Legal Services in Colombia

A tax firm that handles the rest of the matter as well

VA Abogados was built on tax law, and that training runs through everything we do. We do not incorporate a company without projecting its effective tax burden. We do not close a property purchase without flagging the seller’s capital gains exposure. We do not file a visa application without telling the client the date on which they become a Colombian tax resident and what that day obligates them to report.

That is the practical difference between hiring separate legal specialists and hiring a firm that integrates them. Most of the expensive mistakes we are asked to fix did not come from a bad contract. They came from a legally correct decision that nobody evaluated from the tax side.

For foreign clients this matters more than it does for local ones. A Colombian entrepreneur usually has an accountant watching the tax side. A foreign investor, a retiree relocating to the coast or a company opening its first Latin American operation frequently has nobody doing that until the first assessment arrives.

Our nine practice areas have defined, non-overlapping scopes. Each page states explicitly what it covers, what it does not, and where the rest belongs. The client engages the firm, not a practice area, and coordinating the pieces is our job rather than theirs.

Tax, customs and foreign exchange

The core of the firm. Four areas divided by timing and by authority: what is decided before the transaction, what is disputed after it, what happens at the border, and what happens to the currency.

Tax Planning

Preventive tax strategy for companies and individuals. Modelling the effective burden before structuring, dividend regime, tax residency, double taxation treaties, controlled foreign entity rules, transfer pricing, permanent establishment risk and compliance.

Covers the decision before the fact, and compliance. Does not cover litigation.

Tax Controversy

All of the firm’s defence work before fiscal authorities. Responses to assessment notices, administrative appeals, judicial review before the administrative courts, coercive collection, and the tax, customs and exchange control penalty regimes, national and local.

Begins once there is an act of the authority.

Customs Law

Tariff classification and advance rulings, customs valuation, rules of origin and use of trade agreements, customs regimes, free trade zones, Authorized Economic Operator status and preventive customs audits.

Advice and compliance. Seizure and forfeiture defence goes to Tax Controversy.

Foreign Exchange

Registration of foreign investment and of Colombian investment abroad with the Central Bank, mandatory currency channelling, exchange declarations, compensation accounts, external debt and preventive exchange control review.

This is what entitles you to take capital and profits out of the country.

Business

Corporate Law

Incorporation of S.A.S. entities, branches of foreign companies and other vehicles; bespoke bylaws; shareholders’ agreements and governance; amendments, mergers and spin-offs; domestic and cross-border commercial contracting; employment matters; sector permits; and public procurement.

Intellectual Property

Clearance searches and trademark registration before the SIC; patents, utility models and industrial designs; copyright and software registration before the DNDA; oppositions, cancellations and infringement actions; licence, franchise and assignment agreements; and international protection through the Madrid Protocol and the PCT.

Private clients and wealth

Wealth Structuring and Family Business

Holding companies and asset reorganization; the fiducia mercantil, Colombia’s commercial trust, through fiduciary companies supervised by the Financial Superintendency; wills and succession planning under Colombia’s forced heirship rules; family protocols and governance bodies; and marital and common-law property regimes.

Real Estate

Title studies and due diligence; promise agreements, deed execution and registration; residential and commercial leases; real estate fiduciary structures and condominium law; and representation as special attorneys-in-fact for clients located abroad, including signing the public deed.

Immigration

Visitor, Migrant and Resident visas under Resolution 5477 of 2022; foreigner ID card and filings before Migración Colombia; employer obligations when hiring foreign nationals, including the Foreign Workers Registry; and naturalization.

How the practices work together

A single matter almost never fits into one practice area, which is why we define the boundaries explicitly. Three examples of how a real engagement is assembled:

A foreign company opens operations in Colombia. Corporate forms the vehicle and handles the first hires. Tax Planning compares subsidiary against branch and structures transfer pricing. Foreign Exchange registers the investment with the Central Bank. Immigration resolves the position of the legal representative and expatriate staff. If the business imports or exports, Customs Law joins.

A foreign national relocates to Barranquilla and buys an apartment. Immigration sets the visa category and the route to residency. Tax Planning projects the tax residency date and its effect on worldwide income. Real Estate runs the title study and the closing. Foreign Exchange channels and registers the funds so a future sale can be repatriated.

A family business organizes its wealth. Wealth Structuring designs the architecture, the trust, the family protocol and the wills. Corporate incorporates the holding company and drafts the shareholders’ agreement. Tax Planning prices each move before it is executed. If the estate includes a brand or software, Intellectual Property joins.

One point of contact, fees agreed in advance, and coordinating across practices is our problem rather than the client’s.

How we work

1. Diagnosis. We analyze the legal, economic and operational situation before proposing anything. We identify risks, obligations and viable alternatives, domestically and cross-border.

2. Strategy. We define a clear route aligned with the client’s objectives and the applicable regulatory framework. When there is more than one path, we explain the cost and the risk of each rather than deciding for the client.

3. Execution. We accompany implementation with direct attention. The lawyer who designed the structure is the one who answers the phone.

4. Prevention. Our work incorporates a preventive and compliance-oriented approach across every matter, aimed at reducing future contingencies.

Frequently asked questions

Do you work in English? Yes. We advise foreign clients in English and produce documentation in English where it is useful for internal or investor purposes. Filings before Colombian authorities are made in Spanish, as the law requires, and we handle certified translation and apostille where a foreign document has to be produced.

How do I know which practice area my matter belongs to? You do not need to. Tell us the matter and we assign and coordinate it. Each of the nine practice pages includes a “what this practice does not cover” section so the scope is verifiable, but the classification is our work, not yours.

Do you serve clients outside Barranquilla and outside Colombia? Yes. We act nationwide and for clients abroad with interests in Colombia. A significant part of our work is executed remotely, through properly granted and apostilled powers of attorney.

Can you handle everything a foreign company needs to start operating in Colombia? Yes, and in the right sequence, which matters as much as the individual steps. Entity choice and tax modelling, incorporation, tax registration, bank account opening, registration of the foreign investment with the Central Bank, first hires, and the immigration position of expatriate staff and legal representatives.

How do you charge? Depending on the matter. We use fixed fees per procedure, project fees and monthly retainers for ongoing support. We define and document scope and price before starting, not afterwards.

Can I bring you a single matter without a permanent retainer? Yes. Many engagements are discrete: a title study, a trademark filing, a response to an assessment notice, a second opinion on a structure someone else designed. We assess the matter, define the scope and tell you plainly if you need more than that.

Let’s discuss your matter

We handle every enquiry directly and confidentially, in order to assess the scope of the matter and define the most appropriate form of support.

Email: evilardy@vaabogados.com.co WhatsApp: +57 300 612 1685 Location: Barranquilla, Colombia

Services are provided following an assessment of the matter and definition of the scope of engagement. The content of this site is informational and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.