Fines are just the tip of the iceberg

We all know that we must comply with the law, although on many occasions (more than we would like to admit) this doesn't happen, people prefer to ignore what the law says because it's too tedious, or we consider it absurd, or even because we don't think it benefits us.

Well, if you decide to break the law, don't think that you will get away so easily, depending on the action, the reaction; if you have a relationship with a private third party and break what the law says, you may face a lawsuit, complaint or some kind of judicial process; however, if the relationship is with the government, you will most likely face fines, imprisonment or other types of measures.

That's right, not only are there fines, there are other means by which the authorities can make you comply with what the law requires, or at least to “compensate” them for your non-compliance; but hey, what are these measures? We will talk about three: freezing of bank accounts, suspension of the effects of the digital seal certificate and seizure and auction of assets.

The first two measures relate mainly to fiscal matters, the third existing in the entire administrative branch in general.

FREEZING OF ACCOUNTS

As already mentioned, these measures proceed in the event of a breach of a tax obligation, exactly when you have a debt with the treasury. Thus, by having a debit and not paying it, the authority can proceed to freeze the amount necessary in your bank account to guarantee the payment of said fine, or better known, “tax credit”.

What can you do to avoid it? A guarantee can be offered, that is, making a “provisional payment of the debt” while resolving the process by which you combat that tax credit, of course, if you decide to do so. Another option would be to file an amparo so that you can have the money in your account, because often they don't just freeze what you owe them, but everything in it.

SUSPENSION OF EFFECTS OF THE DIGITAL SEAL CERTIFICATE

The Digital Seal Certificate is a document issued by the SAT, through which you could say, the taxpayer signs their invoices. This makes them unfalsifiable, so having such a certificate, their authenticity is beyond doubt. Now, can you imagine if you don't have that certificate? Your bills are useless for the SAT, and what person is going to want to buy you something or hire you a service if you can't issue them an invoice that would most likely be used to deduct taxes? That's why these certificates are super important, and boy does the SAT know this, that's why they are its masterful weapon.

Why can the SAT permanently suspend or cancel your certificate? Well, some cases are: That the taxpayer is as unreachable, if you don't file three consecutive returns or six non-consecutive returns, if the details in your tax mailbox are incorrect, etc.

Have you seen that for things that may seem simple you can lose a lot of money? Well, I repeat, if you can't invoice, believe me that you will lose both customers and suppliers.

SEIZURE AND AUCTION OF ASSETS

Last but not least, the seizure and auction of assets is another means by which the authorities can make effective the collection of tax credits. If you don't pay on time, the authority can initiate a procedure called “Administrative Procedure of Execution”, which basically consists of the authority seizing enough assets to cover the debt you have with it; once all the steps of the procedure have been carried out, the seized assets will be auctioned off, so that the authority will keep the money you owed and if there is left over, it can give you that remaining.

You've seen that the authorities don't play games, a very important part of our State is collection; whether it's for taxes, fines, social security contributions, etc.

But don't worry, it's easy to avoid all these problems, just fulfill your obligations in all the necessary areas, because today I only told you about tax authorities, but there are many others that can make your life look like pictures.