El cumplimiento de los principios de legalidad y de reserva de ley por parte del ejecutivo, en relación con los numerales 4 y 5 del artículo 55 de la Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno

Abstract

The legal case Compliance by the Executive with the principles of legality and statutory reservation, in relation to numerals 4 and 5 of Article 55 of the Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno (Internal Tax Regime Law), involves an analysis of the ruling 27-12-IN/20 by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. This ruling addresses the public action of unconstitutionality against the final sentences of paragraphs 4 and 5 of article 55 of the Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno (Internal Tax Regime Law) and Decreto Ejecutivo No 1232 (Executive Decree No. 1232). The plaintiffs, a group of taxpayers, argued that these regulations contravened the principles of legality and statutory reservation in tax matters, as they allowed the President of the Republic to specify additional goods for the application of tarifa cero de IVA (zero VAT rate), which could be construed as an encroachment on the legislative power that should reside exclusively in the Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly). After analyzing the arguments presented and the applicable legal framework, the Corte Constitutional (Constitutional Court) concluded that the challenged regulations did not violate the aforementioned constitutional principles. This is a significant ruling in the field of Ecuadorian tax law, and therefore this work aims to analyze Article 55, numerals 4 and 5 of the Ley de Régimen Tributario Interno (Internal Tax Regime Law) and Decreto Ejecutivo No 1232 (Executive Decree No. 1232), to determine if the principles of legality and statutory reservation are violated by the Executive in terms of its legislative power, by being able to establish goods that must be taxed at a zero VAT rate. A mixed methodology was employed, both descriptive and explanatory, based on the analysis of ruling 27-12-IN/20 and doctrinal sources that support the arguments of this research. The analysis concludes with findings that support both the Court’s decision and the underlying criteria.