Countries › Colombia › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › The special FX regime for oil, gas, coal, ferronickel and uranium branches in Colombia: keeping sales proceeds abroad, limited access to the FX market, supplementary investment and the ten year opt out

The special FX regime for oil, gas, coal, ferronickel and uranium branches in Colombia: keeping sales proceeds abroad, limited access to the FX market, supplementary investment and the ten year opt out

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Branches of foreign companies that explore for and produce oil, natural gas, coal, ferronickel or uranium, and branches exclusively providing services inherent to the hydrocarbons sector with a Ministry of Mines certificate, fall under a special exchange regime: they need not bring their foreign currency sales proceeds into Colombia. In exchange they may not buy currency in the FX market for any purpose, except to remit pesos from domestic sales and other peso receipts and capital on liquidation, and they must bring in the currency they need for peso expenses. They may record goods and services from head office as supplementary investment and may run a negative balance on it; a branch that opts out moves to the general regime for at least ten years.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,158.43 per US dollar, valid 24 to 26 October 2026, from the official TRM series certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on the national open data portal. Amounts in UVT use the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Special exchange regime for oil, gas, coal, ferronickel and uranium branches	Sales proceeds in currency need not be brought into Colombia; no purchases of currency in the FX market save listed remittances textResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 94 and art. 95, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum period under the general regime after opting out	10 yearsResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 96, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline for the Conciliación Patrimonial Régimen Especial	6 months after 31 December closeDCIP-83 num. 11.1.1.3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Branches of foreign companies engaged in exploration and production of oil, natural gas, coal, ferronickel or uranium, or exclusively in services inherent to the hydrocarbons sector under Ley 9 de 1991 art. 16 and Decreto 1073 de 2015, need not bring into the FX market the currency from their sales in foreign currency.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 94, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. These branches may not buy currency in the FX market for any purpose and must bring into the FX market the currency needed for peso expenses. With a certificate from their statutory auditor or external auditor they may use the FX market to remit abroad the currency equivalent of pesos received from domestic sales of oil, gas, coal, ferronickel or uranium or inherent hydrocarbon services, of foreign capital on liquidation, and of other peso sums related to their operation, which may be used to pay current transactions acquired abroad by head office and booked as supplementary investment.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, art. 95 as amended by Resolución Externa 7 de 2020, Art. 95, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Branches that do not want the special regime must inform Banco de la República (by updating their information in the Sistema de Información Cambiaria) and are then excluded from it for an unchangeable minimum of ten years, operating under the general exchange rules. Service branches belong to the special regime only from the issue of the Ministry of Mines and Energy certificate of exclusive dedication and must report changes of regime if it is not renewed.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 96; DCIP-83 num. 11.1 and 11.1.1.5, Res. Ext. 1 art. 96; DCIP-83 num. 11.1, 11.1.1.5, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Branches under the special regime may record as supplementary investment to assigned capital, besides currency available, capital made available in goods or services, and may have negative balances on that account; branches of other sectors may record only currency and may never go negative. Supplementary investment is registered by transmitting the Declaración de Registro de Inversión Suplementaria al Capital Asignado at any time, and the equity accounts are updated with the Conciliación Patrimonial Régimen Especial within six months after the 31 December accounting close.Decreto 1068 de 2015 art. 2.17.2.2.1.3; DCIP-83 num. 7.2.1.3.1, 11.1.1.2 and 11.1.1.3, Decreto 1068 art. 2.17.2.2.1.3; DCIP-83 num. 11.1.1.2 and 11.1.1.3, 2015-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Companies, national or with foreign capital, engaged in exploration and production of oil, gas, coal, ferronickel or uranium, and exclusive hydrocarbon service companies, may agree and pay contracts among themselves in Colombia in foreign currency if the currency comes from their operations; fuel sales for international ships and aircraft and domestic crude and gas sales to Ecopetrol and refiners may also be paid in currency.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 97, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Special regime branches may hedge with Colombian FX intermediaries only through delivery settled derivatives covering operations for which they may access the FX market or that are authorized in foreign currency, and only in the branch's own name, never for head office. Calls on guarantees in their favour reduce supplementary investment.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 67; DCIP-83 num. 6.5, Res. Ext. 1 art. 67; DCIP-83 num. 6.5 lit. a, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Foreign investment in hydrocarbons and mining is subject to the sector rules and to the contracts with the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos or the Agencia Nacional de Minería; its exchange regime is set by the Board of Banco de la República. A branch running activities under different exchange rules must report separately, with no common assets or liabilities. Banco de la República periodically informs the Ministry of Mines and Energy of capital movements in these companies.Decreto 1068 de 2015 as replaced by Decreto 119 de 2017, Art. 2.17.2.3.2.2, art. 2.17.2.3.2.3, art. 2.17.2.3.2.4 and art. 2.17.2.7.2 par. 2, 2015-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Issue	Special regime (hydrocarbons and mining branch)	General regime branch
Currency from export sales	May stay abroad	Goods exports channelled within six months of receipt
Buying currency in the FX market	Not allowed, save listed remittances of peso receipts and liquidation capital	Allowed for channelled operations
Supplementary investment in kind	Allowed (goods and services)	Currency only
Negative supplementary investment balance	Allowed	Not allowed
Domestic contracts in foreign currency	Allowed with other sector companies, using operating currency	Pesos only

Special versus general regime for a foreign branch (Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 94 to 97; Decreto 1068 art. 2.17.2.2.1.3)

Worked example

A Canadian company's Colombian branch produces oil, exports crude and is paid in dollars into head office accounts abroad; under the special regime it need not bring those dollars into Colombia (art. 94).
For payroll, taxes and local suppliers it brings in only the dollars it needs and converts them through a bank with the special regime numerals, recording them as supplementary investment (DCIP-83 num. 11.1.1.1 and 11.1.1.2).
It also sells some crude locally in pesos. With its statutory auditor's certificate it may buy dollars to remit those peso proceeds abroad (art. 95), but it may not buy dollars for any other purpose, such as paying an import.

Step by step

1. Confirm the branch's activity qualifies (exploration and production of the listed minerals, or exclusive hydrocarbon services with the Ministry certificate).
2. Register assigned capital and supplementary investment under the special regime numerals and declarations.
3. Each year, transmit the Conciliación Patrimonial Régimen Especial within six months after the 31 December close.
4. Before opting out, model the ten year lock in under the general regime.

Common traps

Buying dollars in the FX market to pay an import or a foreign service. Special regime branches may not acquire currency in the FX market for any purpose other than the listed remittances (Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 95).
Opting out for a single transaction. The general regime then applies for at least ten years (art. 96).
Assuming a service branch is in the special regime without the Ministry of Mines and Energy certificate of exclusive dedication (DCIP-83 num. 11.1).

Sources

Related: Colombia country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

← Hedging peso risk and giving guarantees across the border in Colombia: FX derivatives with local banks and foreign counterparties, commodity and credit derivatives, and foreign currency guaranteesExchange sanctions in Colombia: which authority enforces what, DIAN fines in UVT and percentages, Superintendencia de Sociedades fines up to 200 percent, limitation periods and reduced fines for self reporting →