The Full Chamber of the Constitutional Court, in today’s session, declared the unconstitutionality of Decree 1390 of December 22, 2025, by which the National Government declared the State of Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency at the national level.
It is worth recalling that the same Corporation, through Order 082 of 2026, decreed the provisional suspension of said Decree until a decision on the merits was issued. Now, the Court has rendered its final decision by declaring the Decree unconstitutional.
Today’s decision of the Court determines that the suspension of Decrees 1474 of 2025 and 044 of 2026 remains in force, as the Corporation stated that they may not produce effects until a decision on their constitutionality is made.
It is worth recalling that these decrees imposed significant tax measures at the national level. Among the most relevant are:
Decree 1474 of 2025
- Increase of the VAT rate to 19% on products such as wines, aperitifs, and liquors.
- Increase of the surcharge on the financial sector from 5% to 15%, and the consequent increase in the total income tax rate payable by Financial Entities.
- Expansion of the taxable base of the wealth tax by reducing the initial threshold from 72,000 UVT to 40,000 UVT.
- Creation of a temporary tax levied on the extraction of hydrocarbons and coal within the national territory.
- Increase in the consumption tax rates on products such as cigarettes and manufactured tobacco.
- Imposition of VAT on gambling activities operated exclusively over the internet within the national territory or from abroad.
Decree 044 of 2026
- Creation of a 2.5% parafiscal levy for the strengthening of the Business Fund of the Superintendence of Public Utilities, applied to the taxable base at a rate of 2.5%.
- Creation of an in-kind contribution applicable to public utility companies engaged in hydroelectric power generation in the Wholesale Energy Market with centralized dispatch, consisting of the delivery of electrical energy with a specific allocation to ensure the continuity of the public electricity service in companies intervened by the Superintendence of Public Utilities.
The amount of the contribution was equivalent to 12% of the energy effectively sold in the Wholesale Energy Market pool.
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