Tax and Customs Amnesty, Vehicle and ENEE Amnesty (2018)

TAX AND CUSTOMS AMNESTY.- The benefit of tax and customs amnesty is granted in accordance with the conditions contained in the following numerals: 1) During the period from the effective date of this Decree until May 31, 2018, obligated taxpayers may: a) Present declarations, formal notifications of any kind, and tax and customs manifestations, including manifests, transits, and any type of customs documents, that have been omitted by obligated taxpayers, relating to obligations and payments until December 31, 2017, regarding tax or customs obligations relating to annual or monthly fiscal periods not barred by statute of limitations in internal taxes corresponding to the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017; and fiscal periods not barred by statute of limitations in customs taxes corresponding to the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. b) Make corrections to declarations, whether tax or customs, including manifests, transits, and any type of customs documents, that obligated taxpayers may have presented with errors and whether or not they were obligated to present them. c) Pay when corresponding the taxes related to the declarations referred to in numerals a) and b) above, without penalties, surcharges, or interest, applicable according to the previous Tax Code; and without penalties or interest, applicable according to the current Tax Code. d) In the case of Official Assessments or Additional Taxes determined ex officio on declarations presented by obligated taxpayers by December 31, 2017, that are not final, they may pay the taxes corresponding to the total or the part that have been accepted by the obligated taxpayers, without penalties, interest, or surcharges, applicable according to the previous Tax Code; and without penalties or interest according to the current Tax Code. The Tax and Customs Administrations shall necessarily make the corresponding adjustments in their systems to register the aforementioned payments. e) Pay tax and customs debts that are final and pending payment as of December 31, 2017, without interest, penalties, or surcharges, whether or not covered by payment plans. f) This amnesty benefit shall also be granted to obligated taxpayers who have presented their declarations, determinative and informative, and manifestations, whether annual, monthly, or indifferently from the period, until December 31, 2017, in a late manner, and whose tax or customs debt is constituted by penalties, surcharges, or interest, as applicable, as an accessory sanction, and who do not owe the tax assessed in the declaration that originated it. This benefit includes Declarations, Manifests, Transits, and other customs documents of any kind, including those that apply in suspensive and liberatory tax regimes, but that generate penalties. g) The amnesty benefit is applicable to matters concerning Sales Tax, except for Sales Tax originating from the sale of goods and services that has been collected by those responsible and not paid to the Treasury in a timely manner, therefore everything concerning Sales Tax, other than as described in this paragraph, applies to this amnesty benefit. h) The amnesty benefit contained in any of the sections of this numeral shall be enjoyed automatically and without the need for presentation of requests or petitions before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration; for which reason these must necessarily make adjustments in their systems to guarantee faithful compliance with what is provided in this Decree. 2) During the period from the effective date of this Legislative Decree until May 31, 2018: a) Obligated taxpayers who are not in default in fulfilling their material obligations with the Treasury and who have current presentation of their determinative tax declarations before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, regardless of whether or not they have presented their informative declarations and manifestations before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, including these declarations of transfer prices and those declarations or customs documents that are generated to initiate or conclude the cycle of customs operations of temporary or suspensive and liberatory regimes established in Article 91 of CAUCA; regardless of whether or not they have been subject to tax and/or customs inspection, as well as the status of the inspection process, notified or not notified; who maintain administrative or judicial remedies regarding obligations not voluntarily accepted and that are not final, liquid, and enforceable; during any of the annual or monthly fiscal periods not barred by statute of limitations corresponding to the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, may avail themselves of the amnesty benefit consisting of regularization of their tax and customs situation by obtaining a final receipt and seal for all the fiscal periods described above, regardless of the year in which they began, suspended, or closed their operations, and must make a single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) on gross income obtained according to the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax. For this purpose, the highest amount reported in any of these periods shall be taken. b) Obligated taxpayers may determine to regularize their tax situation regarding administrative or judicial actions against them and in process, that are prior to the year 2013, by paying a value equal to one point five percent (1.5%), calculated on the amount of the administrative or judicial action that will be regularized. c) For those obligated taxpayers who have temporarily or permanently ceased their operations, regardless of whether or not they have notified the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, they may notify them without incurring the payment of penalties; and those who notified them outside the legal deadline shall be exempt from payment of the corresponding penalty. Likewise, and without needing to await any pronouncement regarding the temporary or permanent cessation of their operations, or in the case of having obtained some pronouncement in that regard, they may opt for the benefit of tax and customs regularization of final receipt and seal that will cover the fiscal periods of the immediate year and all years prior to the temporary or permanent cessation of their operations, and must make a single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) on gross income obtained according to the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax. For this purpose, the highest amount reported in any of the 5 annual periods immediately preceding and prior to the year in which the obligated taxpayer temporarily or permanently ceased operations shall be taken into account for calculation, regardless of whether the basis for calculation is barred by statute or not. In the case that obligated taxpayers had operations for less than 5 years, the reference and calculation basis shall be the last year or years of operations, provided it does not exceed 5 years. d) In the case of obligated taxpayers who presented tax and/or customs declarations that did not generate any income, they may opt for the benefit of tax and customs regularization of final receipt and seal, and must make a single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) on the subscribed and paid capital stock. e) To obtain the final receipt and seal related in this Article, it shall be processed separately before the Tax Administration and Customs Administration, and what is collected from the single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) referred to in the previous paragraph shall be recognized as collections in equal parts for both Administrations. The procedure shall consist solely in the presentation of a request for issuance of final receipt and seal, to which simple copies of the National Tax Registry (RTN) of the applicant, the Sworn Declarations of Income Tax that correspond, and the Official Payment Receipt (ROP) from the Tax Administration shall be attached, corresponding to the single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) on gross income obtained according to the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax, according to the parameters indicated in the previous paragraphs. The Tax Administration and Customs Administration, without the need for orders, decrees, requirements, except for default in determinative declarations, opinions, or technical or legal opinions, at the moment of presentation of the request, shall deliver the administrative resolution containing the final receipt and seal, which shall be comprehensive, giving as fulfilled all material and formal obligations of the obligated taxpayer, being exempt from all administrative, civil, and criminal liability for acts and facts related to the amnesty and tax and customs regularization, as well as everything concerning all taxes that are administered and collected by both the Tax Administration and Customs Administration for the fiscal periods referred to above. In the case that the obligated taxpayer has not presented any declaration in customs matters, the Tax Administration shall proceed to grant the final receipt and seal without further proceedings by the Customs Administration, mentioning this fact. f) Those obligated taxpayers who are in default as of December 31, 2017, may not avail themselves of this benefit. Obligated taxpayers who have amounts pending payment to the Treasury, prior to availing themselves of the benefit established in this numeral, must pay the amounts owed that are final, liquid, and enforceable. g) Obligated taxpayers included in this numeral shall not be subject to subsequent inspection or collection for the periods indicated; likewise, the Tax Administration and Customs Administration must indicate this fact in their systems, in such a way that regularized obligated taxpayers are not incorporated into control and inspection plans related to the fiscal periods contained in this tax and customs regularization. h) To avail themselves of the benefit of tax and customs regularization, insurance institutions must make the single payment of one point five percent (1.5%) on the year in which they obtained the highest income from net premiums less cancellations and returns, plus financial income and commissions from reinsurance ceded. i) Obligated taxpayers who wish to avail themselves of the benefit of tax and customs regularization contained in this numeral, regarding the non-barred annual fiscal periods from 2013 to 2017, must present and pay the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax corresponding to fiscal year 2017, through any of the modalities contained in Article 134, numerals 1) and 2) of the Tax Code, prior to requesting the benefit indicated above. 3) During the period from the effective date of this Legislative Decree until May 31, 2018: a) Obligated taxpayers who availed themselves of the benefit of tax and customs regularization contained in Article 213 of the Tax Code and its reforms, before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, and who are not in default in fulfilling their material obligations with the Treasury, and who have current presentation of their determinative tax declarations before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, regardless of whether or not they have presented their manifestations (formerly called informative declarations) before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration, including these declarations of transfer prices and those declarations or customs documents that are generated to initiate or conclude the cycle of customs operations of temporary or suspensive and liberatory regimes established in Article 91 of CAUCA; regardless of whether or not they have been subject to tax or customs inspection, as well as the status of the inspection process, notified or not notified; who maintain administrative or judicial remedies regarding obligations not voluntarily accepted and that are not final, liquid, and enforceable; during any of the monthly or annual fiscal periods not barred by statute of limitations corresponding to the year 2017, may avail themselves of the amnesty benefit consisting of regularization of their tax and customs situation by obtaining a final receipt and seal for fiscal period 2017, regardless of whether in this year they began, suspended, or closed their operations, and must make a single payment of zero point three percent (0.3%) on gross income obtained according to the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax. b) Those obligated taxpayers whose file or files of tax and customs regularization before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration are in process and have not been resolved, may expand their request for tax and customs regularization by incorporating the year 2017 within it, provided they comply with the following requirements: 1) Present and pay the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax corresponding to fiscal year 2017, through any of the modalities contained in Article 134, numerals 1) and 2) of the Tax Code, prior to requesting the benefit indicated above; and, 2) Make the single payment of zero point three percent (0.3%) on gross income obtained according to the Sworn Declaration of Income Tax corresponding to fiscal year 2017, through the Official Payment Receipt (ROP) issued by the Tax Administration, which shall serve to accredit payment before it and before the Customs Administration. c) All provisions of numeral 2) above shall apply to this numeral insofar as relevant. 4) The Tax Administration and Customs Administration are authorized, within the framework of their powers and competencies, to enter into payment agreements or arrangements, as follows:

• a)

  Without payment of penalties, interest, and surcharges, with obligated taxpayers that have pending payment obligations in the administrative or judicial channel as of December 31, 2016.

• b)

  Without payment of penalties and interest, with obligated taxpayers that have pending payment obligations in the administrative or judicial channel corresponding to fiscal period 2017, until December 31, 2017. In the present case, as in the previous section, with the limitation that said payment agreements or arrangements shall be valid until May 31, 2018.

• c)

  Obligated taxpayers shall pay the premium in accordance with what is established in Article 140 of the Tax Code, provided the entire tax debt is paid no later than May 31, 2018.

• d)

  In cases where the payment agreement is related to payment of the single one point five percent (1.5%) and/or zero point three percent (0.3%), related in the previous numerals, the agreement shall be entered into only with the Tax Administration, and the final receipt and seal shall not be issued until the entire payment has been completed.

• e)

  Payments made to the Treasury shall be made through banking institutions authorized for this purpose, using the Official Payment Receipt (ROP) and the corresponding Customs Payment Receipt (RAP), except when made at the time of presentation of some Declaration. In the case of payment of one point five percent (1.5%) and/or zero point three percent (0.3%) on gross income referred to in numerals 2) or 3) of this Article, they shall be made using the Official Payment Receipt (ROP) issued by the Tax Administration. 5) Those obligated taxpayers who maintain tax credits in their favor, not barred by statute of limitations, and that are final, derived from taxes administered by the Tax Administration or Customs Administration, or authorized by the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance, may use them to pay in whole or in part the one point five percent (1.5%), zero point three percent (0.3%), or payment agreements established in numerals 2), 3), and 4) above. To make payment through a tax credit, only written notification to the Tax Administration is required, without the need for issuance of a resolution by it; in the case that the payment derives from a tax credit generated by the Customs Administration, of the aforementioned notification a simple copy with proof of receipt, duly authenticated by Notary, must be sent by the obligated taxpayer to the Customs Administration, so that it proceeds to cancel the used tax credit. In the event that the tax credit is used as total payment, the Tax Administration and Customs Administration, according to the information communicated by the Tax Administration, must definitively cancel the resolution or administrative act that covers the tax credit, apply the payment, and make adjustments in the current account of the obligated taxpayer, and if a difference is required, the obligated taxpayer must pay it. In the event that the tax credit used to make the single payment described in this Article is greater than this, the Tax Administration, or as applicable the Customs Administration, according to the information communicated by the Tax Administration, shall immediately issue a new resolution for the available balance of the tax credit and make adjustments in the current account of the obligated taxpayer. In any of the cases provided for in this numeral, the Tax Administration and Customs Administration must communicate what each has resolved to the other, through the corresponding transcriptions, as well as to the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance, for purposes of control and registration. Any of the procedures detailed in this numeral must be carried out in a simple and summary manner, without the need for issuance of opinions, findings, or technical and legal requirements; and administrative acts must be issued to resolve what has been requested and communicated. 6) To obligated taxpayers who request before the Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration the benefit of tax and customs regularization of final receipt or seal, and who maintain requests for credit notes and/or tax refunds in process, whether before these Administrations or before the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance, regardless of the administrative or judicial instance, their requests shall be kept suspended indefinitely while the Tax Administration, Customs Administration, and/or Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance, or as applicable the respective judicial instance, resolve definitively and with final character the requests for credit notes and corresponding refunds. 7) The Tax Administration and/or Customs Administration may not refuse to receive or base themselves on denying requests or petitions for tax and customs regularization by alleging lack of requirements, omissions of documents that exist in their own records and files, absence of tax or customs operations, or requirements for documents and information beyond those described in this Decree. 8) Except in cases where the single payment described in numerals 2) and 3) above is made through payment agreements, the only reason to deny a request for tax and customs regularization is the failure to pay the one point five percent (1.5%), zero point three percent (0.3%) single payment. The public servant who violates, unjustifiably delays, contradicts, or violates what is described in this Article shall incur the crime of Abuse of Authority.

AMNESTY HONDURAN SOCIAL SECURITY INSTITUTE (IHSS).- Extend the effects and validity of the provisions in Decrees No. 112-2016 of August 16, 2016, and No. 82-2017 of September 27, 2017, for an additional period until May 31, 2018.

MUNICIPAL TAX AMNESTY.- The benefit of municipal tax amnesty is granted during the period from the effective date of this Decree until May 31, 2018, in which taxpayers may:

• 1)

  Present declarations of all types of taxes, fees, contributions, improvements, municipal levies, and any other type of municipal tax, that have been omitted by taxpayers, relating to obligations and payments until December 31, 2017, regarding tax obligations relating to annual or monthly fiscal periods not barred by statute of limitations corresponding to the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.

• 2)

  Make corrections to tax declarations or any type of tax-relevant documents that taxpayers may have presented with errors and whether or not they were obligated to present them.

• 3)

  Pay when corresponding the taxes, fees, contributions, improvements, municipal levies, and any other type of municipal tax related to the declarations referred to in numerals 1) and 2) above, without penalties, surcharges, or interest, applicable in accordance with the Law of Municipalities, its Regulations, and Levy Plans.

• 4)

  In the case of Official Assessments or Liquidations, or Additional Taxes determined ex officio on declarations presented by obligated taxpayers by December 31, 2017, that are not final, they may pay the taxes corresponding to the total or the part that have been accepted by obligated taxpayers, without penalties, interest, or surcharges, applicable in accordance with the Law of Municipalities, its Regulations, and Levy Plans. The Municipalities shall necessarily make the corresponding adjustments in their systems to register the aforementioned payments.

• 5)

  Pay tax debts that are final and pending payment as of December 31, 2017, without interest, penalties, or surcharges, whether or not covered by payment plans.

• 6)

  This amnesty benefit shall also be granted to taxpayers who have presented their declarations, whether annual, monthly, or indifferently from the period, until December 31, 2017, in a late manner, and whose tax debt is constituted by penalties, surcharges, or interest, as applicable, as an accessory sanction, and who do not owe the tax, fee, contribution, and any other tax assessed in the declaration that originated it. This benefit includes all other municipal tax-relevant documents of any kind that generate penalties.

• 7)

  The amnesty benefit contained in any of the numerals of this Article shall be enjoyed automatically and without the need for presentation of requests or petitions before the Municipalities; for which reason these must necessarily make adjustments in their systems to guarantee faithful compliance with what is provided in this Decree.

• 8)

  The public servant who violates, unjustifiably delays, contradicts, or violates what is described in this Article shall incur the crime of Abuse of Authority.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AMNESTY.- The benefit of amnesty in the telecommunications sector is granted during the period from the effective date of this Decree until May 31, 2018, in which telecommunications service operators and other natural or juridical persons that maintain pending payment obligations before the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) may: 1) Make payment of fees and charges for the operation of telecommunications owed as of December 31, 2017, without penalties for fines, surcharges, or interest; and, 2) Enter into payment agreements under the amnesty, in accordance with Normative Resolution NR015/14 issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), provided that payment is made by May 31, 2018. Natural or juridical persons providing telecommunications services without the respective enabling title may regularize their situation by requesting from the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) the issuance of the enabling title or corresponding registration, without incurring payment of penalties, rights, supervision fees, and radio spectrum fee that should have been paid during the time of irregular operation.

VEHICLE AMNESTY.- The benefit of amnesty is granted during the period from the effective date of this Decree until May 31, 2018:

• 1)

  To obligated taxpayers who are in default or who have not complied with their formal and material obligations with the State of Honduras, through the Institute of Property (IP), and with the Municipalities, as of December 31, 2017, regarding personal property categorized as vehicles and similar, that are administered in the Vehicle Property Registry, in charge of the Institute of Property (IP), being able to pay the Single Annual Vehicle Registration Fee, vehicle registral fees, including municipal road fees, free of penalties and other types of sanctions, until May 31, 2018, being able to arrange payment plans during this period, without any type of sanctions.

• 2)

  The Institute of Property (IP) is authorized to ex officio and immediately prescribe all pending debts related to the Single Annual Vehicle Registration Fee, vehicle registral fees, including municipal road fees and any type of sanctions, corresponding to fiscal period 2014 and later, for all personal property categorized as vehicles and similar that are administered in the Vehicle Property Registry, in charge of the Institute of Property (IP). All vehicles and personal property affected by the authorized prescription that do not pay the amounts owed by May 31, 2018, must be permanently discharged from the Vehicle Property Registry. In the event that the owner of any personal property included in this measure requests to register again such personal property, the Vehicle Property Registry shall proceed in accordance, imposing a penalty equivalent to one (1) average minimum wage in effect and corresponding to the year 2017. For requests made after the year 2017, the penalty equivalent to one (1) average minimum wage in effect shall be made in accordance with the corresponding year.

• 3)

  Until December 31, 2018, natural or juridical persons, national or foreign, official or not, who have obtained some fiscal incentive for the importation of a motor vehicle free from the payment of taxes, under the protection of any legislation in effect or not, that grants tax benefits of that type, must present themselves before the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance to request authorization for the sale of the vehicle or vehicles in question, a resolution that must be granted within a period no longer than five (5) days from the date of the corresponding request. Said resolution must respect the legislation that motivated the issuance of the exemption in the sense of stating whether the sale authorization is made free of the payment of taxes or whether the sale authorization is conditioned on payment of the corresponding taxes, adjusting to the vehicle value the corresponding depreciation, as follows: twenty percent (20%) for the first year and ten percent (10%) for each subsequent year, provided that the value of the vehicle for purposes of calculating the taxes to be paid is not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the original value thereof, a value that shall be determined by the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance for application by the Customs Authority in which the corresponding Single Customs Declaration is processed.

• 4)

  The previous benefit is applicable to any natural or juridical person who proves to have an exemption in their favor, including annuitants or pensioners who do not live in Honduras, deceased persons, or who have acquired a vehicle affected by an exemption from a third party, regardless of whether the Secretariat of State in the Office of Finance keeps or does not keep a copy of the authorizing file. The sale authorization resolution shall be the basis for the Customs Authority to ex officio, without the need for any procedure or resolution and with the optional intervention of a customs agent, proceed to calculate the taxes to be paid, exempting payment of any type of penalty. Subsequently to registration, the vehicle must be registered or its registration updated before the Vehicle Property Registry, exempting payment of the corresponding penalties.

• 5)

  Authorization is granted, by way of exception, so that until December 31, 2018, the registration and entry into the registry of vehicles that entered the country before the approval and effective date of this Decree, within the framework of free circulation treaties of the Central American Integration System (SICA), and that have plates from other countries in the region (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua) or from any other country, regardless of the restriction on the age of the vehicle, shall be permitted. Their importation and registration shall be done exempt from the payment of any type of sanctions, to both the Customs Administration and the Institute of Property (IP), except for payment of customs taxes and the corresponding eco-tax, applying the corresponding depreciation rules related in numeral 3) of this Article. Those vehicles are exempt from payment of the corresponding taxes and sanctions before the Customs Administration, as well as from presentation of the corresponding Single Customs Declaration in Honduras, which, under the free circulation treaties of the Central American Integration System (SICA), have presented the Single Customs Declaration in the country of origin and/or made payment of the corresponding taxes.

• 6)

  The public servant who violates, unjustifiably delays, contradicts, or violates what is described in this Article shall incur the crime of Abuse of Authority.

AMNESTY FOR USERS OF THE NATIONAL COMPANY OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY (ENEE).- Users of the National Company of Electrical Energy (ENEE) may pay obligations for the electrical energy service consumed, exempt from interest, penalties, and other charges, being able to enter into payment arrangements with the National Company of Electrical Energy (ENEE), for a period of up to three (3) years, and the premium to be charged may not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total amount owed, after giving it the respective processing.

This Decree shall come into effect as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the eighteenth day of the month of January in the year two thousand eighteen. ANTONIO CÉSAR RIVERA CALLEJAS PRESIDENT MARIO ALONSO PÉREZ LÓPEZ SECRETARY JOSÉ TOMÁS ZAMBRANO MOLINA SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., February 2, 2018 JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF FINANCE