Countries › Colombia › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Factoring and the electronic invoice as a negotiable instrument in Colombia: acceptance in three business days, RADIAN, endorsement, who may buy receivables and the anti obstruction rules

Factoring and the electronic invoice as a negotiable instrument in Colombia: acceptance in three business days, RADIAN, endorsement, who may buy receivables and the anti obstruction rules

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

In Colombia an invoice is a negotiable instrument (título valor) the seller may endorse, and it is deemed irrevocably accepted if the buyer does not object within three business days of receipt, a period cut from ten calendar days by Ley 1676 de 2013. Electronic invoices circulate as negotiable instruments only after acceptance and through electronic endorsement recorded in DIAN's RADIAN registry. Buyers who retain invoices or block their circulation commit a restrictive trade practice, management reports must confirm they did not obstruct invoices, factors must be legal entities registered with a chamber of commerce with AML controls, and factoring disbursements are exempt from the tax on financial movements.

USD figures use the TRM of COP 3,157.94 per US dollar valid on 27 October 2026, certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on the national open data portal (datos.gov.co). Amounts in UVT use the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025) and amounts in minimum wages use the 2026 monthly minimum wage of COP 1,750,905 (Decreto 1469 de 2025). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Invoice deemed accepted if the buyer does not object within	3 business daysLey 1676 de 2013 art. 86; Decreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.2.53.4, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Invoice is a negotiable instrument transferable by endorsement	Yes textCódigo de Comercio art. 772 (Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 1), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Registry for circulation of electronic invoices	RADIAN (DIAN) textDecreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.2.53.6 (Decreto 1154 de 2020), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Factoring disbursements exempt from GMF	Yes textEstatuto Tributario art. 879 num. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Specific mandates of exclusive factoring companies capped at	10 % of recorded equityLey 1676 de 2013 art. 89, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. An invoice is a negotiable instrument that the seller or service provider may issue and deliver to the buyer or service recipient. No invoice may be issued that does not correspond to goods actually delivered or services actually rendered under a verbal or written contract. The original signed by issuer and obligor is the negotiable instrument transferable by endorsement.Código de Comercio art. 772, as replaced by Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 1, Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 1, 2008-07-17 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The buyer must expressly accept the invoice in writing on it or in a separate physical or electronic document, and receipt of the goods or service must be recorded with the name, identification or signature of the recipient and the date; the buyer cannot later deny the authority of whoever received the goods at its premises. The invoice is irrevocably accepted if the buyer does not object, by returning it with the shipping documents or by written claim to the issuer or holder, within three business days of receipt. If the buyer neither accepts nor rejects and the issuer wants to endorse it, the issuer records that fact on the instrument under oath.Código de Comercio art. 773, as replaced by Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 2 and amended by Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 86, Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 86, 2013-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 86 cut the tacit acceptance period from ten calendar days to three business days. Some online compilations of the Código de Comercio still show the old ten days.

3. An electronic sale invoice as a negotiable instrument is irrevocably accepted by express electronic acceptance, or tacitly if the buyer does not object electronically, in both cases within three business days of receiving the goods or service, as shown by the electronic receipt. The issuer records the facts of tacit acceptance in RADIAN under oath, and once accepted no debit or credit notes may be recorded against it. It circulates only after acceptance, by electronic endorsement (in ownership with or without recourse, for collection or in guarantee), and its status and history must be checked in RADIAN; endorsement after maturity takes effect as an ordinary assignment.
Example: A supplier invoices COP 500 million on 1 March; the buyer acknowledges receipt electronically and does not object within three business days, so the supplier can endorse the invoice to a factor through RADIAN. / The same invoice is about US$158,331 of receivables that can be sold once its accepted status shows in RADIAN.Decreto 1074 de 2015, Chapter 53 of Title 2 of Part 2 of Book 2, as replaced by Decreto 1154 de 2020 art. 1, Art. 2.2.2.53.4 and art. 2.2.2.53.6, 2020-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Any retention of the invoice or act of the buyer that prevents its free circulation is a restrictive trade practice investigated and sanctioned by the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio, on its own initiative or on complaint. Managers of companies must state in their annual management report that they did not obstruct the free circulation of invoices issued by their suppliers, and the statutory auditor must give an opinion on compliance in its annual report.Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 7, parágrafos 1 and 2 added by Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 87, Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 87, 2013-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Only authorized financial institutions and companies organized as legal entities and registered with the relevant chamber of commerce may provide discounted receivables purchase services (factoring). Factors must verify the origin of the instruments they buy and adopt measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, reporting suspicious operations; failing to do so puts the factor in a cause for dissolution. For tax purposes buying and selling receivables is the factor's income producing activity, so discount returns are taxable income or deductible expense and doubtful receivables are deductible under the general rules.Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 8, as replaced by Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 88, Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 88, 2013-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Companies whose exclusive activity is factoring may enter into specific mandates with third parties to acquire invoices up to 10 percent of their recorded equity.Ley 1676 de 2013 (conditionally upheld by the Constitutional Court, with a struck down passage), Art. 89, 2013-08-20 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. The use of funds to carry out factoring, purchase or discount of receivables by collective investment funds, trust estates, individuals or companies, or entities whose purpose is such operations and that may legally carry them out, is exempt from the tax on financial movements.
Cost to do it: Saves 4 per 1,000 on the purchase price disbursed: COP 2 million on a COP 500 million purchase.Estatuto Tributario art. 879 num. 21, as amended by Ley 2010 de 2019 art. 99, Art. 879 num. 21, 2019-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Item	COP	USD
Face value	500,000,000	158,331
Discount, about 4% for two months	20,000,000	6,333
Price paid by the factor	480,000,000	151,998
GMF on the factor's disbursement	0 (exempt)	0

Selling a COP 500 million accepted electronic invoice to a factor at an illustrative 2 percent monthly discount for 60 days (Decreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.2.53.6; ET art. 879 num. 21). TRM COP 3,157.94.

Worked example

A US owned manufacturer in Colombia sells to large retailers on 90 day terms. It issues electronic invoices, collects electronic receipts, records tacit acceptance in RADIAN after three business days without objection, and endorses the accepted invoices to a factor, whose disbursement is free of GMF (Decreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.2.53.4 and 2.2.2.53.6; ET art. 879 num. 21).
If a retailer refuses to acknowledge receipt to keep its suppliers from factoring, the supplier can complain to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio, and the retailer's management report must state it did not obstruct invoices (Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 7 as amended by Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 87).

Step by step

1. Make sure each electronic invoice matches goods actually delivered or services rendered.
2. Obtain the buyer's electronic receipt with name, identification and date.
3. Count three business days from receipt; record express or tacit acceptance in RADIAN.
4. Check the invoice's status in RADIAN, then endorse it electronically to the factor.
5. As a buyer, object in writing within three business days if the invoice is wrong; silence makes it irrevocably accepted.
6. As a factor, keep AML know your customer files on the origin of each invoice (Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 8).

Common traps

Relying on the old ten calendar day acceptance period still shown in some compilations: it is three business days (Ley 1676 de 2013 art. 86).
Issuing credit notes after acceptance of an electronic invoice, which RADIAN rules forbid (art. 2.2.2.53.4 parágrafo 3).
Endorsing an electronic invoice before it is accepted: it can only circulate once accepted (art. 2.2.2.53.6).
Operating as a factor without being a registered legal entity, or without AML controls, which is a cause for dissolution (Ley 1231 de 2008 art. 8).

Sources

← Secured lending and collateral in Colombia: movable security interests under Ley 1676 de 2013, the online registry, priority, self help enforcement, insolvency treatment and mortgagesFintech in Colombia: crowdfunding platforms and caps, the SFC regulatory sandbox, payment initiation, the Bre-B instant payments rules and electronic deposit companies →