the discovery rules; and, in the words of the statute, the report will “in no case” be admissible as evidence if the expert does not testify orally at trial (Art. 415). In other words, filing the report is not sufficient; the expert must appear and answer. Experts have access to the evidence referred to in the report or the examination (Art. 416) and are examined on their theoretical and practical credentials, the principles and methods applied and the kind of technique used (Art. 417). Article 413 is a procedural right of the parties; at Ligal, this work is done by Ligal’s own accountants, coordinated with Ligal’s tax criminal defense lawyers, who prepare the report, appear at trial and are examined. A defense report does not by itself defeat the official one: the judge assesses expert evidence under the CPP, and no result is guaranteed.
Key points on accounting expert evidence in criminal proceedings
We defend tax-crime cases end to end (complaint, investigation, hearings and trial), coordinated with the defense before the DIAN. Accounting expert evidence is one piece of that defense, and the same Ligal team handles it.
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We review the DIAN assessment, the criminal complaint and the reports the Fiscalía has submitted or intends to submit: method, supporting records, assumptions and consistency with the accounting. Where there is an official expert, we prepare the contradiction of the report.
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Ligal’s accountants and LIGAL Auditores organize ledgers, reconciliations, invoices, returns and supporting records to establish which figures can be sustained with documents and which cannot. That review guides the strategy before deciding whether to present a report.
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Under Article 344 we request disclosure of the specific items the Fiscalía holds, and we assess what the defense should contribute. The defense’s experts have access to the evidence referred to in their report (Art. 416).
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When useful, Ligal’s accountants prepare the defense expert report, with its certification of suitability and the summarized report required by Article 415. Ligal’s tax criminal defense lawyers coordinate the technical question, the scope and the procedural timing.
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The report is admissible as evidence only if the expert testifies orally at trial (Art. 415). We prepare our accountants to answer on their credentials, principles, methods and techniques (Art. 417), clearly and relying on their documents and notes, and to face cross-examination.
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The same accounting work helps assess, together with the defense before the DIAN, whether it makes sense to pay or offset (Art. 402) or pay (Arts. 434A and 434B), and what effect that would have on the case. We do not repeat those rules here: they are explained on our page on extinction of criminal action by payment.
Accounting expert evidence is not a separate formality: it is designed together with the theory of the case. That is why the lawyers who litigate and the accountants who prepare the report work together from day one.
Director · Tax attorney · Ex-DIAN
Attorney with experience inside the DIAN. He leads the strategy end to end: the dispute before the DIAN and the defense before the Fiscalía and the criminal courts, including the decision on whether to present a defense expert report.
Ligal tax criminal defense lawyers
They handle hearings, request discovery, define the technical questions, coordinate the accountants and conduct the examination and cross-examination of experts at trial.
Ligal certified public accountants
They reconstruct figures, review supporting records and prepare the defense expert report. When the report is presented as evidence, they appear at trial, testify under oath and are examined.
A party’s report is one more piece of evidence, which the judge assesses under the CPP together with the rest. We honestly evaluate whether expert evidence helps the defense or whether another strategy is preferable, and we guarantee no result before the Fiscalía or the courts.
Article 415 is clear: if the expert does not testify orally, the report is not admissible as evidence. We propose expert evidence only when the accountant who prepares it is able to appear, testify and be cross-examined.
The report is limited to what the accounting and the documents allow to be sustained under oath. We do not create, alter or conceal records, and we do not advise anyone to destroy or hide accounting information.
At Ligal we combine the inside view of those who know how the DIAN works with the practice of litigating before criminal judges. We work on real cases of taxpayers, legal representatives, accountants and statutory auditors facing an investigation or charges for tax crimes.
The information on this page is general and does not replace analysis of the specific case: the usefulness of expert evidence depends on the facts, the existing evidence, the procedural stage and the current text of the cited rules. No outcome is guaranteed.
Direct contact with the director
Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto
Director · Tax attorney · Ex-DIAN
We begin with a confidential review of the case file, the figures and the procedural stage to determine whether accounting expert evidence suits your defense and how.
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Initial assessment within one business dayWe review the charges, the DIAN assessment, the available reports and the accounting, and define with you which technical questions matter for the defense and which procedural route applies.
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Depending on the stage of the caseLigal’s accountants organize the figures and supporting records; the lawyers decide whether to request discovery (Art. 344) and present a defense report (Art. 413).
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Through the oral trialWe prepare the report and the summarized report (Art. 415), attend the hearings and prepare our accountants to testify and to be examined and cross-examined (Arts. 414 and 417).
Frequently asked questions
It is expert evidence applied to the figures and accounting of the case. Under Article 405 of the CPP, expert evidence is admissible when it is necessary to make valuations that require scientific, technical, artistic or specialized knowledge, and the rules on testimony apply to the expert as appropriate. In a tax case a typical use is amounts, omissions, invoices or accounting consistency. It is not a monopoly of accountants, and its usefulness depends on the facts and the stage of the proceeding. Under Article 406, all experts give their opinion under oath and the report is signed by those who took part.
Yes, as a procedural right of the parties. Article 413 of the CPP allows the parties to present reports by experts of their own choosing (“peritos de su confianza”) and to ask that they be called for examination at the oral trial, attaching a certification of the expert’s suitability. Presenting a report is a strategic decision, which we evaluate case by case.
No. Under Article 415 of the CPP, every expert declaration must be preceded by a summarized report stating the basis of the opinion, and that report must be made known to the other parties at least five days before the public hearing where the expert evidence will be received. In addition, the statute says the report will “in no case” be admissible as evidence if the expert does not testify orally at trial. The report and the expert therefore go together: if the expert does not appear and answer, the report is of no use as evidence. If the judge admits the report at the preparatory hearing, the judge orders the signing experts to be summoned to be examined and cross-examined (Art. 414).
It is the stage at which each party discloses the evidence it will use. Under Article 344 of the CPP, it begins at the hearing on the formulation of the indictment: the defense may ask the judge to order the Fiscalía, or whoever holds it, to disclose a specific item of evidence and, if it is pertinent, the judge orders it to be disclosed, exhibited or copied, within a maximum of three days. The Fiscalía, in turn, may ask that the defense deliver copies of the evidence it intends to use at trial, and the judge must see that discovery is as complete as possible. For accounting expert evidence, early access to the documents and to the prosecution’s reports is decisive; experts have access to the evidence referred to in their report (Art. 416).
Article 417 of the CPP lists the matters on which the expert must be examined: their background showing theoretical knowledge of the science, technique or art; their knowledge in the use of instruments or means; their practical knowledge; the scientific, technical or artistic principles on which they base their analysis and their degree of acceptance; the methods used in the case; whether they used orientation, probability or certainty techniques; corroboration of their opinion by other experts who also testify at the trial; and similar topics. The expert answers clearly and precisely, and has the right to consult documents, written notes and publications to support and clarify the answer. Cross-examination by the opposing party follows.
Ligal’s own accountants (Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores), coordinated with Ligal’s tax criminal defense lawyers. They prepare the report, appear at trial, testify under oath and are examined and cross-examined. Article 413 of the CPP recognizes the parties’ right to present experts “of their own choosing”; at Ligal that work is done by our own team, which keeps the theory of the case and the accounting analysis aligned with the defense before the DIAN.
Not automatically. The defense report is one more piece of evidence: the judge assesses it under the CPP together with the official expert’s report, if there is one, and the rest of the evidence. It can serve to challenge the method, the supporting records or the assumptions behind the prosecution’s figures, but its effect depends on its soundness, on the expert testifying at trial and on how the expert withstands cross-examination. That is why Ligal does not promise that expert evidence will change the outcome; we evaluate whether it helps your defense.
The same accounting work that quantifies taxes, penalties and interest helps assess with judgment whether to pay or offset (Art. 402) or pay (Arts. 434A and 434B of the Criminal Code), and what effect that would have on the case. Those rules carry different conditions depending on the offense and we do not repeat them here: we explain them on our page on extinction of criminal action by payment to the DIAN. Paying without a strategy can carry risks; the decision is therefore made with the full case in view, with the criminal defense and the defense before the DIAN coordinated.
We analyze your case, the figures behind the charges and whether accounting expert evidence makes sense for your defense, in strict confidence.