Evaluación de impacto de la Ley 2024 de 2020 de “Pago en Plazos Justos”

Abstract

Fair payment terms in Colombia were established by Law 2024 of 2020, which defined that from 2021 obligations to MSMEs had to be paid in a maximum term of 60 calendar days; from 2022, this term was reduced to 45 calendar days. In general terms, the quantitative impact evaluation provides evidence of increases in liquidity, reduction of financial costs, (limited) increase in profits and improvements in survival of MSMEs benefited by the Law, particularly for the manufacturing sector and for some of the years studied. However, the results are heterogeneous and depend on the sector and the indicator of analysis. On the other hand, in the qualitative component, there is a wide unawareness of the provisions of the law, and a generalized perception that the dispute resolution mechanisms have not been fully utilized, mainly due to the concern on the part of the businessmen of negatively affecting commercial relations with their clients. Along the same lines, there is widespread unawareness of the recognitions granted by the national government. The evaluation suggests a series of actions to optimize the implementation of the law and increase the positive effects on MSMEs.