The DIAN, through Concept No. 603 of 2024, states no need to invoice inventory withdrawal for own consumption

In this regard, the DIAN emphasized that paragraph 6 of article 616-1 of the Tax Statute establishes that the electronic sales invoice is only considered issued when it has been validated and delivered to the acquirer, complying with the technical and technological conditions determined by the Tax Administration. Likewise, paragraph 8 of the same article indicates that the obligation to issue and deliver the invoice falls on the obligated party to invoice, in accordance with the provisions of article 617 of the Tax Statute.

Consequently, the DIAN has stressed that there are two parties involved in the formal obligation to issue a sales invoice:

• The obligated party to invoice and the acquirer of goods and/or services.

In the context of inventory withdrawals for self-consumption, only the owner of the goods is involved, so it cannot be said that there is an acquirer of goods and/or services according to the legal and jurisprudential definition of this figure.

Thus, the position of the Tax Administration aligns with Judgment No. 24399 of the State Council, which establishes that, in operations of inventory withdrawals for self-consumption, requiring the taxpayer to self-issue an invoice is unnecessary and formalistic, since it suffices for the taxpayer to record, declare, and pay the corresponding tax to proceed with the deduction.

Considering the above, Descriptor 1.1.5. of Unified Concept of the Obligation to Invoice and Electronic Invoicing System No. 106 of August 19 2022, and any other pronouncement that contradicts what is stated here, is reconsidered, concluding that inventory withdrawals for self-consumption do not require an invoice. However, the party carrying out such operation must demonstrate the movement of the inventory through supplementary evidence.