Surprising fact: after Law 1943 of 2018 took effect, Colombia re-enacted the regime in 2019 to capture a rapid rise in cross-border investment and formalize group structures under tax rules.
We introduce what a holding is and why a dedicated régimen gives groups a competitive tax and legal position for managing cross-border inversión from within the country.
Our team explains the origin of the framework — from ley 1943 2018 and Law 2010 of 2019 — and the key rules in artículo 894 to 898 and Decree 598 of 2020.
We set expectations on who can qualify: a sociedad resident in the tax roll, with substance in Colombia, a proper corporate objeto, and governance to operate as compañías holding colombianas. Es esencial que estas sociedades cuenten con un plan de negocios claro y bien estructurado para asegurar su viabilidad en el mercado. Asimismo, deben cumplir con los requisitos legales y fiscales establecidos para iniciar un negocio en Colombia, garantizando así su funcionamiento y sostenibilidad a largo plazo. Además, tener una sólida estrategia de gobernanza es fundamental para atraer a inversores y fomentar la confianza en el entorno empresarial. Además, es importante que las sociedades mantengan una buena reputación en el mercado y una sólida red de contactos que les permita crecer y diversificarse. Las características de una empresa LTDA son esenciales para fomentar la inversión y la colaboración efectiva entre socios. Por último, la adaptabilidad a cambios en el entorno económico y legal permitirá a estas empresas prosperar a largo plazo.
We preview the main beneficios: inbound dividend exemptions at the CHC level, favorable sourcing for outbound distributions, and the need for DIAN registration to access the régimen from year one.
Key Takeaways
- Law 1943 2018 (re-enacted 2019) created the CHC framework to attract FDI.
- Eligibility requires tax residency, Colombian substance, and a clear corporate objeto.
- Articles 894–898 and Decree 598 set registration and documentation rules.
- Main beneficios include exemptions for inbound dividends and preferential sourcing.
- DIAN registration and strict documentation are mandatory to secure benefits.
Understanding holding structures in Colombia: from groups to CHC regime
We outline how controlling parents coordinate sociedades and why the state adapted the tax regime.
What a holding is in practice: it is a parent that acquires and controls sociedades through majority stakes or significant influence. It centralizes strategy, financing and risk oversight at group nivel.
The Civil and Commercial Code does not use the label directly. Instead, regulators recognise a grupo empresarial where unity of purpose and direction exists among entidades despite differing objeto or lines of business.
Examples such as Grupo Bolívar, Grupo Ardila Lülle and Grupo Santodomingo show typical governance and capital control across entidades.
Why the régimen was introduced: ley 1943 2018 started the CHC framework to attract inversión and align rules with global practice. After refinement, ley 2010 2019 and artículo 894–898 embedded the tax rules that formalise compañías holding colombianas and require local substance for benefits.
- Centralised decision-making and portfolio gestión are decisive for eligibility.
- The chosen objeto and operational footprint must match documentation standards under the régimen.
holding company colombia: scope, object, and strategic decision-making
We require a clear objeto social: it must state investment and the holding of acciones and participaciones, and the administración of those assets in both local and foreign entidades. Article 894 obliges this wording to access the régimen.
Declared actividad must match real actividades. Governance calendars, board mandates and minutes should show that strategic toma decisiones occur in Colombia. A single annual meeting is not enough.
Operational scope we recommend:
- Centralized treasury, risk oversight and an inversiones policy in the bylaws.
- Periodic investment committee sessions, detailed board packs and approval thresholds to evidence toma decisiones.
- Documented administración processes: valuations, due diligence and cash repatriation to prove administración dichas inversiones.
- Roles for investment management, legal, finance and internal audit to run day‑to‑day actividad.
Practical note: the formal objeto must be mirrored by people, premises and systems. Any change to the objeto or actividad triggers corporate and tax housekeeping and can affect eligibility.
CHC eligibility requirements: capital participation, resources, and toma de decisiones
This section explains the practical ownership and substance thresholds required by artículo 894 and the régimen. We translate the rulebook into clear steps so sociedades can verify compliance before filing with DIAN.
Participación directa o indirecta: the sociedad must hold at least 10% of the capital in two or more entidades colombianas y/o foreign entities for a continuous 12‑month period. We map chains of ownership to calculate participación directa indirecta and document continuity to avoid breaching the menos capital dos rule. Además, es fundamental llevar un registro preciso de las transacciones y los cambios en la propiedad para cumplir con las regulaciones. Los desafíos de las empresas sas incluyen la gestión adecuada de la participación y la identificación de las estructuras de propiedad complejas que pueden surgir. Por lo tanto, es crucial contar con asesoría jurídica y contable para asegurar el cumplimiento normativo y la gestión efectiva de las inversiones.
Recursos and presence: the régimen deems substance met when the sociedad maintains at least three empleados (recursos humanos) who are Colombian tax residents, a propia dirección física, and records showing core actividades are executed from that office. Contracts, payroll and utility bills strengthen the proof.
Toma decisiones estratégicas: DIAN expects impactful decisiones made in Colombia. We recommend formal investment committees, dated minutes, approval matrices and transaction files for administración dichas inversiones to show real governance and avoid mere annual meetings.
- Ownership continuity controls to prevent indirecta menos capital breaches.
- Staffing and premises evidence to support recursos claims.
- Governance cadence and signatory rules to prove toma decisiones.
Tax treatment and benefits: dividendos, ganancias ocasionales, and source rules
We summarise how the CHC regime treats cross-border dividendos and capital gains so you can estimate after‑tax returns on inversiones held at the group nivel.
Dividendos from non-residents to a CHC
Dividendos or participaciones distributed by non‑resident entidades to a CHC are declared as exempt capital income under artículo 895. No Colombian income tax or withholding applies at the CHC level on those inflows.
Outbound distributions and sourcing
When a CHC pays distributions to a non‑resident, recipients treat that income as foreign‑source and typically face no Colombian tax. Payments to national residents remain taxable at dividend income rates. Share premium follows the same sourcing rules.
Capital gains and other taxes
Gains from sale of participaciones in non‑resident entidades are exempt and reported as ganancias ocasionales. Sales of CHC equity are exempt except for gains tied to Colombian‑source activities.
ICA, ECE, treaties and exceptions
Dividendos protected by the régimen do not trigger ICA unless the taxable event occurs in a municipality. CHCs must apply the ECE rules; income recognized under ECE loses CHC beneficios, though foreign tax credits may apply. CHCs are tax residents for treaty purposes.
Benefits are denied where shareholders reside in non‑cooperative or low‑tax países per artículo 895. We recommend strong governance and dated decisiones to support sourcing positions and preserve exemptions.
How to register and maintain CHC status with DIAN
Our guidance shows how a sociedad must notify DIAN and prove ongoing eligibility for the CHC régimen. The legal representative must sign the comunicación using the official formatos in the first taxable year the entity seeks to acoger régimen under Decree 598 of 2020.
Communicating to DIAN: formatos, timing, and RUT update
We must file the comunicación with the required formatos and attachments: bylaws with the proper objeto, proof of participations, org charts and signed minutes. DIAN reviews the submission and, if validated, updates the RUT to show «CHC Habilitado».
If DIAN rejects the solicitud, the caso must be refiled in the next tax year.
Documentation and ongoing obligations
Maintain records that evidence rentas exentas, foreign taxes paid and that strategic dirección and administración occur in Colombia.
Key files include payroll, lease or utilities, investment committee minutes and transaction packs. Keep copies of every formato filed and supporting exhibits.
Rejection, antiabuse and special cases
DIAN may deny or claw back beneficios for noncompliance under artículo 894 and apply artículo 869 antiabuse rules. We recommend periodic checks on ownership, employee counts and meeting calendars to avoid mid‑year breaches.
Entidades públicas descentralizadas that hold participations are deemed included in the régimen. They should update or withdraw their RUT status rather than submit a full solicitud. DIAN guidance treats these entidades as able to receive dividends without withholding where applicable.
Practical control
We advise appointing a compliance owner in the compañía to coordinate comunicaciones, monitor formatos and ensure the sociedad remains eligible to acoger régimen.
Moving forward with a Colombian holding: practical steps and strategic benefits
We map the step‑by‑step path from notarisation to DIAN so a sociedad can secure CHC beneficios and scale inversiones.
Start by incorporating at the notary and Chamber of Commerce and draft bylaws that state the objeto social to hold acciones and participaciones and carry out administración and inversión activities.
Build participación: hold at least 10% in two or more entidades and maintain participación directa indirecta continuity to avoid indirecta menos capital or menos capital dos breaches.
Update the RUT, file the legal representative’s comunicación to acoger régimen under Decree 598, hire a minimum of three recursos humanos, keep a physical address, and run committees that log toma decisiones in country.
Quarterly compliance checks, clear inversión policies and documented administración dichas inversiones will protect beneficios and make future growth a manageable caso.
