Bogotá, September 25, 2024 – In the last debate and with 60 votes in favor, the Senate of the Republic said yes to the bill, led by the Minister of Environment and Development, Susana Muhamad, which exempts COP16 from VAT, which will represent a saving of about 20,000 million pesos for the country.
“I would like to thank the Congress of the Republic for its commitment to COP16. Today's approval of the VAT exemption bill allows us that 85% of the budget can have this exemption and we achieve, therefore, to be within the margin we had set for this world summit”, assured Minister Susana Muhamad.
With unanimous votes, the Senate of the Republic approved the bill of the Ministry of Environment that exempts from VAT the preparatory activities for the COP16 that are financed with national, regional and local budgets.
Likewise, the head of the environmental portfolio emphasized that everyone can be part of the great opportunity that COP16 represents to “revalue biodiversity, to understand how it can be an opportunity for our communities, our economy and our country, and what it means for an ordinary citizen to be part of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. We look forward to seeing you all at the discussions on the future of biodiversity at COP16 in Cali”.
In fact, COP16 will bring great economic benefits to the country with the increase in the influx of tourists with the arrival of about 15,000 people in the Blue Zone of negotiations and more than 150,000 people in the Green Zone. This movement will benefit the hotel industry, transportation, gastronomy and local commerce.
With this law, Minister Susana Muhamad assures, the country would save close to 20,000 million pesos in order to achieve greater efficiency in public spending.
Thus, the VAT exemption is one step away from becoming a law of the Republic in the absence of presidential sanction.
This translates into an additional income of 122.4 billion pesos to the trade sector and to the national GDP. In addition, it is already contributing to the generation of more than 5,200 jobs. For example, it is estimated that Cali will have a hotel occupancy rate of 99% during the summit, a 29% increase in the annual average.
How the VAT exemption will work
With this law, the sale and importation of movable tangible goods (objects that can be transported such as electronic equipment, tools, etc.), the provision of services in the national territory or from abroad, among others, that are made with resources from the national budget, the Mayor's Office of Cali or the Governor's Office of Valle del Cauca would not be subject to the tax.
The COP16, the most important international event on biodiversity that will take place in Cali from October 21 to November 1, would represent an income to the trade sector and to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 122.4 billion pesos.
The exemption will be advanced through a certificate issued by the different entities, which certifies that the good or service that is acquired or imported is aimed at fulfilling the obligations of Colombia as host country of the COP16 or other activities related to it.