Countries › Colombia › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Suppliers must be paid within 45 days

Suppliers must be paid within 45 days

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

Abroad, large buyers often impose 90 or 120 day terms on suppliers; in Colombia commercial obligations must be paid within 45 calendar days of receiving the goods or completing the service. Only deals between two large companies are excluded, and longer terms, waivers of late interest or caps on the debtor's liability are ineffective by law without a court ruling. A late payer owes late interest plus the creditor's documented collection costs, which can be enforced through executive proceedings.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,157.94 per US dollar valid on 27 October 2026, certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on datos.gov.co. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum payment term for commercial obligations (not between two large companies)	45 calendar daysLey 2024 de 2020 art. 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum payment term of state entities to small and medium companies	60 calendar days after invoice acceptanceLey 2024 de 2020 art. 12, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Income above which a services company is large	483034 UVTDecreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.1.13.2.2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Income above which a manufacturing company is large	1736565 UVTDecreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.1.13.2.2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Income above which a commerce company is large	2160692 UVTDecreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.1.13.2.2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
UVT 2026	52374 COPDIAN Resolución 238 de 2025, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
TRM used for conversions on this page	3157.94 COP per USDTRM certified by the Superintendencia Financiera, valid 27 October 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Every merchant, and anyone carrying out commercial acts, must pay its contractual obligations within a maximum of 45 calendar days, counted from receipt of the goods or completion of the services. The maximum was 60 days in the first year of the law (2021) and 45 days from the second year. Operations between companies that are large companies are excepted.
Cost to do it: No fee. The cost is working capital: the buyer must fund payment within 45 days.
Example: A large Colombian retailer receives COP 100,000,000 of goods from a small supplier on 1 October 2026 and must pay by 15 November 2026. / About US$31,666 due within 45 days.Ley 2024 de 2020, Ley de pago en plazos justos (Diario Oficial 51.384, 23 July 2020, in force 1 January 2021), Art. 3, par. 1 and transitory paragraph, 2020-07-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: 60 day maximum in 2021, 45 days from 2022.

2. The law covers all payments made as consideration in commercial acts, including those between main contractors, suppliers and subcontractors. It excludes payments in operations with consumers, interest under cheque, promissory note and bill of exchange rules, damages and insurance payouts, loans and other contracts where deferred payment is of their essence, and debts in insolvency or restructuring proceedings.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A software license sold by a Colombian distributor to a mid sized company is covered; a bank loan to the same company is not. / Not a fee rule.Ley 2024 de 2020, Art. 2, 2020-07-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The rules are mandatory and cannot be changed by agreement: any clause that modifies or contradicts them is ineffective by law without a court declaration. Clauses that ignore the 45 day term, the payment of late interest or that limit the debtor's liability have no legal effect, without prejudice to payment terms agreed between large companies.
Cost to do it: No fee. A longer term in the contract simply does not apply.
Example: A purchase order that sets 90 day payment for a small supplier is read as 45 days; from day 46 the supplier can charge late interest. / Same result for a US$31,666 order.Ley 2024 de 2020, Art. 7 and art. 10, 2020-07-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. When the buyer is late, the creditor may claim, besides late interest, compensation for all documented collection costs caused by the delay, applying transparency and proportionality to the principal debt. The contract plus the calculation of the compensation is an enforceable title for executive proceedings. Only fortuitous events or force majeure excuse the debtor, and neither party may rely on its own fault or its billing procedures.
Cost to do it: Late interest (by default 1.5 times the current banking rate, Código de Comercio art. 884) plus documented collection costs.
Example: On COP 100,000,000 paid 30 days late in October 2026, late interest at the 28.59 percent effective annual ceiling is about COP 2,088,291, plus documented collection costs. / About US$661 of late interest on US$31,666.Ley 2024 de 2020, Art. 5 and par. 1, 2020-07-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Company size is measured only by annual ordinary income. A company is large when its income exceeds the upper limit for medium companies in its sector: 1,736,565 UVT in manufacturing, 483,034 UVT in services and 2,160,692 UVT in commerce; activities that do not fall into one sector use the manufacturing ranges. Size is evidenced by a certificate of the prior year's income signed by the legal representative, or by the accountant or statutory auditor where one is required.
Cost to do it: No fee; a size certificate from the counterparty is enough.
Example: With the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374, the large company line is about COP 25,298 million of income in services, COP 90,951 million in manufacturing and COP 113,164 million in commerce. / About US$8.0 million in services, US$28.8 million in manufacturing and US$35.8 million in commerce.Decreto 1074 de 2015, as added by Decreto 957 de 2019 (Diario Oficial 50.975, 5 June 2019), Art. 2.2.1.13.2.1, 2.2.1.13.2.2 and 2.2.1.13.2.4, 2019-06-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. In contracts governed by the general public procurement statute with a micro, small or medium company, state entities must pay within 60 calendar days after accepting the invoice, subject to the annual cash plan.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A small Colombian supplier invoicing a ministry should expect payment within 60 days of invoice acceptance, not of delivery. / Not a fee rule.Ley 2024 de 2020, Art. 12, 2020-07-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Sector	Large company above, UVT	About COP	About USD
Manufacturing (and mixed activities)	1,736,565	90,950,855,310	28,800,691
Services	483,034	25,298,422,716	8,011,052
Commerce	2,160,692	113,164,082,808	35,834,779

Large company thresholds (Decreto 1074 de 2015 art. 2.2.1.13.2.2), converted with the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374

Worked example

A foreign owned Colombian manufacturer with income above the large company line buys packaging from a local medium company. Its global policy of 90 day terms cannot apply: payment is due 45 days after delivery. If it buys from another large company, a 90 day term is valid.

Step by step

Ask each supplier for a size certificate based on prior year ordinary income.
Flag suppliers that are not large companies and set their payment term at 45 days or less in the vendor master data.
Run acceptance and invoice checks inside the 45 days; a request for correction stops the clock until the supplier fixes it (art. 4).
Review standard terms for clauses that waive late interest or cap liability; they are ineffective against non large suppliers.

Common traps

The 45 days run from receipt of the goods or completion of the service, not from invoice approval in the buyer's system.
The large company exception requires both parties to be large companies; a large buyer dealing with a medium supplier is fully bound.
Supply chain finance or confirming programs do not extend the legal term for the buyer's own obligation.

Sources

← Interest is capped by a monthly usury ceilingAn unanswered invoice is accepted after 3 business days →