On July 29, 2026, Decree 876 of 2026 was issued, amending articles 2.10.2.6.1 through 2.10.2.6.6 of Chapter VI of Decree 1080 of 2015, which regulated the tax incentive for investment and donations in film production.
This Decree defines investment and donation certificates as freely negotiable securities, establishes their dematerialization and trading on the secondary market. The certificates are automatically registered with the National Registry of Securities and Issuers (RNVE) and are transferred via book-entry in a centralized securities depository, without interest coupons. They can be used not only for income tax deductions but also for the payment of self-withholding taxes for the same tax periods and can be divided for partial use before their expiration. A key change from the previous system, which did not establish an expiration date, is that the certificates now have a maximum validity of two (2) years from their issuance.
Similarly, the Decree establishes differentiated deadlines for the execution of audiovisual productions, according to their genre and format. In the case of fiction or documentary works, the maximum deadline for completion will be four (4) years for feature films and two (2) years for short films. Animation projects, meanwhile, will have a deadline of five (5) years for feature films and three (3) years for short films. Regarding the possibility of extending the deadlines, the Decree reduces this extension to one (1) year.
Furthermore, the Decree eliminates the previous requirements to demonstrate the technical or budgetary viability of the project for its approval. However, a phased monitoring process is introduced for each project, through which the Ministry of Culture may request documentation and supporting evidence, without which it will not be possible to certify donations or investments.
The Decree also establishes a process for declaring non-compliance for: (i) failing to meet the deadlines or requirements of the decree or its resolutions; (ii) failing to meet the deadlines or requirements for the work to be considered a national cinematographic work; or (iii) providing false information. This non-compliance must be declared through a reasoned resolution, and new applications for the incentive will be ineligible until four (4) years have elapsed from the date the corresponding administrative act becomes final. This restriction extends to the legal representatives and managers of the legal entities holding the non-compliant project, as well as to any new legal entities they may establish, join, or represent.
Additionally, a digital platform will be implemented to manage the process for the tax incentive for investment and donations in film production, through which both the submission and approval of projects will be carried out.
Finally, the Decree will come into force on July 29, 2027, one year after its publication in the Official Gazette, during which time the Ministry of Culture will regulate the matter and implement the necessary technological mechanisms.