Economic Crisis - Costa Rica, Tourism and COVID-19
Outlook for the second quarter, 2020


On March 27, the regulations for Law 9830, Tax Relief for COVID-19, were issued, which seeks to provide taxpayers with options to manage cash flow during this global emergency.

Among the taxes we find: Value Added Tax (VAT), Selective Consumption Tax, Income Tax, Import Tariffs, which will have a moratorium that to settle on December 31 or request the respective payment arrangement with the Tax Administration, without generating interest or additional sanctions. In all cases, the obligation to present the declaration remains.

On the other hand, for commercial leases, the law automatically exempts the value added tax.
For the Value Added Tax:

Applies for the value added taxes of March, April, May 2020.

Simplified Regime, first quarter 2020.

Special Agricultural Regime, first quarter.

For the Selective Consumption Tax:

Applies for the selective consumption taxes of March, April, May 2020.

For Income Tax:

Applies only once for the Partial payment of April, May, June 2020.

For Commercial Leases:

Exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) for April, May, June 2020.

Commercial premises.

The declaration must be made by both the lessor and the lessee.

When issuing the electronic invoice, include the information of Art. 12 of the Regulations to Law 9830.


For Customs Import:

A moratorium applies for each statement made in April, May, June 2020.

For taxpayers who do not settle the debt with the Tax Administration as a result of the moratorium contemplated by Law 9830, they will be subject to interest and penalties as of January 1, 2021 until the cancellation date.

It is important to analyze that the reduction in income as a result of the quarantine in many businesses impacts the economic capacity of consumption, so rigorous planning focused on reducing costs is essential, before going into debt with your business.

Start with the customer—find out what he wants and give it to him.