Legal Basis for the Creation of the Institution
The Government of Guatemala, through the Ministry of Public Finance, began in early 1997 a set of actions aimed at transforming and strengthening the country's tax system. These actions included the creation of the Superintendency of Tax Administration -SAT-, with the purpose of modernizing the tax administration and complying with the fiscal commitments contained in the Peace Agreements and the Public Sector Modernization Program.
The project to create and put into operation the SAT began in September 1997 with the integration of a work team responsible for managing it. The general objective of the project was to create, design and put into operation an autonomous and decentralized, modern, efficient and effective institution, which would take charge of the tax and customs administration, and which would be capable of increasing tax revenues in a sustained manner. honest and transparent. The creation of the SAT was approved by the Congress of the Republic, according to Decree Number 1-98, which came into effect on February 21, 1998.
The Superintendence of Tax Administration is a decentralized state entity, with competence and jurisdiction throughout the national territory, to exclusively exercise the functions of tax administration, contained in the legislation. The Institution enjoys functional, economic, financial, technical and administrative autonomy and has its own legal personality, assets and resources.
It is the object of the SAT to exclusively exercise the Tax Administration functions contained in Decree Number 1-98 of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala, Organic Law of the Superintendence of Tax Administration.
Institutional Strategic Plan 2021-2025
Guatemala and the world experienced something unusual in contemporary history, the appearance of a virus that spread throughout the hemisphere in a short time and forced governments and societies to accept extreme measures such as confinement at home, as well as a health campaign to protect yourself from contagion. In this environment, it was my responsibility to assume the administration of the Superintendency of Tax Administration -SAT-, at an unprecedented time for Guatemala, the pandemic caused by COVID-19 was looming over the country and the world.
In our country, productive activities were closed on March 16, 2020. The Government of Guatemala declared a State of Public Calamity, which caused the economy in general to slow down and this caused a negative effect on tax collection.
Beyond the pandemic and the measures decreed by the Government to confront it, two natural phenomena were added that further affected the country's economy and left serious economic and social consequences. In the midst of these events, the SAT Institutional Crisis Management Committee was organized, the Business Intelligence process in tax compliance management was implemented, collection processes were shortened, and facilities for the payment of taxes were generated through agreements. of payment through emails, the continuity of customs operations was guaranteed, the management contingency matrix was designed, improvements were implemented in the digital Unified Tax Registry -RTU-, as well as in judicial and inspection management and customs controls were strengthened.
The acute phase of the pandemic has not ended, but it is expected that vaccination will eradicate COVID 19 forever; However, today the future must be recreated and to do so, the SAT has proposed a prospective and objective vision of reality to discern the future. To this end, six (6) strategic objectives were defined, two (2) transversal axes and five (5) pillars of work.
In this context, the actions to be implemented by each institutional actor in the logistics chain are consolidated in the identified areas of opportunity, and the aim is to generate facilitation, modernization and control of collection, inspection, customs management and institutional performance that results in better provision of financial resources from taxation, to contribute to a better redistribution of national income; a contribution to improve the competitiveness and business climate of the country in order to align them with the “National Development Plan K'atun Nuestra Guatemala 2032”, as an axis of development for the country.
This set of strategic guidelines has been reflected in detail in the Institutional Strategic Plan 2021-2025, which I present as the guide for institutional management in the coming years to fulfill the primary function of collecting taxes, which provides the State with the resources that are transformed into public goods and thereby achieve the well-being of all Guatemalans.
With trust in God, with effort and commitment, support from the Board of Directors, mayors, management team and all SAT staff, this Institutional Strategic Plan is proposed Contribute to the Country We All Love.
Lic. Marco Livio Díaz Reyes
Superintendent of Tax Administration
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Strategic Objectives, Cross-cutting Axes and Work Pillars
Strategic and Operational Planning is based on six (6) Strategic Objectives and two (2) Crosscutting.
The Strategic Objectives of the Tax Administration are driven through two (2) Transversal Axes of work: Respect for taxpayer rights and strategic communication.
The execution of the Strategies and Actions contained in the Strategic Objectives are based on five (5) work pillars:
Institutional values
The SAT Institutional Strategic Plan 2021-2025 is based on general principles and values that we must apply, maintain and promote all officials and employees of the Institution. These are essential values to be able to maintain the institutional commitment to taxpayers, users and the population in general.
The application of each of these values is conceptualized below:
