You made a mistake in the import declaration and DIAN wants to penalize you:
correcting in time and accepting the infraction properly can change the amount of the fine, with ex-DIAN lawyers and accountants at your side.

Law 2586 of 2026, article 15, provides, among others: 15% of the FOB value per declaration when there are partial errors or omissions in the serial number or wrong or incomplete descriptions that do not involve different goods, a change of subheading with higher taxes or a breach of restrictions (num. 15.2.2.4); 10% of the customs taxes left unpaid per declaration when the inaccuracy causes an underpayment (num. 15.2.2.6); 600 UVT per operation when the inaccuracy leads to a breach of legal or administrative restrictions or quotas (num. 15.2.2.10); and 1,000 UVT per operation when inaccuracies are entered in declarations of goods whose import or export is prohibited (num. 15.2.1.4). If it is not corrected in time, article 17 provides that the fine for the serial number or description may increase to 30% of the FOB.

The voluntary correction declaration (Decree 1165 of 2019, art. 296) remedies the errors the rule lists (subheading, rates, exchange rate, penalties, arithmetic operation, modality, preferential treatments, FOB value, freight, insurance, other expenses, adjustments and customs value), is available within the declaration's finality period (three years, art. 188) and, if voluntary, only once. The legalization declaration (arts. 290 and 291) serves to declare goods for which a customs obligation was breached that would give rise to seizure; in the case of a wrong or incomplete description that does not involve different goods, the redemption is 10% of the customs value if voluntary without intervention of the authority, and 15% if filed after release to remedy a description that caused a violated restriction or lower taxes (art. 293, num. 2). Which one applies depends on the error and the moment.

It is the written acknowledgment of the infraction (Law 2586, art. 19). Fines are reduced as follows: no penalty if the offender, without DIAN intervention, voluntarily acknowledges the infraction in writing before the Special Customs Request is notified (not applicable to very serious infractions); at 20% if acknowledged before that request; at 40% if done after notification and before the decision on the merits; and at 60% within the period to file the appeal against the decision on the merits. For it to apply, the official payment receipt for the customs taxes, the interest and the reduced penalty must be attached (with the exception the article itself provides for the first event). Illustrative arithmetic example, not a prediction: if the fine were $1,000,000, accepting the infraction at 20% would mean paying $200,000 and at 40%, $400,000. Acceptance does not cover default interest or redemption (par. 1), and may be partial (par. 4).

It is the communication by which DIAN, when it has indications of an inaccuracy in the declaration or of an infraction punishable by a fine, invites the user to correct within the following month (Law 2586, art. 5), by assessing and paying taxes, interest, penalty or redemption, or by accepting the infraction with the corresponding reduction benefits. Not answering does not generate any penalty, but if the user neither corrects nor accepts the infraction, the regional directorate starts the official assessment or penalty procedure. While the term of the invitation runs, DIAN cannot issue the Special Customs Request (par. 2). A satisfactory answer closes the proceedings.

Fifteen business days from its notification (Law 2586, art. 70), with objections and a request for evidence. That period can be extended, without exceeding 70 business days, when it is necessary to prove compliance with legal or administrative restrictions as support for the correction declaration. DIAN then has 70 business days to decide on the merits (art. 72). Against the official assessment or the penalty resolution, the reconsideration appeal may be filed within 15 business days following notification (art. 88), which the authority resolves in five months (art. 94). If you properly answered the request, you may go directly to the administrative litigation jurisdiction without filing the appeal (art. 88, par. 2).

In some scenarios, yes. For errors in the serial number or wrong or incomplete description that do not involve different goods, seizure only applies when the penalty of num. 15.2.2.4 has not been paid (Law 2586, art. 26, num. 2). When legal or administrative restrictions are not proven, there is a specific ground (art. 26, num. 5). And if in a post-clearance audit DIAN detects an incorrect tariff classification that requires proving restrictions, there is no seizure if the importer files the corresponding declaration, pays the additional taxes and proves the restrictions within 30 days after DIAN informs it (art. 26, paragraph); once the period has expired, the official assessment begins if the declaration is still within the finality period, and otherwise the goods are seized. For the procedure see DIAN seizure and forfeiture.

The owner or person responsible has 15 business days from notification of the seizure record to file the written objections with the evidence (Law 2586, art. 45). DIAN may authorize delivery before the decision on the merits upon a guarantee equal to 100% of the FOB value or of the appraisal, when there are no restrictions or compliance with them is proven (art. 43). Once the grounds are remedied, redemption applies (art. 52), and at any stage of the proceeding and until the forfeiture becomes final, return is ordered if the ground is disproved (art. 53). Which one is better depends on the goods and the error; it is assessed immediately.

The power to impose penalties lapses three years after the act or omission was committed, a period within which the penalty act must be issued and notified (Law 2586, art. 20). Separately, the import declaration becomes final three years after its filing and acceptance, unless a Special Customs Request has been notified (Decree 1165 of 2019, art. 188); finality conditions, for example, the official assessment. Counting these deadlines correctly in each case is part of the diagnosis.

Invoking it is not enough. Law 2586 provides grounds for exemption from liability (art. 23): force majeure, fortuitous event, acts of third parties, failures of computer services and, among others, having acted with due diligence and care, which must be proven with effective, timely, verifiable actions adopted before the facts under investigation. The burden of proof rests exclusively on the customs user. Whether the exemption succeeds depends on the available evidence; that is why it is assessed early, together with the correction or the acceptance of the infraction.

No. If the error affects the value, DIAN may open a customs valuation dispute, with other methods and evidence, and the official assessment may correct inaccuracies that cause an underpayment of taxes (Law 2586, art. 58) or affect the valuation of the goods (art. 61). The fine of 10% of the taxes left unpaid (num. 15.2.2.6) is added to the additional taxes and interest. For the analysis of the value see customs valuation. Which scenario applies to your operation is defined with the supporting documents.

Most errors are treated as administrative infractions. The law establishes that, if in the exercise of control facts that may constitute a crime are found, DIAN must report them (Law 2586, art. 12), and administrative penalties do not exclude the criminal liability that may arise (art. 14). Which conduct moves from infraction to crime depends on the facts and the intent; that is why the case should be reviewed before filing any document. See smuggling and facilitation: customs crime. Ligal handles the defense on both fronts.

Ligal is a firm specialized in tax, customs and tax-criminal law. Under the direction of Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, an ex-DIAN tax lawyer, together with Jeysson Pulido, accountant, and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants), we combine the legal reading of the infraction with the exact calculation of taxes, interest and fine, and we represent you before DIAN from the persuasive invitation to the appeal. Our work is backed by 5.0 / 5 on Google with 36 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The team handles real cases of audits, customs and tax litigation. No result is guaranteed.