Guatemala

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Business Environment

Business Practices

General information: Ehow, Business Etiquette practice website
Opening hours and days: Banks are open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 3 PM and sometimes until 7 PM. They are open Saturday from 9 AM to 12 PM.
Administrative offices are open Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 12 PM and from 1 PM to 4.30 PM however, Friday afternoon is considered by many as a "pre-weekend", it is therefore adviseable not to wait till Friday afternoon to get in touch with them.
Businesses work Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 1 PM and from 3 PM to 7 PM. Saturdays they are open until 1 PM or 7 PM.
Supermarkets and hypermarkets are open everyday from 9 AM to 8 PM.

Public holidays

New Year	January 1st
Holy (Maundy) Thursday	3rd Thursday in March
Labor Day	May 1st
Army Day	June 30th
Bank Holiday	July 1st
Our Lady of the Ascension (for the capital city only)	August 15th
Independance Day	September 15th
Race Day	October 12th
Revolution Day (of 1944)	October 20th
All Saints' Day	November 1st
Christmas	December 24th and 25th
New Year	December 31st

Periods when companies usually close

End of March, the date varies every year

Holy week

Accounting Rules

Tax year: The fiscal year begins on July 1st and ends June 30 the following year.
Accounting standards: From January 1st, 2008, Guatemala adopted the IAS - International Accounting Standards and IFRS - International Financial Reporting Standards. To view these standards, see the IASB website: International Accounting Standards Board - IASB.
Accounting regulation bodies: Directory and website on accounting
Accounting reports: All companies have to provide an annual report in Spanish. See the document on accounting in Guatemala: Hispanic-American Commission (Spanish only).
Publication requirements: The companies balance sheets have to be published each year. It is advisable to have an accounting system that is clear and wholly translated into Spanish. It has to be noted that it is difficult to get information on Guatemalan companies as there are very few published balance sheets.
Professional accountancy bodies: List of advocates and notaries public (Spanish only)
Financial services providers (Spanish only)
List of audit firms (Spanish only)
Certification and auditing: Ernst & Young: Accounting, auditing and consulting company; Diaz Reyes y asociados. See also list of audit firms in the yellow pages (Spanish only).
Accounting news: Accounting in Guatemala (Spanish only)
Guatemalan Website

Tax Rates

Consumption taxes

Nature of the tax: VAT, Value added tax
Tax rate: 12%
Reduced tax rate: There is no reduced rate.
Basic foodstuffs, certain financial services and the sales of some low-rent housing are exempt of tax. Exports are not subjected to VAT.
Other consumption taxes: A special tax is added to products with alcoholic content. Other types of duties are: tax on capital, import tax, inheritance and donations tax and property tax.

Corporate taxes

Company tax: The taxation rate varies between 5% and 31% depending on the tax regime to be used on the company.
Capital gains taxation: On the long run, capital gains are taxed in Guatemala at a rate of 10% to 31% depending on the tax regime used on the company.
Main allowable deductions and tax credit: None
Other corporate taxes: Special taxes on the sale of alcoholic bevarages, imports or assets

Individual taxes

Tax rate

Income tax

The rate is progressive and varies from 15 to 31%.

Allowable deductions and tax credit: Donations for non-profit associations are tax-deductible and those who earn less than 36,000.00 quetzals annually are exempt.
Special expatriate tax regime: None.The official text on income tax only differentiates between residents and non-residents in the country.

Double taxation treaties

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: Guatemala has not signed any non-double taxation agreements with other countries.
Whithholding taxes: Dividends: 0, Interest: 10%, Royalties: 31%

Sources of fiscal information

Tax Authorities: Guatemala Tax Administration
Income tax regulations and modalities (Spanish only)
Other domestic resources: Tax information source (Spanish only)
Ministry of Finance (Spanish only)

Intellectual Property

National organizations: The "Intellectual Property Decree" no 57-2000 was ratified by the whole of Central America.This decree established a uniform legal environment for the whole region as well as a database on brands and logos. Intellectual property is an issue for the country and the whole area in general, but it is not guaranteed like it is in Europe or the United States. One has to constantly be on the alert and registering internationally is not sufficient; one has to register with the "Registro de la Propriedad Industrial", a organization responsible for the protection of intellectual property in Guatemala.
Guatemala is a signatory of the Berne convention and of the Treaty of Rome. By virtue of the Central American agreement for the protection of industrial property, preferential registration is guaranteed for a Guatemalan brand in whichever Central American country during the first 6 months following its registration in Guatemala.
Regional organizations: Guatemala is a member of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and has ratified the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), as well as the WPPT, Performances and Phonograms Treaty. It is also a member of the WTO. It has signed the Paris convention, the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention and the Nairobi Treaty.

National regulation and international agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent Intellectual property law.	15 years maximum
Trademark Brand names and Intellectual property legislation	10 years renewable	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement
Design Law on Design	3 years
Copyright Copyright law	75 years	WIPO copyright treaty
Industrial Models 1997 law on utility models	10 years

Legal Framework

Independence of justice: The judiciary is not independent in Guatemala and corruption is still corroding the system which lacks transparency and puplic accountability. Nevertheless, with regard to doing business, there are agencies that deal with dispute resolution and they work well: The FTAA group has a dispute resolution system and companies often call on the WTO for the resolution of conflicts. The DSB: Dispute Settlement Body is the most frequently used dispute resolution system. See DSB website.
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: In the business world, investment laws treat Guatemalan and foreign companies equally. With regard to all other judicial matters that one could be engaged in, it all depends on the circumstances (location, presiding judge). The Guatemalan justice system and police practices are very criticized by the Human Rights League. See link: Freedom House.
The language of justice: The judicial language used in the country is Spanish, though there are 23 other officially recognized Amerindian languages.
Recourse to an interpreter: The Guatemalan State makes provisions for an interpretor to be available for people who do not speak Spanish.
Sources of the law and legal similarities: The main source of the law is the 1985 Constitution as amended in 1993.The legal system is based on a system of civil law and of judicial reviews of various legislative acts. Guatemala has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. The Guatemalan legal system has similarities with that of the United States.
Checking national laws online: Laws of Guatemala.

Standards

National standards organizations: COGUANOR, Guatemalan Standards Commission (Spanish only)
OGA: Accreditation Bureau (Spanish only)
Ministry of Economy website on standards (Spanish only)
Integration in the international standards network: The relevant organization that legally lays down the standards in force is the Guatemalan Standards Commission (COGUANOR - Spanish only).
With the new legislation, the COGUANOR Council was dissolved and replaced by the National Council of Standardization within which the following bodies are represented: the National Chamber of Industry, the National Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber of Buildings and Construction, the Chamber of Agriculture and the Association of exporters of non traditional products.
COGUANOR's objectives are to lead and co-ordinate the activities and standardization policies in all the sectors (food, petroleum products, medicine, construction material, etc.) in the country.
Classification of standards: For the classification of the different standards, see the COGUANOR website.
Online consultation of standards: Refer to the standards website: COGUANOR
Certification organizations: COGUANOR (Spanish only).
General management of Regulation, Vigilance and Health Control (Spanish only).

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