When a foreign company must open a branch in Colombia, what the founding resolution must say, who represents the branch, the statutory auditor, books, capital and profits. Full text in English with the Spanish original under every paragraph, with notes on the parts no longer applied.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 27 Mar 1971 | Commercial Code issued (Decree 410 of 1971) |
| 16 Jun 1971 | Published in Diario Oficial No. 33.339 |
| 1992–1995 | Superintendence operating permits dropped (Decree 2155 of 1992; Law 232 and Decree 2150 of 1995) |
| 1995 | Law 222 of 1995: bankruptcy title repealed; Superintendence powers redefined (Arts. 84, 86) |
| 2006 | Law 1116 of 2006: insolvency regime, applicable to branches; Art. 470 partly repealed |
| 31 Dec 2020 | Law 2069 of 2020 repeals Art. 490 (capital loss of 50%) |
Colombia does not let a foreign company carry on permanent business in the country from abroad. Art. 474 defines permanent activities broadly: an office of any kind, acting as a contractor for works or services, extractive industry, concessions, even holding board meetings in Colombia. One-off sales and services provided from abroad are outside it; a long project performed in Colombia usually is not. The alternative to a branch is a Colombian subsidiary, normally an SAS. Acting without a branch exposes the people acting for the foreign company to joint liability (Art. 482) and fines (Art. 483).
The head office adopts a resolution with the content of Art. 472, the documents are apostilled (or legalised under Art. 480 for countries outside the Apostille Convention), translated into Spanish, recorded with a notary in the branch’s city and registered with the Chamber of Commerce. The Superintendence permit in Art. 471 is no longer required for ordinary branches; financial branches still need the Financial Superintendence. The branch then registers for tax with the DIAN, and the assigned capital, brought in through the exchange market, is registered as foreign direct investment under Decree 1068 of 2015.
A branch is not a separate legal person: the foreign company is liable for the branch’s obligations with all its assets, and the registered by-laws and representatives bind it (Art. 485). The general agent represents the company for all business in Colombia (Art. 472, item 5). A statutory auditor, a natural person resident in Colombia, is compulsory for every branch regardless of size (Art. 472, item 6, Art. 489), unlike an SAS, which needs one only above the legal thresholds. Where the branch runs a public service or a national-security activity, the agent and alternates must be Colombian citizens (Art. 473).
The assigned capital can be increased freely but reduced only with regard to local creditors (Art. 487). Profits are calculated on the year-end financial statements, and the branch may not make advances to head office against future profits (Art. 496). Branches in the hydrocarbons and mining sectors under the special exchange regime may also record supplementary investment in goods and services (Decree 1068 of 2015, Art. 2.17.2.2.1.3).
A branch is often chosen for public tenders and contracts that require the foreign company itself to be the contractor, and in oil, gas and mining. For most other businesses an SAS is simpler: limited liability, no compulsory auditor below the thresholds, and a cleaner exit by selling shares. The tax treatment of branch profits and of dividends is a separate question under the Tax Statute and any applicable treaty.
Laws that have changed this Title and court rulings on it, as recorded by the Senate database, with the articles they concern.
| Act | Articles |
|---|---|
| Law 222 of 1995 | Arts. 470, 492 |
| Judgment C-062-98 | Art. 489 |
| Judgment C-1058-03 | Art. 473 |
| Law 1116 of 2006 | Arts. 470, 492 |
| Law 2069 of 2020 | Art. 490 |
The subsidiary alternative to a branch, in English.
Foreign investmentDecree 1068 of 2015, Part 17Registration of the branch’s assigned capital as foreign investment, in English.
Company lawLaw 222 of 1995Supervision by the Superintendence of Companies (Arts. 82–85), in English.
InsolvencyLaw 1116 of 2006The insolvency regime that applies to branches. Official text ↗
Country guideCompany formation in ColombiaThe SAS, NIT, DIAN and nearshoring setup.
Commercial Code (Decree 410 of 1971), Book Two: Commercial companies.
Código de Comercio (Decreto 410 de 1971), Libro Segundo: De las sociedades comerciales.
TITLE VIII · FOREIGN COMPANIESTÍTULO VIII · DE LAS SOCIEDADES EXTRANJERAS
Art. 469. Foreign companies are those incorporated under the law of another country and having their principal domicile abroad.
ARTÍCULO 469. Son extranjeras las sociedades constituidas conforme a la ley de otro país y con domicilio principal en el exterior.
Art. 470. All branches of foreign companies carrying on permanent activities in Colombia shall be subject to supervision by the State, exercised by the Banking Superintendence or the Superintendence of Companies, according to their corporate purpose.
Note. Article 124, second paragraph, of Law 1116 of 2006 (Insolvency Law) repealed this article insofar as it concerns the competence of the Superintendence of Companies over branches of foreign companies with permanent activities in Colombia; that competence is governed by Article 84 of Law 222 of 1995. The Banking Superintendence is now the Financial Superintendence of Colombia.
ARTÍCULO 470. Todas las sucursales de sociedades extranjeras que desarrollen actividades permanentes en Colombia estarán sometidas a la vigilancia del Estado, que se ejercerá por la Superintendencia Bancaria o de Sociedades, según su objeto social.
Art. 471. For a foreign company to undertake permanent business in Colombia, it shall establish a branch domiciled in the national territory, for which it shall meet the following requirements:
1) Record in the notarial records (protocolizar) of a notary’s office in the place chosen as its domicile in the country certified copies of its deed of incorporation, its by-laws, the resolution or act by which it resolved to establish itself in Colombia, and the documents evidencing the existence of the company and the authority of its representatives, and
2) Obtain from the Superintendence of Companies or the Banking Superintendence, as the case may be, a permit to operate in the country.
Note. The operating permit in item 2 is no longer issued for ordinary commercial branches: Decree 2155 of 1992 did not keep that function of the Superintendence of Companies, Law 232 of 1995 and Article 46 of Decree 2150 of 1995 bar authorities from requiring operating permits not expressly ordered by law, and Article 84 of the Constitution forbids additional requirements for activities regulated generally. In practice a branch is established by recording the documents with a notary and registering with the Chamber of Commerce. Branches of foreign financial institutions require authorisation of the Financial Superintendence of Colombia.
ARTÍCULO 471. Para que una sociedad extranjera pueda emprender negocios permanentes en Colombia, establecerá una sucursal con domicilio en el territorio nacional, para lo cual cumplirá los siguientes requisitos:
1) Protocolizar en una notaría del lugar elegido para su domicilio en el país, copias auténticas del documento de su fundación, de sus estatutos, la resolución o acto que acordó su establecimiento en Colombia y de los que acrediten la existencia de la sociedad y la personería de sus representantes, y
2) Obtener de la Superintendencia de Sociedades o de la Bancaria, según el caso, permiso para funcionar en el país.
Art. 472. The resolution or act by which the company resolves, in accordance with the law of its principal domicile, to establish permanent business in Colombia shall state:
1) The business it proposes to carry on, meeting the requirements of Colombian law as to the clarity and specificity of the corporate purpose;
2) The amount of capital assigned to the branch, and capital from other sources, if any;
3) The place chosen as domicile;
4) The duration of its business in the country and the grounds for terminating it;
5) The appointment of a general agent (mandatario general), with one or more alternates, to represent the company in all the business it proposes to carry on in the country. That agent shall be deemed authorised to carry out all acts within the corporate purpose and shall represent the company in and out of court for all legal purposes, and
6) The appointment of the statutory auditor (revisor fiscal), who shall be a natural person permanently resident in Colombia.
ARTÍCULO 472. La resolución o acto en que la sociedad acuerda conforme a la ley de su domicilio principal establecer negocios permanentes en Colombia, expresará:
1) Los negocios que se proponga desarrollar, ajustándose a las exigencias de la ley colombiana respecto a la claridad y concreción del objeto social;
2) El monto del capital asignado a la sucursal, y el originado en otras fuentes, si las hubiere;
3) El lugar escogido como domicilio;
4) El plazo de duración de sus negocios en el país y las causales para la terminación de los mismos;
5) La designación de un mandatario general, con uno o más suplentes, que represente a la sociedad en todos los negocios que se proponga desarrollar en el país. Dicho mandatario se entenderá facultado para realizar todos los actos comprendidos en el objeto social, y tendrá la personería judicial y extrajudicial de la sociedad para todos los efectos legales, y
6) La designación del revisor fiscal, quien será persona natural con residencia permanente en Colombia.
Art. 473. Where the company’s purpose is to operate, direct or administer a public service or an activity declared by the State to be of interest to national security, the representative and the alternates referred to in item 5 of the preceding article shall be Colombian citizens.
Note. The words “public service”, “the representative and the alternates” and “shall be Colombian citizens” were upheld as constitutional (EXEQUIBLE) by Constitutional Court Judgment C-1058-03 of 11 November 2003.
ARTÍCULO 473. Cuando la sociedad tuviere por objeto explotar, dirigir o administrar un servicio público o una actividad declarada por el Estado de interés para la seguridad nacional, el representante y los suplentes de que trata el ordinal 5o. del artículo anterior serán ciudadanos colombianos.
Art. 474. The following are deemed permanent activities for the purposes of Article 471:
1) Opening commercial establishments or business offices within the territory of the Republic, even if they are of a merely technical or advisory nature;
2) Acting as a contractor in the execution of works or the provision of services;
3) Taking part in any way in activities whose purpose is the management, use or investment of funds from private savings;
4) Engaging in the extractive industry in any of its branches or services;
5) Obtaining a concession from the Colombian State or having one assigned to it on any basis, or taking part in any way in its exploitation, and
6) The holding in the national territory of its members’ meetings, board of directors, management or administration.
Note. Item 3 was upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court of Justice in Judgment 739 of 29 October 1979.
ARTÍCULO 474. Se tienen por actividades permanentes para efectos del artículo 471, las siguientes:
1) Abrir dentro del territorio de la República establecimientos mercantiles u oficinas de negocios aunque éstas solamente tengan un carácter técnico o de asesoría;
2) Intervenir como contratista en la ejecución de obras o en la prestación de servicios;
3) Participar en cualquier forma en actividades que tengan por objeto el manejo, aprovechamiento o inversión de fondos provenientes del ahorro privado;
4) Dedicarse a la industria extractiva en cualquiera de sus ramas o servicios;
5) Obtener del Estado colombiano una concesión o que ésta le hubiere sido cedida a cualquier título, o que en alguna forma participe en la explotación de la misma y,
6) El funcionamiento de sus asambleas de asociados, juntas directivas, gerencia o administración en el territorio nacional.
Art. 475. To establish the branch, the foreign company shall prove to the relevant Superintendence that the capital assigned by the head office has been paid.
ARTÍCULO 475. Para establecer la sucursal, la sociedad extranjera comprobará ante la Superintendencia respectiva que el capital asignado por la principal ha sido cubierto.
Art. 476. Foreign companies with permanent business in Colombia shall set up the reserves and provisions that the law requires of national stock corporations (sociedades anónimas) and shall meet the other requirements established for their control and supervision.
ARTÍCULO 476. Las sociedades extranjeras con negocios permanentes en Colombia constituirán las reservas y provisiones que la ley exige a las anónimas nacionales y cumplirán los demás requisitos establecidos para su control y vigilancia.
Art. 477. Foreign natural persons not resident in the country who intend to carry on permanent business in Colombia shall appoint an attorney-in-fact, who shall comply with the rules of this Title in so far as they are compatible with the nature of an individual enterprise.
ARTÍCULO 477. Las personas naturales extranjeras no residentes en el país que pretendan realizar negocios permanentes en Colombia constituirán un apoderado, que cumplirá las normas de este Título, en cuanto fueren compatibles con la naturaleza de una empresa individual.
Art. 478. Foreign companies which under this Code must obtain authorisation to operate in Colombia and do not have it shall have three months to prove the requirements essential for the operating permit. Foreigners in the situation referred to in the preceding article shall have the same period.
ARTÍCULO 478. Las sociedades extranjeras que conforme a este Código deban obtener autorización para operar en Colombia y que no la tuvieren, tendrán un plazo de tres meses para acreditar los requisitos indispensables para el permiso de funcionamiento. Del mismo término dispondrán los extranjeros que se hallaren en el caso contemplado en el artículo anterior.
Art. 479. Where the by-laws of the head office or the resolution or act by which it was resolved to undertake business in the country are amended, the amendment shall be recorded in the notarial records of the notary’s office of the branch’s domicile in Colombia, and a copy sent to the relevant Superintendence in order to verify whether the substantial conditions on which the permit was granted are maintained or varied.
ARTÍCULO 479. Cuando los estatutos de la casa principal o la resolución o el acto mediante el cual se acordó emprender negocios en el país sean modificados, se protocolizará dicha reforma en la notaría correspondiente al domicilio de la sucursal en Colombia, enviándose copia a la respectiva Superintendencia con el fin de comprobar si se mantienen o varían las condiciones sustanciales que sirvieron de base para la concesión de permiso.
Art. 480. Documents executed abroad shall be authenticated by the officials competent to do so in the relevant country, and the signature of those officials shall in turn be authenticated by the Colombian consul or, failing one, by the consul of a friendly nation, without prejudice to international conventions on powers of attorney.
When authenticating the documents referred to in this article, consuls shall certify that the company exists and carries on its purpose in accordance with the laws of the relevant country.
ARTÍCULO 480. Los documentos otorgados en el exterior se autenticarán por los funcionarios competentes para ello en el respectivo país, y la firma de tales funcionarios lo será a su vez por el cónsul Colombiano o, a falta de éste, por el de una nación amiga, sin perjuicio de lo establecido en convenios internacionales sobre el régimen de los poderes.
Al autenticar los documentos a que se refiere este artículo los cónsules harán constar que existe la sociedad y ejerce su objeto conforme a las leyes del respectivo país.
Art. 481. The Superintendence may refuse the permit when the company does not meet the economic, financial or legal conditions expressly laid down in Colombian law.
ARTÍCULO 481. La Superintendencia podrá negar el permiso cuando la sociedad no satisfaga las condiciones económicas, financieras o jurídicas expresamente señaladas en la ley colombiana.
Art. 482. Those who act in the name and on behalf of foreign persons without complying with the rules of this Title shall be jointly and severally liable with those persons for the obligations they incur in Colombia.
ARTÍCULO 482. Quienes actúen a nombre y representación de personas extranjeras sin dar cumplimiento a las normas del presente Título, responderán solidariamente con dichas personas de las obligaciones que contraigan en Colombia.
Art. 483. The Superintendent of Companies or the Banking Superintendent, as the case may be, may impose successive fines of up to fifty thousand pesos on foreign persons that begin or carry on activities without complying with the rules of this Title, and on their representatives, managers, attorneys-in-fact, directors or agents. The relevant Superintendent shall have, in respect of branches, the powers conferred by law in relation to the supervision of national companies.
Note. The Superintendence of Companies’ general power to impose fines is now in Article 86(3) of Law 222 of 1995.
ARTÍCULO 483. El Superintendente de Sociedades o el Bancario, según el caso, podrán sancionar con multas sucesivas hasta de cincuenta mil pesos a las personas extranjeras que inicien o desarrollen actividades sin dar cumplimiento a las normas del presente Título, así como a sus representantes, gerentes, apoderados, directores o gestores. El respectivo superintendente tendrá, respecto de las sucursales, las atribuciones que le confieren las leyes en relación con la vigilancia de las sociedades nacionales.
Art. 484. The company must register with the Chamber of Commerce of its domicile a copy of the amendments made to the articles of association or by-laws and of the acts appointing or removing its representatives in the country.
ARTÍCULO 484. La sociedad deberá registrar en la cámara de comercio de su domicilio una copia de las reformas que se hagan al contrato social o a los estatutos y de los actos de designación o remoción de sus representantes en el país.
Art. 485. The company shall be liable for business concluded in the country in accordance with the by-laws registered with the Chamber of Commerce at the time each transaction is concluded, and the persons whose names are registered with that Chamber as representatives of the company shall have that capacity for all legal purposes until a new appointment is duly registered.
ARTÍCULO 485. La sociedad responderá por los negocios celebrados en el país al tenor de los estatutos que tengan registrados en la cámara de comercio al tiempo de la celebración de cada negocio, y las personas cuyos nombres figuren inscritos en la misma cámara como representantes de la sociedad tendrán dicho carácter para todos los efectos legales, mientras no se inscriba debidamente una nueva designación.
Art. 486. The existence of the companies domiciled abroad referred to in this Title and the clauses of their by-laws shall be proved by a certificate of the Chamber of Commerce. The authority of their representatives shall be proved in the same way. The existence of the operating permit shall be established by a certificate of the relevant Superintendence.
ARTÍCULO 486. La existencia de las sociedades domiciliadas en el exterior de que trata este Título y las cláusulas de los estatutos se probarán mediante el certificado de la cámara de comercio. De la misma manera se probará la personería de sus representantes. La existencia del permiso de funcionamiento se establecerá mediante certificado de la correspondiente Superintendencia.
Art. 487. The capital allocated by the company to its business in the country may be increased or restored freely, but may be reduced only in accordance with this Code, interpreted with regard to the creditors established in the national territory.
ARTÍCULO 487. El capital destinado por la sociedad a sus negocios en el país podrá aumentarse o reponerse libremente, pero no podrá reducirse sino con sujeción a lo prescrito en este Código, interpretado en consideración a los acreedores establecidos en el territorio nacional.
Art. 488. These companies shall keep, in books registered with the same Chamber of Commerce of their domicile and in Spanish, the accounts of the business they conclude in the country, in accordance with national law. They shall also send to the relevant Superintendence and to the same Chamber of Commerce a copy of a balance sheet at least at the end of each year.
ARTÍCULO 488. Estas sociedades llevarán, en libros registrados en la misma cámara de comercio de su domicilio y en idioma español, la contabilidad de los negocios que celebren en el país, con sujeción a las leyes nacionales. Asimismo enviarán a la correspondiente Superintendencia y a la misma cámara de comercio copia de un balance general, por lo menos al final de cada año.
Art. 489. The statutory auditors of companies domiciled abroad shall be subject, as relevant, to the provisions of this Code on the statutory auditors of companies domiciled in the country.
These auditors must also report to the relevant Superintendence any irregularity that may be grounds for suspension or revocation of the operating permit of such companies.
Note. The second paragraph was upheld as constitutional (EXEQUIBLE) by Constitutional Court Judgment C-062-98 of 4 March 1998.
ARTÍCULO 489. Los revisores fiscales de las sociedades domiciliadas en el exterior se sujetarán, en lo pertinente, a las disposiciones de este Código sobre los revisores fiscales de las sociedades domiciliadas en el país.
Estos revisores deberán, además, informar a la correspondiente Superintendencia cualquier irregularidad de las que puedan ser causales de suspensión o de revocación del permiso de funcionamiento de tales sociedades.
Art. 490. [Repealed.]
Note. Repealed by Article 4, paragraph 2, of Law 2069 of 2020, published in Diario Oficial No. 51.544 of 31 December 2020; Article 4 of that Law introduced a ground for dissolution based on failure to meet the going-concern assumption. The original text required the representative to restore the branch’s assigned capital if it fell by 50% or more, on pain of revocation of the operating permit and personal joint liability.
ARTÍCULO 490.
Art. 491. Where a foreign company does not invest the assigned capital in the activities of the branch’s purpose, the relevant Superintendence shall order the legal representative, under successive fines of up to fifty thousand pesos, to apply that capital to its intended use, without prejudice to the other penalties provided in this Title.
Note. See the note to Article 483 on fines.
ARTÍCULO 491. Cuando una sociedad extranjera no invierta el capital asignado en las actividades propias del objeto de la sucursal, la Superintendencia respectiva conminará con multas sucesivas hasta de cincuenta mil pesos al representante legal para que dé a dicho capital la destinación prevista, sin perjuicio de las demás sanciones consagradas en este Título.
Art. 492. The regime of preventive composition (concordato preventivo), administrative liquidation or bankruptcy shall apply, as the case may be, to foreign natural or legal persons with permanent business in Colombia.
Note. The bankruptcy title of the Code was repealed by Article 242 of Law 222 of 1995. Insolvency is now governed by Law 1116 of 2006 (Insolvency Law), which applies to branches of foreign companies.
ARTÍCULO 492. A las personas naturales o jurídicas extranjeras con negocios permanentes en Colombia se les aplicará, según fuere el caso, el régimen de concordato preventivo, liquidación administrativa o quiebra.
Art. 493. The operating permit must be suspended when the company commits irregularities that would justify the same measure for companies domiciled in the country, and when it has suspended its business in the country without justification for more than one year.
ARTÍCULO 493. El permiso de funcionamiento deberá suspenderse cuando la sociedad incurra en irregularidades que, en su caso, autoricen la misma medida para las sociedades domiciliadas en el país y cuando hayan suspendido injustificadamente sus negocios en el país por más de un año.
Art. 494. Once the operating permit has been suspended, the company may not begin new operations in the country until it remedies the irregularities that gave rise to the suspension, on pain of final revocation of the permit.
ARTÍCULO 494. Suspendido el permiso de funcionamiento, la sociedad no podrá iniciar nuevas operaciones en el país mientras no subsane las irregularidades que hayan motivado la suspensión, so pena de revocación, definitiva del mismo permiso.
Art. 495. Once the permit has been revoked, in the cases provided by law, the company must liquidate its business in the country, complying, as relevant, with the provisions of this Code on the liquidation of companies limited by shares.
ARTÍCULO 495. Revocado el permiso, en los casos previstos en la ley, la sociedad deberá proceder a la liquidación de sus negocios en el país, dando cumplimiento, en lo pertinente, a lo prescrito en este Código para la liquidación de sociedades por acciones.
Art. 496. The profits obtained by branches of foreign companies shall be calculated according to the results of the year-end balance sheet approved by the Superintendence. Accordingly, the branch may not make advances or remittances to the head office on account of future profits.
ARTÍCULO 496. Los beneficios obtenidos por las sucursales de sociedades extranjeras, se liquidarán de acuerdo con los resultados del balance de fin de ejercicio, aprobado por la Superintendencia. Por consiguiente, la sucursal no podrá hacer avances o giros a la principal, a buena cuenta de utilidades futuras.
Art. 497. The provisions of this Title shall apply without prejudice to the terms of international treaties or conventions. In matters not provided for, the rules on Colombian companies shall apply. All foreign companies shall likewise be subject to it, except in so far as they are subject to special rules.
ARTÍCULO 497. Las disposiciones de este Título regirán sin perjuicio de lo pactado en tratados o convenios internacionales. En lo no previsto se aplicarán las reglas de las sociedades colombianas. Asimismo estarán sujetas a él todas las sociedades extranjeras, salvo en cuanto estuvieren sometidas a normas especiales.
Cite the article and paragraph, and link to the paragraph anchor. For example:
Unofficial translation by BCA LatAm for information. Only the Spanish text published in the Diario Oficial is authentic. The article headings in angle brackets in the Spanish source are editorial, not part of the Code. Article headings are editorial; chapter, section and marginal headings are the law’s own. Text checked against the text in the basic legislation database of the Secretaría General del Senado (secretariasenado.gov.co), with its notes on amendments and rulings on 27 October 2026. This page is not legal advice.
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