The tax administration in Venezuela is experiencing a significant change this year, 2026, due to the directives promoted by the SENIAT superintendent, Román Maniglia. With the central objective of achieving tax modernization, a model called the MODA model (Modernization, Digitalization, and Automation) has been structured. This initiative has generated great expectations  across the media, social networks, and institutional forums bringing together the regional managements, commercial and industrial guilds, universities, and tax professionals.

Among the first measures adopted, the simplification of administrative procedures and the issuance of circulars aimed at making the requirement for traditional tax machines more flexible, as provided for in Administrative Ruling SNAT/2018/0141, stand out. These circulars instruct tax officials to refrain from penalizing taxpayers who do not yet possess these data transmission devices. Officials are also instructed to suspend sanctions for failing to display an updated fiscal poster or keeping the Tax Information Registry (RIF) visible. This regulatory package is complemented by the enactment of Administrative Ruling SNAT/2026/00084, published in Official Gazette No. 43,435 of August 12, 2026, which reforms and simplifies the application of the digital TIN.

All these actions are part of the MODA system modernization policy, which seeks to streamline procedures and strengthen fiscal control through the adoption of digital commerce technological tools. In this context, a recent development is the recent partnership with the company Cashea, which uses a deferred payment scheme under the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model.

Historically, Venezuela has lagged behind most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in tax modernization. A regulatory turning point began to take shape on December 19, 2024 (published in Official Gazette No. 43,032 dated October 30, 2024) with the enactment of three key provisions:

1. Administrative Ruling SNAT/2024/000102, which regulates the use of digital media for online sales and digital portals in the issuance of invoices and tax documents (debit notes, delivery orders, dispatch guides, and withholding receipts), while maintaining a link with authorized printing companies for code control.
2. Administrative ruling SNAT/2024/000121, his established the requirements for the homologation of administrative accounting systems acquired from third-party suppliers or developed internally by taxpayers. It was recently repealed by the new Administrative Ruling SNAT/2026/00084.
3. Administrative Ruling SNAT/2024/000107. This focused on the reorganization and strengthening of the General Management of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), considered the cornerstone for laying the technological foundations of the MODA model.

To consolidate this modernization process, the tax administration must address the following fundamental pillars:

First, the formal development of the Electronic Invoice (Electronic Tax Document – ETD) is urgently required. Unlike a simple digital invoice, the ETD is a standardized document, without physical duplicates, where the transaction of goods or services is validated through an authorized software provider (certified) by the tax administration via an Application Programming Interface (API). The underlying data is structured into mandatory XML or JSON files transmitted simultaneously to the buyer and the tax authorities, ensuring absolute transparency and traceability. In this decentralized model, companies send the electronic tax document to an authorized certifier, who validates it and reports it to the tax administration to make it available to the recipient.

Below is an overview of key tools and operational models in some countries in the region:

Reference certifying companies in the region include Grupo Valid, Certisign, Certificadora Digital, and ECOCERT (Brazil); in Guatemala: INFILE S.A., Digifact, Chamber of Commerce, and Grupo Onyx.

Regarding the incorporation of digital commerce operators like Cashea under the BNPL model, while it represents progress in commercial inclusion and dynamism, it is necessary for the tax administration to guarantee an open competitive framework, avoiding exclusivity and allowing the participation of multiple technological certifiers.

Secondly, the creation of a simplified regulatory framework is urgent. Venezuela currently lacks a tax simplification law or a single-taxpayer unified regime (monotributo) , applying the same formal administrative burdens to microenterprises as it does to large corporations. A reform in this direction, added to a structural review of Value Added Tax (VAT) (evaluating modern alternatives such as split payment analyzed by Ferreira de Almeida (2025)) and targeted modifications to the Organic Tax Code, would optimize the relationship between the tax authority and taxpayer while heavily encouraging economic formalization.

Finally, the success of this transformation rests on strengthening digital infrastructures, upgrading internal ICTs, providing continuous training for SENIAT’s human talent, improving internet connectivity nationwide, and stabilizing the national electrical grid.

Venezuela has begun an important transition to overcome its historical lag and align with the global trends of digitalization and automation driven in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nevertheless, for the MODA model to reach its maximum transformative potential, implementing these structural measures will be essentioal.

Bibliography

• ▪︎ Barreix, A., and Zambrano, R. (Eds.). (2018). Electronic Invoicing in Latin America (IDB Monograph 595). Inter-American Development Bank; Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode
•  ▪︎ Barreix, A., Bès, M., Roca, J., Díaz de Sarralde, S., and Zambrano, R. (2023). Where are you going, tax administration? Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations CIAT
• ▪︎ Ferreira de Almeida, A. F. (2025, May 14). Are the days of VAT numbered? How can split payment transform consumption taxation? Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations CIAT https://www.ciat.org/ciatblog-tiene-los-dias-contados-el-iva-como-el-split-payment-puede-transformar-la-tributacion-sobre-el-consumo/
• ▪︎ González, D. (2024). Special taxation regimes for taxpayers with lower tax capacity: Theory and tax policy and administration strategies in Latin America. Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations CIAT
• ▪︎ Administrative Ruling SNAT/2018/0141. (November 6, 2018). Official Gazette No. 41,518 (Extraordinary).
• ▪︎ Administrative Ruling SNAT/2024/000102. Rules for issuing invoices and other documents by electronic means. (October 30, 2024). Official Gazette No. 43,032.
• ▪︎ Administrative Ruling SNAT/2024/000107. Reorganization of the General Management of Information Technology. (October 30, 2024). Official Gazette No. 43,032.
• ▪︎ Administrative Ruling SNAT/2024/000121. Requirements for the accreditation of computer systems providers. (October 30, 2024). Official Gazette No. 43,032.
• ▪︎ Administrative Ruling SNAT/2026/00084. (August 12, 2026). Official Gazette No. 43,435.

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