A. M. 
With the purpose of eliminating surcharges, interest and fines for tax and customs debts, as well as interest surcharges on traffic fines, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly approved, with 57 votes, the Special and Transitory Law that grants Facilities for the Voluntary Compliance of Tax, Customs and other Fines Obligations. This measure will allow taxpayers to regularize their situation without facing additional penalties.
The Amnesty Law 2024, which consists of 13 articles, will benefit those taxpayers who have been in arrears in the payment of their taxes, allowing them to cancel them without the imposition of fines. The regulation establishes that payment may be made in a maximum of nine monthly installments, with the first installment equivalent to 10% of the debt.
The purpose of this measure is to provide financial relief to those taxpayers who, for various reasons, are facing pending tax proceedings. According to Congresswoman Dania González, this law will help to improve tax collection and will provide support to taxpayers who have not yet settled their tax obligations.
The Ministry of Finance has requested a term of 90 calendar days for the implementation of the regulation, counting from its entry into force. Taxpayers eligible for this amnesty include those who are in the process of being audited or in instances such as the Unidad de Audiencias y Tasaciones (UAT) and the Tribunal de Apelaciones de los Impuestos Internos y de Aduanas (TAIIA).
Among the benefits of this law is the possibility that taxpayers who did not make the corresponding Income Tax payments will be exonerated from 100% of the fine that is generally imposed in these cases. According to congressman William Soriano, the amnesty will allow salvadorans to recover their solvency status, facilitating access to bank credits and other economic transactions.
Regarding traffic fines, the exoneration will only apply to the interest generated by non-payment, since the Treasury does not have the power to forgive the fines themselves. Taxpayers will have a term of 90 days to make use of this provision and regularize their payments.
This is not the first time that the Legislative Assembly approves an amnesty of this type. In 2023, a similar decree allowed more than 36 thousand Salvadorans to regularize their situation, generating a collection of more than US$100 million, of which 57% corresponded to small taxpayers.
