In brief
In Ruling No. 011393 (int. 1073) of 3 July 2026, the Regulations and Doctrine Subdirectorate of the Colombian Tax Authority (DIAN) clarified that legal entities rendering pharmaceutical services, as well as Health Technology Logistics Operators, fall within the term “legal entities of the healthcare sector” and are therefore not subject to the Wealth Tax for tax year 2026 set out in item 6 of Article 292-3 of the Colombian Tax Code, added by Article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 0173 of 2026 and amended by Article 15 of Legislative Decree No. 0240 of 2026.
The ruling settles one of the main interpretive questions arising from the exceptional Wealth Tax regime, extending the exclusion beyond the traditional insurance and healthcare-provider players (health promotion entity (EPS) and healthcare service provider institution (IPS)) to the supply and dispensing chain for health technologies. The exclusion does not, however, apply automatically by virtue of belonging to the sector: compliance with the criteria set out in DIAN’s standing doctrine must be verified.
DIAN’s analysis
The ruling builds its analysis around four elements:
1. Legal framework of the exclusion
Article 292-3 of the Colombian Tax Code identifies the taxpayers subject to the Wealth Tax. For tax year 2026, Article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 0173 of 2026 added item 6 to that provision, excluding “companies of the healthcare sector” from the scope of the tax. Article 15 of Legislative Decree No. 0240 of 2026 subsequently amended the wording to provide that “legal entities of the healthcare sector shall not be subject to the Wealth Tax.”
2. Criteria to qualify as a “legal entity of the healthcare sector”
DIAN reaffirms the cumulative criteria set out in descriptor 10 of General Ruling No. 004532 (int. 428) of 2026, as supplemented by Ruling No. 100208192 – 875 of 2026:
- Constitutional criterion: carrying out activities aimed at safeguarding the fundamental right to health, within the framework of an essential public service (Articles 48 and 49 of the Colombian Constitution).
- Statutory criterion: participating directly in the insurance, financing or, generally, the provision of healthcare services under Law 100 of 1993.
- Regulatory criterion: being subject to inspection, supervision and control by the National Health Superintendency under Article 121 of Law 1438 of 2011, without prejudice to sector-specific regulation.
In addition, for companies engaged in the manufacture of medical devices, the supply of health technologies or similar activities related to the sector, these criteria must be applied in light of the sector definitions issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in Resolution No. 1809 of 4 September 2025, or any provision replacing it.
3. Pharmaceutical services as healthcare services
Article 2.5.3.10.4 of Decree 780 of 2016 defines the pharmaceutical service as the healthcare service responsible for the technical, scientific and administrative activities, procedures and interventions relating to medicines and medical devices used in health promotion and in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of illness.
That service may be rendered independently, through pharmaceutical establishments, or on a dependent basis by a IPS. The latter category includes pharmaceutical managers — logistics operators, drugstore chains, family compensation funds and commercial establishments, among others — where they carry out outpatient dispensing at pharmaceutical establishments to members of the General Social Security Health System under contractual mandate from EPS, IPS and other players in the system (paragraph 1 of Article 2 of Law 1966 of 2019).
4. Health Technology Logistics Operators and regulatory oversight
Article 243 of Law 1955 of 2019 incorporated pharmaceutical managers and Health Technology Logistics Operators into the General Social Security Health System and instructed the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to regulate their financial and operating requirements.
Accordingly, Resolution No. 1809 of 2025 defines a Health Technology Logistics Operator as any individual or legal entity carrying out, in whole or in part, one or more processes of the health technology supply chain under an agreement funded with resources of the General Social Security Health System. Where such operators carry out outpatient dispensing at pharmaceutical establishments under contractual mandate from EPS, IPS or other players in the system, they qualify as pharmaceutical managers and become subject to the corresponding regulation.
Finally, Article 2.5.3.10.28 of Decree 780 of 2016 confirms that inspection, supervision and control of the pharmaceutical service rests with the territorial health authorities, the National Health Superintendency and National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute (INVIMA), each within its own remit — thereby satisfying the regulatory criterion.
Conclusions
Provided that the pharmaceutical service under review is characterized by health regulations as a healthcare service, and that health technology logistics operators form part of the General Social Security Health System, legal entities rendering such services or acting in those capacities fall within the term “legal entities of the healthcare sector” and are therefore excluded from the 2026 Wealth Tax.
The exclusion does not follow from nominal membership in the healthcare sector or from the wording of the corporate purpose. It depends on a factual and documentary analysis evidencing the health-regulatory characterization of the service, effective integration into the General Social Security Health System, and subjection to inspection, supervision and control. We recommend that companies in the sector build a robust record of compliance with all three criteria — constitutional, statutory and regulatory — including licenses, sector registrations, contracts with system players, and compliance with the operating and financial requirements of Resolution No. 1809 of 2025.
Companies that assessed and paid the 2026 Wealth Tax on a different interpretation should assess the procedural alternatives available to amend their returns and, where applicable, to request a refund or offset of the resulting credit balances, subject to the applicable statutory deadlines.
At Baker McKenzie, we closely monitor regulatory and doctrinal developments and are available to assist clients in assessing the impact of these rules on their particular circumstances, including compliance, planning and reporting obligations.
Download the Spanish version of Colombia: 2026 Wealth Tax for Pharmaceutical and Health Logistics.