Legal Opinion N° 003082 of 2026, issued by the  National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (”DIAN” by its acronym in Spanish) on March 10, 2026, states that, pursuant to subsection 1 of Article 100 of the Code of Administrative Procedure and Administrative Litigation (”CAPAL”), customs regulations constitute a special regime and must therefore be applied preferentially for purposes of coactive collection. 

The reference made by Article 726 of Decree 1165 of 2019 to the Tax Statute is limited to the application of the coactive collection procedure set forth therein; that is, it does not extend to the enforceability of administrative acts, since this substantive aspect is governed by special customs regulations and, subsidiarily, by the CAPAL. 

In this regard, Article 140 of Decree Law 920 of 2023 (in force until June 20, 2026) establishes the events that render customs administrative acts final, all of which occur at the administrative stage. A similar situation arises under the finality events set forth in Article 87 of the CAPAL. In other words, under the customs rules governing the finality of administrative acts and the supplementary provisions of the CAPAL, the action for annulment and reinstatement of rights does not affect or determine the finality of customs administrative acts. 

Accordingly, once a customs administrative act becomes final, whether under special customs regulations or, as applicable, under Article 87 of the CAPAL, it must be enforced through collection, even if it has been challenged through an action for annulment and reinstatement of rights, unless it is annulled by the Administrative Jurisdiction. 

With respect to the reference to the Tax Statute regarding the collection process for customs obligations, the following provisions of such statute shall apply: 

1. Article 831 establishes the exceptions that may be raised against the payment order. However, its application must be harmonized with the substantive rules governing the finality of customs administrative acts at the administrative level. In this sense, the exception consisting of the filing of an action for reinstatement of rights before the Administrative Jurisdiction, as provided in subsection 5 of Article 831 of the Tax Statute, may not be invoked by debtors of customs obligations. 

2. The other exceptions set forth in Article 831 of the Tax Statute are applicable against the payment order in customs matters. 

3.  Article 835 provides that the admission of a claim against decisions resolving exceptions and ordering the continuation of enforcement does not suspend the collection process; however, the auction of assets may not take place until there is a ruling by the Administrative Jurisdiction. 

4. Finally, the statute of limitations for the collection of customs obligations is governed by Article 817 of the Tax Statute, by express reference included in Article 726 of Decree 1165 of 2019.