Sorry if that title makes no sense but that’s what it is called. This is when you request that SAT (in Guatemala) needs to stop renewing the operating permit (calcomonia) on a car. The SAT web site tells you how to do this if you have the car/its plates, … but not if you don’t.
Here is the situation. While current car registrations are all electronic, they registration used to be paper. You would sign it saying you were doing a transfer and give it to whoever bought it from you. It was then his responsibility to take it to SAT and pay the fees. But, what if the buyer never did that? Well, that is what happened to me.
I sold the car about five years ago but he never transferred it to his name. Thus, it remained listed as one of my vehicles. Each year he paid for the calcomonia and all seemed well. Until this year when he didn’t pay. The problem is that you can’t do any other transactions (like buy a new car or import something that costs over $1000) until you pay off this bill.
On the SAT web site it tells you that you have to turn in the plates. The only alternative was to say the car was stolen. So, I went to SAT. They gave me a form SAT 0452 and a little slip of instructions that offers an alternative. First, the bad news: you have to pay any unpaid fees for the vehicle. Next, the inconvenient part: you have to take the form to either a national police office or the Minesterio Publico and get them to to stamp the document. What is not clear but seems likely is that I then need to take the form to SAT.
OK, here is an update. I went to the PNC (police). After the two cops there discussed the form the suggestion was that I go to a different office but, if I didn’t want to, they would be able to do what was needed in about 1.5 hours. I was with my dog and she didn’t want to wait in a police station for 1.5 hours so we left.
Today I headed off to the Minesterio Publico in the center of town. After the two people at the front door discussed what I had they said “it has to do with a vehicle so you need to go to the Gerona office”. They wrote down the directions. My 2 km walk (one way) was now well over 3 km. So, I go there. Huge building that covers about a block. I got pat searched twice before I got inside.
I went to the information desk. As I really had no idea why I was there (other than what the SAT instructions said) I showed the paperwork there. That woman directed me to some other desk. That woman printed out a “number” and said “come with me”. She took me to the reception area of another small office and told me the lawyer would be with me soon.
The lawyer was attending to an older woman who was continually complaining about “they” and “them” and such. For each word he said, she talked for at least a minute. Twenty minutes later she left and I got ready. I handed him the paperwork and said “a guy bought my car, apparently didn’t transfer the title and now has stopped paying the registration. He said “so, you want to deactivate it?” I said yes and about three minutes had a “denuncia” saying this and stamped by MP.
So, almost done. Now I just need to take it to SAT — I hope.
Well, the “I hope” didn’t work out. Here are the next three steps:
- I went to SAT and all was well except they didn’t have a verification of my address. That is, a copy of a utility bill. You figure out the logic of what that was needed to “deactivate” a car. But, it was. So, all my paperwork got a signed and dated coversheet that said “all was OK except the missing utility bill”.
- They suggested I use the virtual site to upload the needed document. I tried. The site didn’t want a scan of the utility bill, it wanted a bunch of numbers from the bill. I tried — they were not accepted.
- So, back to SAT. But, I had scanned my ID (DPI) because that was also needed for the previous step. And, I had accidentally left it in the scanner. Now, I had a copy of the ID but they needed the physical one.
- Today, 3 January 2025 I went back to SAT. Other that assorted BS such as left-justified entry of my NIT on a form when it should have been right-justified all the paperwork passed. Almost. I was told now I only needed to pay the circulation for 2025. I didn’t and I won’t.
All the paperwork including the denuncia is from 2024 everyone knows that I don’t have the car. Further, paying the 2025 circulation isn’t due until June of later. But, as she said, that’s the requisito. Apparently I am totally in compliance until it is renewal time. After that, I cannot buy anything “expensive” unless I pay for the 2025 circulation on that vehicle. How expensive? I think it is $1000 but, in any case, I am not going to buy anything expensive in this lifetime.
This brings up how it is done in Costa Rica. You create a corporation to own your car. With a corporation in Costa Rica you only need to file one form a year that says you didn’t do any business. When you sell your car you actually just sell the corporation so there is no tax on the transfer. And, if the car runs over someone they can sue the corporation who has no assets other than the car.