Article 12 bis (added by Decree 19-2016) applies exclusively to the apparel and textile industry and to ICT services, call centers and contact centers, and grants: a) a one-year suspension on inputs; b) a one-year suspension on sample sets, engineering samples, instruction sheets, patterns and models; c) full exemption from import duty (DAI), taxes and VAT on imports of machinery, equipment, parts, components and accessories used in the production process as described in the qualification resolution; d) full exemption from income tax (ISR) for 10 years on the authorized activity (not applicable to branches whose home country credits Guatemalan income tax); e) alternatively, a one-year temporary suspension of the same taxes on machinery identified in the resolution; f) exemption from import and consumption taxes on fuel oil, butane/propane gas and bunker fuel for own power generation; g) local purchases of inputs and services for the qualified activity are not subject to VAT.

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Exoneración de ISR (vestuario/textil y TIC)100% por 10 añosvigente

Maquinaria y equipo del proceso productivoexoneración total de DAI + impuestos + IVAvigente

After the reform introduced by Decree 19-2016, outside apparel/textiles and ICT, Decree 29-89 no longer grants the benefits of article 12 bis; the definition of 'productive activity' (art. 8 bis) is limited to industrial apparel and textile goods (Section XI of the Harmonized System, chapters 50-63). Article 2 excludes from the law altogether: coffee, cardamom, unhulled sesame, fresh bananas, cattle and beef, sugar and molasses, uncarded cotton, crude oil and timber in logs or boards. A manufacturer in any other sector must look to free zones or ZDEEPs.

Article 27 (as amended by Decree 19-2016) requires a guarantee covering the full amount of the suspended taxes, in the form of a cash deposit, general deposit warehouses authorized as bonded warehouses with a specific guarantee, a surety bond, a mortgage guarantee or a combination of these. The discharge (art. 28) is granted by customs once it verifies that the goods were used for the authorized purpose or were re-exported, exported or nationalized. The company must request the discharge from the tax authority (SAT) within 45 days of the Export Declaration, re-export declaration or FAUCA (art. 29); filing late costs a fine of US$100 (payable in quetzales) for each late declaration.

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Plazo para solicitar descargo45 días tras la declaración de exportaciónvigente

Multa por descargo extemporáneoUS$100 por declaraciónvigente

Selling or using admitted goods for any other purpose (art. 41) carries a fine of 100% of the unpaid taxes, with joint liability for seller and buyer; destruction outside the primary customs zone triggers payment of the taxes unless proven force majeure (art. 42). Ongoing obligations (art. 33) include starting production within the term set in the resolution, filing a monthly electronic sworn declaration of the running goods account within the first 20 days of each month, the social security (IGSS) payroll return, and accounting with perpetual inventory. Failure to comply with IGSS suspends the benefits for 2 to 6 months, with permanent loss on a repeat offense (art. 43 bis); the Ministry of the Economy (MINECO) revokes qualification on its own motion for failure to start production, closure or bankruptcy, or non-compliance (art. 43).

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Multa por desvío de mercancías100% de los impuestos no pagadosvigente

Suspensión por incumplir IGSS2–6 meses; pérdida definitiva por reincidenciavigente

The application is filed with the Industrial Policy Directorate of the Ministry of the Economy (MINECO) with a technical and economic report; the opinion must be issued within a maximum of 30 days (arts. 20-21). A company may operate before the resolution by guaranteeing the taxes with a bond or deposit (art. 24). Excluded from access (art. 4 bis): those previously sanctioned with revocation, taxpayers with final tax debts, debtors of the social security institute (IGSS), those in breach of final labor judgments, ZOLIC users, and those already enjoying incentives under other laws. Dossier 13 notes that the practical timeline cited by advisers is 30-45 working days, and that MINECO's official list of requirements did not resolve in that pass.

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Plazo legal del dictamen de calificaciónmáximo 30 díasvigente

Yes. Subcontracting of productive services is allowed with notice to the Ministry of the Economy (MINECO) (art. 16), and the transfer of inputs and machinery between qualified companies is permitted if the recipient enjoys equal or greater benefits (art. 17). Article 36 bis creates a bridge to free zones: Decree 29-89 companies and free-zone users may send each other goods for processing or completion without VAT (a free-zone user shipping into the customs territory under temporary admission guarantees the taxes); co-exporters and local inputs are also VAT-free (art. 36 ter). Perishable plant material obtains documentary authorization within a maximum of 6 hours of arrival (art. 3 bis), and foreign technical staff receive automatic 3-month work permits through the Ministry of Labor (MINTRAB) (art. 17 bis).

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Permiso de trabajo automático para técnicos extranjeros3 mesesvigente

Free-zone users are exempt from import duty (DAI) and VAT on imports of machinery and inputs, exempt from VAT on operations inside and between free zones, and exempt from income tax (ISR) for 10 years (industrial and service users) or 15 years (zone operators), verified against the text of Decree 65-89 in dossier 03. ZOLIC (Decree 22-73) and the ZDEEPs (created by the 30-2008 reform) are extra-customs enclosures authorized by the tax authority (SAT), with taxes suspended inside the enclosure. The practical difference: a free zone is an enclosure (the goods never fiscally 'enter' the customs territory), whereas Decree 29-89 operates in the company's own plant inside the customs territory against a guarantee and a running goods account - Decree 29-89 lets you site the plant anywhere, while a free zone ties the benefit to the enclosure.

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ISR exento usuarios de zona franca10 años (15 años administradoras)vigente

Article 109 of Decree 10-2012 (subparagraph c, according to the tax authority, SAT) prohibits the entry of vehicles declared unserviceable or a total loss in the country of origin. In addition, since January 2021 (after an extension to 26 April 2021) SAT has enforced the ban on importing vehicles 7 or more years old that fail to start during customs inspection, on the basis of article 3 of Government Agreement 133-2012, in force since 2012. The 10-year-from-manufacture cap that circulates in commercial sources has no located legal provision; one indication against it is that a 2021 bill proposed allowing imports of used vehicles up to 10 years old, which suggests it is not in force - this remains to be verified against Decree 10-2012 and the Constitutional Court ruling (Case 2959-2012, seen only in summary).

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Regla de los 7 años (vehículos que no enciendan)aplicada desde enero 20212021

10-year cap: a commercial claim with no located legal provision

According to the leaflet of the tax authority (SAT), goods other than baggage brought in by a traveler are exempt from taxes if their customs value does not exceed 500 Central American pesos (1 Central American peso = US$1 under the Central American Monetary Agreement, art. 42, as cited by SAT), on the basis of article 114 of CAUCA; the customs officer files the declaration ex officio. The rule for 'small non-commercial consignments' (family remittances) and its threshold are not in the leaflet and remain to be confirmed against the text of CAUCA.

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Exención para mercancías del viajerohasta US$500 (500 pesos centroamericanos)vigente

threshold for family consignments still to be confirmed against CAUCA

Since 1 April 2019 the DUCA (Single Central American Declaration) has replaced the FAUCA, the DUT and the DUA-GT, under Resolution 409-2018 of COMIECO (a date corroborated only by indexed summaries from Lexology and the SICA portal; the official SAT page returned a 403). DUCA-D: imports from outside Central America and other national regimes; DUCA-F: goods originating in intra-regional trade (successor to the FAUCA); DUCA-T: international overland customs transit (successor to the DUT). Trade between Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador under the customs union uses the FYDUCA, not the DUCA. SEADEX Web, run by VUPE/AGEXPORT, issues DUCA-F and DUCA-D 24/7.

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Vigencia de la DUCAdesde 1-abr-2019 (Resolución 409-2018 COMIECO)2019

SAT's official DUCA page is inaccessible (403); the COMIECO resolution still to be opened on SIECA

The first Time Release Study in Central America (World Customs Organization methodology, sample from 8-14 July 2019, presented in January 2020) measured: overland at Tecún Umán II, 10.1 hours to release - of which 6.7 hours (66%) belonged to private actors (carrier and broker) and 3.4 hours (34%) to customs; maritime (Puerto Quetzal/APM Terminals/Santo Tomás), 8.8 days on average for goods in the red channel, with 70% of the time in other actors and 30% in customs; air (Express Aéreo/COMBEX-IM) in the red channel, 12 days. The honest reading: most of the time is consumed not by the tax authority (SAT) but by the private chain (shipping line, warehouse, broker, carrier) and by permits from other agencies. The numeric tables in the PDF are images; the figures come from Prensa Libre's coverage.

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Despacho terrestre (Tecún Umán II) al levante10.1 horas (66% privados / 34% aduana)julio 2019

Despacho marítimo, selectivo rojo8.8 días (70% otros actores / 30% aduana)julio 2019

Despacho aéreo, selectivo rojo12 díasjulio 2019

press figures on a study whose tables are not extractable

Yes: the second edition of the Time Release Study, focused on export operations (general and perishable containerized cargo, and also definitive, simplified, supplementary and provisional import declarations, according to the Customs Intendant), began on 16 June 2025 at MPONAC-Santo Tomás de Castilla customs, Chiquita-Puerto Barrios customs, EPQ-Puerto Quetzal customs and APM Terminals Quetzal, with 98 technicians and 39 measurement points. According to the tax authority (SAT), 54% of the FOB value exported in 2024 left by sea. The results were pending publication as of the dossier's date.

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Exportaciones por vía marítima (valor FOB)54%2024

results pending publication

The green channel means no physical or documentary inspection; the red channel means physical and documentary inspection plus intervention by other competent agencies, which raises the average time at every customs post measured. According to SAT's Time Release Study, Puerto Quetzal (EPQ) accounts for 38% of foreign-trade revenue collection, Santo Tomás 15% and Express Aéreo 14% (annual averages); maritime clearance at the APM Terminals customs warehouse involves 86 activities and 10 public and private actors, at Santo Tomás 72 activities and 8 actors, and at Express Aéreo 65 and 8. Guatemala was the first Central American country and the second in Latin America to carry out a Time Release Study using World Customs Organization methodology.

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Participación de EPQ en recaudación de comercio exterior38%promedio anual (ETD 2019)

Actividades / actores en despacho marítimo APM Terminals86 / 10ETD 2019

The OEA-GT program (Authorized Economic Operator), created by SAT Board Agreement 14-2010, is voluntary and free of charge and follows the World Customs Organization's SAFE standards. Requirements according to the SAT portal: audited financial statements for the three years preceding the application; no indictment or conviction for tax, customs, money-laundering or intellectual-property offenses in the last three years (this also applies to legal representatives); and being current on formal tax duties and enforceable debts; the wording 'a minimum of 3 years of international trade operations' comes from a firm's note. Benefits: fewer physical and documentary inspections, faster clearance, dedicated lanes where the infrastructure allows, special measures when systems go down, mutual recognition with other customs administrations, and training. The Quetzal Port Authority (EPQ) was certified as an AEO on 28 September 2022; ZOLIC states that Puerta del Istmo was the first certified ZDEEP (an institutional-promotional claim).

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Certificación OEA de EPQ28-sep-20222022

The most cited estimate comes from the FUNDESA-CACIF study of July 2014: an annual fiscal loss from smuggling (as evasion) of up to Q5,900 million, equivalent to US$755 million, around 1.6% of current GDP; the same study put the value of illicit trade in goods in 2012 at ~Q14.2 billion (3.6% of GDP) in the likely scenario, within a range of Q11.2-17.2 billion. The comparison with ministerial budgets that had been circulating does not appear in the study and was removed. CODECOF/CIG with CABI (April 2022) estimates a tax gap from smuggling and customs fraud of Q1,400 million a year ('more than 1% of GDP', with no year given in the source) and Q25,000 million (US$3,230 million) in annual economic losses. CONACON calculates losses of no less than US$1,600 million a year, but the original note could not be located and should not be used without a primary source.

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Pérdida fiscal anual por contrabandohasta Q5,900 M ≈ US$755 M (~1.6% del PIB)estimación 2014

Valor del comercio ilícito de mercancías~Q14.2 mil M (3.6% del PIB), rango Q11.2–17.2 mil M2012

Brecha tributaria por contrabandoQ1,400 M anuales (sin año)nota abr-2022

a 2014 estimate; the CONACON figure has no primary source

In TRACIT's 2025 Illicit Trade Index, Guatemala scores 43.1/100, ranking 106th of 158 economies and 5th of 7 in Central America, and is classified as a 'high-risk jurisdiction'. The tax authority (SAT) reported seizures worth Q108.7 million in 2025 (Q32.3 million in 1,028 seizures between January and June 2025). On cigarettes, La Hora (12 July 2026) estimates a fiscal loss of Q180 million a year since 2017; the 'up to 40% of consumption is illicit' figure that circulated was not found in any source and remains to be researched. The same article describes Guatemala as a regional transit corridor, with spirits worth more than US$25 million a year and ~US$62 million of losses in agriculture.

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Índice de Comercio Ilícito TRACIT43.1/100, puesto 106 de 1582025

Decomisos SATQ108.7 M en 2025; Q32.3 M en 1,028 incautaciones ene-jun-20252025

Pérdida fiscal por cigarrillos ilícitosQ180 M/año desde 20172017–2026

press figure; the original TRACIT report still to be opened

According to CODECOF/CIG, the hardest-hit sectors are food and beverages, grains, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals, poultry and cement; FUNDESA/CACIF (2014) add footwear and apparel (17.5% of the market in the likely scenario). The conclusion for the investor: industrial machinery does not compete with smuggling, but local sales of the finished product may well do so - for a consumer-goods manufacturer the relevant competitor may not be another formal importer but contraband.

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Calzado y vestuario, participación del comercio ilícito en el mercado17.5% (escenario probable)2012

Under article 12 bis, subparagraph g) of Decree 29-89, local purchases of inputs and services for the qualified activity (apparel/textiles and ICT) are not subject to VAT, and article 36 ter extends VAT-free treatment to co-exporters and local inputs. Dossier 13 (the garment-factory manual), verified against the legal text, notes that a company enjoying the Decree 29-89 income tax (ISR) exemption does not pay the solidarity tax (ISO) either. The suspension of import taxes on inputs lasts one year, extendable only once according to dossier 13 (art. 12), although the articles extracted in this dossier do not contain the extension explicitly.

the extension of the term still to be confirmed against the regulations

According to Trade.gov, some 5,263 of 6,307 HS codes for industrial and consumer goods originating in the United States already enter Guatemala duty-free under CAFTA-DR; the remaining 1,044 codes follow a scheduled phase-out that completes in 2026. For machinery of US origin, therefore, the preferential tariff is in practice zero or close to zero.

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Códigos SA de EE.UU. libres de arancel~5,263 de 6,307vigente

Códigos en desgravación programada1,044, a completarse en 20262026

The binding rate for each 10-digit tariff line is looked up in the online Integrated Tariff of the tax authority (SAT) and in the Central American Tariff administered by SIECA. Chapter 84 of the SAC covers mechanical machinery and appliances, and chapter 85 covers electrical, electromechanical and electronic machinery and equipment. The dossier advises against committing financial-model figures to the 'typical 0%' without confirming line by line: ~94% of non-electrical machinery lines and ~72% of electrical ones are duty-free, but the rest reach as high as 15%.

SAT's tool requires an interactive lookup for each tariff line

Imports of goods and services pay 12% VAT on the customs value (CIF) plus the import duty (DAI), following the standard mechanics set out in dossier 03 (the exact legal citation to Decree 27-92 remains to be verified against the text). VAT paid on importation is an input credit for the registered importer, offsettable against the output VAT on its sales. Cash consequence: for an ordinary taxpayer, import VAT is neutral over the medium term, but it is a working-capital financing cost when bringing in expensive machinery - hence the value of the regimes (Decree 29-89, free zones) that suspend or waive it at the border.

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Tasa de IVA a la importación12%vigente

exact article of Decree 27-92 still to be cited against the official text

Institutional Tax Criterion No. 1-2026 of the tax authority (SAT), dated 27 March 2026, establishes that in courier imports the consignee is the owner and the party economically liable: the courier may not claim as its own input credit the VAT paid on third-party goods (it records this as a receivable from the client), the import duties (DAI) paid on behalf of third parties are not a deductible cost or expense for the courier, and the charge to the client goes in the 'third-party account complement' field of the electronic invoice. The source is a firm's analysis (NDA Global); the text of the criterion is still to be downloaded from the SAT portal.

law-firm summary; the text of the criterion still to be downloaded from the SAT portal

In this pass no general age restriction and no special permit were found for importing used industrial machinery (chapters 84-85): it classifies and pays exactly as new machinery does. The operational risk is valuation: with no list price available, the tax authority (SAT) may challenge the declared value of a used item (value adjustments, reasonable doubt). A specific rule or administrative provision from SAT on used goods was not found and remains to be researched. Vehicles are a separate and more expensive regime (IPRIMA).

absence of a restriction means not found, not confirmed; SAT rules on used goods still to be researched

Vehicles fall under a different and more expensive regime than machinery. The IPRIMA (Specific Tax on First Registration, Decree 10-2012, Book II) taxes the first entry in the Vehicle Tax Registry of vehicles nationalized, assembled or produced in the country, at rates of 5% to 20% by category (a figure from a law-firm note; the exact article remains to be verified against Decree 10-2012). For used vehicles, the tax base is the value on the original invoice from the seller abroad, with tables of taxable values that the tax authority (SAT) updates annually. The import duty (DAI) on vehicles can reach 20% (an exception to the general 15% ceiling), according to Trade.gov; advisers quote ranges of 10-30% of CIF that must be verified line by line.

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Tarifas IPRIMA5%–20% según categoríavigente

DAI máximo vehículoshasta 20%vigente

the IPRIMA rate table by category remains to be verified against the text of Decree 10-2012

Commercial guides put the ceiling for the simplified courier declaration authorized by the tax authority (SAT) for express delivery companies at US$1,000 CIF; shipments of equal or greater value require a formal DUCA-D filed by a customs broker - a figure still to be confirmed against the official courier procedure of the Customs Intendancy. In practice there is no VAT de minimis for commercial shipments: almost every commercial shipment pays 12% VAT with no minimum exempt amount (a commercial-guide claim, still to be verified). Courier enforcement tightened with the SAT-CLADEC agreement; one documented case showed goods declared at US$700 with a real value of US$9,200.40.

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Tope declaración simplificada courierUS$1,000 CIF (por confirmar)vigente

commercial guides; threshold still to be confirmed against SAT's official procedure

For definitive imports for commercial purposes, the importer must register in the Importers Registry (through the Virtual Agency of the tax authority, SAT), and the system requires at least one customs broker to be linked as representative in order to file its DUCAs, according to commercial guides and the frequently asked questions of the Guatemalan Corporation of Customs Brokers (CAAG). The exact exceptions (direct clearance by the consignee, special attorney-in-fact, thresholds) remain to be verified against CAUCA/RECAUCA and the National Customs Act (Decree 14-2013). Since 12 August 2025 the DUCA-D order number has 15 digits and incorporates the customs broker's code, according to SAT's official account.

exceptions to the requirement still to be verified against CAUCA/RECAUCA and Decree 14-2013