DIAN Requirements for Companies: Types, How to Respond, and How to Defend Yourself Properly (2025)

Updated: December 2025

DIAN requirements are official communications through which the tax authority requests information, corrections, or explains inconsistencies detected in a company’s tax filings.

Responding to them is not optional, and doing so incorrectly—or late—can result in penalties, interest, official tax assessments, or judicial proceedings.

In this guide, we explain in a clear and practical way what types of DIAN requirements exist, how to respond to each one, and how to properly defend yourself, based on current regulations and Colombia’s actual tax audit practices.

What are DIAN requirements and why do they occur?

A requirement is an administrative act issued by the National Tax and Customs Authority (DIAN) when it detects:

• Inconsistencies between tax returns
  
  
• Cross-checks with third-party information (exógena reports, banks, clients, suppliers)
  
  
• Omissions, errors, or potential inaccuracies
  
  
• Formal or substantive non-compliance
  
  

Today, DIAN cross-checks information automatically and at scale, which means any company can be audited, even if it has “always filed its returns.”

Types of DIAN requirements

1. Ordinary requirement

This is the most common type and the first level of contact.

DIAN may request:

• Accounting support documents
  
  
• Explanations regarding reported figures
  
  
• Corrections to tax returns
  
  
• Filing of omitted tax returns
  
  

📌 Minimum response deadline: 15 calendar days.

⚠️ Although it may seem “informational,” ignoring an ordinary requirement opens the door to penalties and a special requirement.

2. Tax audit inspection

This is an evidentiary procedure in which DIAN directly verifies the company’s tax reality.

It may include:

• On-site or virtual visits
  
  
• Review of books, records, and accounting
  
  
• Interviews with responsible parties
  
  

📌 It is always ordered through an administrative resolution and notified in advance.

Key recommendation:
Never attend a tax inspection without a prior audit and legal and accounting support.

3. Special requirement

At this point, you are already in the formal stage of the tax audit process.

This administrative act includes:

• Questioned facts
  
  
• Evidence held by DIAN
  
  
• Legal grounds
  
  
• Proposed tax assessment and penalties
  
  

📌 Deadline to respond: 3 months.

At this stage, you may:

• Fully or partially accept the proposal
  
  
• Submit technical and legal objections
  
  
• Provide supporting evidence
  
  

⚠️ A poor response here defines the outcome of the process.

Stages of the DIAN tax audit process

To understand how to defend yourself, it is essential to know the full process:

• Ordinary requirement
  
  
• Tax inspections
  
  
• Special requirement
  
  
• Response to the special requirement
  
  
• Official reassessment or estimated assessment
  
  
• Motion for reconsideration
  
  
• Resolution deciding the reconsideration
  
  
• Lawsuit before the administrative courts
  
  

Each stage has strict deadlines and different consequences.

Obligation to retain accounting documentation

Article 632 of the Colombian Tax Code (Estatuto Tributario) establishes that:

All taxpayers must retain accounting documentation for at least 5 years.

This includes:

• Invoices
  
  
• Contracts
  
  
• Bank statements
  
  
• Cost and deduction support documents
  
  
• Exógena information reports
  
  

📌 If you do not have proper documentation, DIAN may disallow costs and deductions, even if they were real.

How to properly respond to an ordinary requirement

Key best practices:

• Review exactly what DIAN is requesting (no more, no less)
  
  
• Verify consistency between accounting records, tax returns, and exógena reports
  
  
• Respond within the deadline
  
  
• Provide clear and well-organized documentation
  
  
• Evaluate whether a voluntary correction is advisable
  
  

⚠️ Common mistake: responding “quickly” without analysis.
A poorly structured response makes the situation worse.

How to act during a tax inspection

Before the visit:

• Conduct a tax and accounting audit
  
  
• Identify risks and contingencies
  
  
• Prepare documentation and technical explanations
  
  

During the inspection:

• Channel all communication through legal counsel
  
  
• Do not provide information that was not requested
  
  
• Document every action taken
  
  

How to defend yourself against a special requirement

At this stage, improvisation is not an option.

A proper defense includes:

• Legal analysis of the administrative act
  
  
• Review of DIAN’s evidence
  
  
• Technical and accounting support
  
  
• Applicable case law
  
  
• Strategic decision: accept, negotiate, or challenge
  
  

📌 In many cases, a well-structured defense reduces penalties or prevents an official assessment altogether.

Key recommendations if you receive a DIAN requirement

– Identify the type of requirement
– Control deadlines and dates
– Do not ignore emails or electronic notifications
– Do not respond without professional advice
– Assess financial and potential criminal exposure

Do not assume “nothing will happen”
Do not submit incomplete or inconsistent information

Missing deadlines may result in:

• High penalties
  
  
• Interest
  
  
• Asset seizures
  
  
• Criminal risks in serious cases
  
  

Conclusion: anticipating is the best defense

DIAN requirements are not a problem in themselves; the real problem is responding incorrectly or too late.

With the right strategy, many tax audits can be controlled, corrected, or successfully defended.

At Nexo Legal, we support companies with:

• Handling and responding to DIAN requirements
  
  
• Defense in tax audit processes
  
  
• Preventive tax strategy
  
  
• Tax risk management
  
  

📩 Contact us before responding.
In tax audits, order and strategy are everything.