Countries › Paraguay › Guide › 15. Exiting › Closing with the tax authority: cessation notice, closing returns and RUC cancellation

Closing with the tax authority: cessation notice, closing returns and RUC cancellation

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

A business that stops must tell the tax authority (DNIT) within 30 days, file a closing return for each tax with a final balance, and request cancellation of its RUC through the Marangatu system within 30 business days of the cessation date. Since 1 May 2026 the DNIT only admits the request if all tax and customs obligations are current, no customs guarantees are open and no audits, refund claims or disputes are pending. Leftover IVA credit is lost on closure; there is no refund.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation for 28 October 2026 (bcp.gov.py cotización referencial). Minimum wage figures use Resolución MTESS 670/2026: monthly PYG 3,044,000, daily for monthly paid workers PYG 101,467 and daily minimum wage (jornal) PYG 117,077, from 1 July 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Deadline to communicate cessation of activity to the tax authority	30 daysLey 125/1991 art. 192 num. 7, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Deadline to request RUC cancellation after cessation	30 business daysRG 79/2021 art. 18 (RG 133/2023), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum time for the tax administration to issue a no tax debt certificate	5 business daysLey 125/1991 art. 194 (Ley 2421/2004), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Refund of unused IVA credit on closure	No refund Ley 6380/2019 art. 91, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Communicate the cessation within 30 days. Taxpayers must communicate the cessation of their business or activity within 30 days of the cessation date, filing a tax return, the final balance and proof of payment of taxes owed, within the further term set by the tax administration. These formal duties fall on the legal or contractual representatives of a legal person.
Cost to do it: No fee; accounting work for the final balance is market priced.
Example: Operations stop on 31 March: the cessation notice with final balance is due by 30 April. / Not a cash cost.Ley Nº 125/1991 Que establece el nuevo régimen tributario, Art. 192 num. 7 and 193 num. 2, 1991-12-18 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. RUC cancellation request: 30 business days, Form 623. The request to cancel the RUC must be filed within 30 business days after the cessation of activities through the Marangatu system, with the confidential access key, using electronic Form 623 (Solicitud de Cancelación del RUC) and attaching in PDF the documents listed in Annex 4 of RG 79/2021 for the type of person.
Cost to do it: No fee stated in the resolution.
Example: Cessation on 31 March 2026: count 30 business days, excluding public holidays, which lands in mid May 2026. / Not a cash cost.Resolución General Nº 79/2021, art. 18 as amended by Resolución General Nº 133/2023, Art. 18, 2023-07-14 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Conditions for admission (from 1 May 2026). The DNIT admits the cancellation only if the RUC is active or temporarily suspended; all returns (tax and informative) are filed up to the cessation date; all tax and customs obligations are paid, with no overdue customs settlements or guarantees; a closing return (en carácter de clausura) has been filed for each tax; the numbering of stamped documents used has been reported and self printer or cash register authorisations cancelled; no new stamping (timbrado) was obtained after the declared cessation; and there are no pending administrative or judicial processes such as unfinished import or export files, tax audits, refund or overpayment claims, debt certificates, administrative proceedings, reconsideration appeals or court actions.
Cost to do it: No fee; the cost is clearing every open item first, including customs.
Example: An importer with a customs guarantee still open on 1 June 2026 cannot have its RUC cancellation admitted. / Not a cash cost beyond the debts.Resolución General DNIT Nº 34/2025 amending art. 20 of Resolución General Nº 79/2021, Art. 1 (new art. 20) and art. 4, 2025-07-31 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Res. Gral. DNIT 34/2025 (31 July 2025) added current customs obligations, settlements and guarantees as conditions for RUC cancellation, effective 1 May 2026.

4. Transfer or closure closes the tax year. In a transfer of a commercial establishment the act closes the seller's tax year for IRE, and the buyer keeps the tax values of the assets acquired. There is no refund of IVA credit on closure or termination of activity; the taxpayer may instead waive the balance, which then becomes a non deductible cost.
Cost to do it: Any unused IVA credit is lost.
Example: A company closes with PYG 150,000,000 of IVA credit carried forward: none of it is refunded. / About US$25,561 lost.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 13 and 91, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Tax clearance certificate. A certificate of no tax debts is mandatory before certain acts, including buying or selling real estate and vehicles, obtaining or renewing bank credit and public tenders; the administration must issue it within five business days of the request, and if it does not, a stamped copy of the request plus a notarial record of non issuance replaces it. Where a dispute is pending the certificate is issued noting it. Acts done without it cannot be registered and make the parties jointly liable and the notary subsidiarily liable.
Cost to do it: No fee stated in the law.
Example: Selling the company's warehouse during liquidation needs the certificate before the deed is signed. / Not a cash cost.Ley Nº 125/1991 Que establece el nuevo régimen tributario, art. 194 as amended by Ley Nº 2421/2004, Art. 194, 2004-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Beneficial owner compliance affects the RUC. Entities that miss their beneficial owner registry filings have their RUC blocked until they regularise, which also blocks closing procedures that depend on it.
Cost to do it: Fines 50 to 500 daily minimum wages (PYG 5,853,850 to PYG 58,538,500).
Example: PYG 5,853,850 to PYG 58,538,500. / About US$998 to US$9,975.Ley Nº 6446/2019 Que crea el registro administrativo de personas y estructuras jurídicas y el registro de beneficiarios finales, Art. 8, 2019-11-29 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Worked example

Closing timeline: activity stops 31 March 2026; cessation notice with final balance by 30 April; closing returns per tax; Form 623 RUC cancellation by mid May 2026, admitted only once customs guarantees and any refund claims are closed.

Step by step

Before stopping, close or withdraw IVA refund claims, appeals and customs files; they block cancellation.
Stop requesting stamping (timbrado) and report the last document numbers used; cancel self printer or cash register authorisations.
File all periodic and informative returns up to the cessation date and a closing return for each tax.
Communicate cessation within 30 days with the final balance.
File Form 623 in Marangatu within 30 business days with the Annex 4 documents.
Keep books and records until the tax is time barred (five years under Ley 125 art. 164).

Common traps

A pending IVA refund request blocks RUC cancellation; decide early whether to pursue or withdraw it.
From 1 May 2026 customs debts and open guarantees also block cancellation.
Obtaining a new stamping after the cessation date disqualifies the request.
Leftover IVA credit is lost on closure.
A blocked RUC for missing beneficial owner filings stops the closing process.

Sources

← Dissolution and solvent liquidation of an S.A., S.R.L. or EASClosing down with employees: closure notice, severance and stable workers →

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