Colombia’s Constitutional Court has suspended the second instalment of the wealth tax for ESAL entities and firms in liquidation, and halted key emergency land measures over concerns on fundamental rights and due process.
Colombia’s Constitutional Court issued a press release dated 29 April 2026 concerning rulings including Order A-533/26 and Order A-534/26, which provisionally suspended parts of emergency measures adopted under Decree 173 of 2026 and Decree 174 of 2026.
Suspension of Wealth Tax (Auto A-533/26)
The Court ordered the provisional suspension of the second installment of the wealth tax (impuesto al patrimonio) scheduled for 4 May 2026.
The suspension applies to non-profit entities (ESAL) under the special tax regime and legal entities in liquidation as of 29 April 2026.
The tax, created under Decree 173 of 2026 to finance the national emergency caused by a meteorological event, applies to legal entities with liquid wealth exceeding 200,000 UVT (approximately $10.47 billion pesos).
The Court held that applying the tax to ESALs could affect essential public services such as education and health, and impact the rights to work and the “minimum vital”. For entities in liquidation, it could reduce the “liquidation mass” available to creditors. The Court also noted that for-profit entities had already contributed approximately 2.4 trillion pesos in the first installment.
Suspension of Agricultural Relocation Measures (Auto A-534/26)
The Court suspended key provisions of Decree 174 of 2026 related to agricultural relocation measures.
Suspended provisions include:
- Article 4 (Automatic Saneamiento), allowing state acquisition and automatic clearing of legal defects or liens on property
- Article 7 (Occupancy), allowing occupation before completion of acquisition procedures
- Article 8 (Expedited Procedures), reducing procedural deadlines and granting the National Land Agency (ANT) judicial-type functions
- Article 9 (Land Delimitation and Demolition), granting expedited demolition powers in water-related areas
- Article 13 (Ethnic Communities and Victims), allowing relocation of ethnic communities without prior consultation
The Court found these provisions could affect property rights, due process, the right to defence, and prior consultation obligations for ethnic communities.
Dissenting opinions
Some magistrates dissented, arguing that the Court lacks authority to issue provisional suspensions of decrees and that the wealth tax does not clearly violate fundamental rights, as it is based on objective wealth measurement.
