Article 237 of Law No. 822 “Ley de Concertación Tributaria” (LCT) creates the Stamp Tax, also called ITF. This is an indirect tax levied on the consumption of certain legal acts, which are contemplated in article 240 of the referred law, with its respective applicable rate. The referred article determines the applicable rate for stamped paper, which is usually used by Notary Publics for the authorization of public instruments that require this requirement for their validity.
Pursuant to Ministerial Agreement No. 020-2022, the applicable rate for protocol stamped paper is C$12.00 per sheet and C$19.00 per sheet for testimony stamped paper. However, given the high demand for this resource, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit limited the sale of the same and even stopped its sale temporarily during the last months. This has caused delays and posed difficulties in the authorization of various public instruments that require stamped paper.
In response to this problem, on April 27, 2023, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP) issued Ministerial Agreement No. 003-2023, informing of the authorization of the pilot project for the sale, registration, payment and use of stamped paper online.
The stamped paper to be offered online by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit through the General Revenue Directorate (DGI) will have a QR code that will allow its authentication and verification in the web page of this public institution, being this an additional alternative to the purchase of stamped paper. In short, this project represents an important technological tool to ensure the continuity of the uninterrupted provision of the different legal services.