Actualidad Colombia

Criteria for classifying micro, small and medium-sized companies

Draft decree – Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism

In compliance with stipulations in force to support the development of micro, small and medium-sized companies, the Colombian government’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism has put out for public consultation a draft regulation amending the methods used to classify micro, small and medium-sized companies. This classification is important insofar as it defines the charges or benefits for each company.

According to prevailing regulations for classifying a company’s size, criteria are used for: i) the total number of workers, and ii) value of all assets, thus*:

  • Micro-company: up to 10 employees; total assets under €113,647
  • Small company: between 11 and 50 employees; total assets between €113,647 and €1,134,434
  • Medium-sized company: between 51 and 200 employees; total assets between €1,134,434 and under €3,402,621

The proposed amendment seeks to establish an exclusive criterion for classifying business size, namely the value of income from ordinary annual activities, to be set in bracketed ranges, depending on the company’s sector, thus*:

  • Manufacturing sector:

o   Micro-company: up to €226.845 €

o   Small company: €226,846  - €1,973,523

o   Medium-sized company: €1,973,524  - €16,718,219

  • Services sector:

o   Micro-company: up to €317,581

o   Small company: €317,582  - €1,270,315

o   Medium-sized company: €1,270,316  - €4,650,254

  • Trade sector:

o   Micro-company: up to €431,000

o   Small company: €431,000  - €4,151,200

o   Medium-sized company: €4,151,201 - €20,801,365

These new criteria will not be applied on monies from fiscal or tax breaks, nor in those cases in which the law sets different criteria, among which is the process of convergence with international accounting standards, financial reporting standards and data-security regulations.

A company’s size will be accredited by means of a certificate issued by the natural person, legal representative and tax officer (if the company is required to have one) or accountant, which states the value of the income from ordinary activities in the preceding year. This amount must appear in the form presented to sign up for, and then resubmitted to remain on, the RUES Single Business and Social Registry.

*Approximate figures in euros