Ecopetrol at Risk from $2.2B Colombian Tax Claim: Union

Ecopetrol SA’s finances are at risk from a $2.2 billion claim from Colombia’s tax agency, according to the state oil producer’s main workers union.   

The union, known as USO, said in a May 4 statement that tax agency DIAN is charging Ecopetrol 9.4 trillion pesos for value added tax on gasoline imported since 2022 to supply the local market. This decision is a “biased interpretation of the tax statute,” the union said. 

Ecopetrol didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. DIAN said it is planning to publish a statement later Monday. 

Colombia’s budget deficit ballooned to 6.8 percent of gross domestic product last year, the highest since the pandemic, and overshooting the limit imposed by the nation’s anchor, known as the “fiscal rule,” which is meant to limit the government’s ability to run up debt. 

Ecopetrol’s shares fell 1.7 percent in early Bogotá trading. Its dollar bonds are among the worst performers Monday in Latin America, according to a Bloomberg Index.