Once approved, taxpayers should review the terms of the amnesty to determine if they might benefit from it.

The Salvadoran Minister of Finance filed a draft bill before the Congress that would establish a tax amnesty program allowing taxpayers to comply voluntarily with their tax and customs obligations. The program would be in force from the date the Decree is published in the Official Gazette to December 10, 2021.

According to the draft bill, the amnesty program would apply to taxes administered by the General Directorate of Internal Taxes and the General Directorate of Customs, as well as the collection processes administered by the General Directorate of Treasury.

All taxpayers that should have declared or paid taxes or customs duties by June 30, 2021 would qualify for the amnesty program. Taxpayers with debts determined according to Section 74-A of the Tax Code also could qualify for the amnesty program.

Taxpayers that pay the original or additional taxes due during the amnesty period would not be liable for interest, surcharges or additional fines, depending on their facts and circumstances. The bill also would allow taxpayers to request a grace period of up to seven months to pay the original or additional taxes due.

Additionally, the bill would allow taxpayers that benefited from previous amnesty programs but did not pay their obligations for various reasons to apply for the new program. The bill, however, would require them to pay penalties, which could be paid in installments. In this case, taxpayers could request a grace period of up to six months to pay the taxes and penalties.

Penalties that may be forgiven under the amnesty program would be those imposed under Sections 238 letters a) to d), 246, 247, 252, 253 and 254 of the Tax Code.

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