Decree 45949-H increases taxes on beverages and toilet soap by 0.12%

The Executive Branch updated the specific taxes on non-alcoholic packaged beverages, water, and toilet soap by 0.12%, through Executive Decree No. 45949-H, published in La Gaceta No. 191 on Friday, October 9, 2026. The new scale is effective from October 1, 2026, and replaces the one that had been in effect since July. The adjustment applies equally to nationally produced and imported goods.

The update is based on Article 9 of the Tax Simplification and Efficiency Law, No. 8114 of July 4, 2001, which creates a specific tax per unit of consumption for all non-alcoholic packaged beverages—except milk and therapeutic and medical products registered with the Ministry of Health and the Costa Rican Social Security Fund—and a tax per gram of toilet soap. Article 11 of the same law requires the Ministry of Finance to update these amounts quarterly according to the variation of the Consumer Price Index determined by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, with a maximum limit of 3% per adjustment.

The decree was signed at the Presidency of the Republic, in San José, on September 21, 2026, by President Laura Fernández Delgado and the Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Chaves Robles.

The new amounts per unit of consumption

Article 1 of Executive Decree No. 45949-H sets the following amounts in colones:

• Carbonated drinks and soda concentrates: 20.91 colones per unit of consumption.
• Other packaged liquid beverages, including water: 15.51 colones.
• Water in containers of 18 liters or more: 7.23 colones.
• Toilet soap: 0.263 colones per gram.

Article 2 repeals Executive Decree No. 45830-H of June 5, 2026, published in Supplement No. 82 to La Gaceta No. 118 on June 26, 2026, which had updated the same taxes starting July 1, 2026.

Technical basis of the adjustment

Recital V of the decree states that the Consumer Price Index levels for May 2026 and August 2026 were 99.298 and 99.420, respectively, resulting in a variation of zero point twelve percent (0.12%). Based on this, Recital VI concludes that it is appropriate to update the specific tax amounts of Law No. 8114 by that same percentage.

The procedure applied is that provided for in Article 6 of Executive Decree No. 29643-H, “Regulations to the Tax Simplification and Efficiency Law,” published in La Gaceta No. 138 on July 18, 2001, which orders the consideration of the index variation of the quarters immediately preceding the ends of February, May, August, and November of each year. The application periods for each update begin on the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October.

Validity and expedited procedure

Article 3 establishes that the decree takes effect as of October 1, 2026. To meet this deadline, the Executive Branch waived the 10-day hearing provided for in Article 174 of the Tax Norms and Procedures Code, Law No. 4755, invoking reasons of public interest and urgency: the drafting, review, and approval of the decree can only begin after the August index is known, which the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses determines in the first days of September.

The text also recalls that, by resolution DGT-R-12-2014 of March 13, 2014, published in La Gaceta No. 129 on July 7, 2014, the General Directorate of Taxation transferred the function of updating these taxes to the General Directorate of Treasury. Finally, the decree indicates that it does not modify procedures or requirements for the taxpayer, therefore it does not require the prior control of the Directorate of Regulatory Improvement and Technical Regulation of the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Commerce.

The adjustment, although minor in percentage, is passed on to the final prices of soft drinks, bottled waters, and toilet soaps, thus directly impacting the cost of the basic basket and the margins of the entire beverage and cleaning industry, both domestic and importing. Taxpayers must apply the new table starting October 1, the date on which the previous scale ceased to be in effect.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 191 of October 9, 2026, Executive Branch — Decrees, pp. 2-3 (official reference: D45949 - IN202601131510).