President appoints Marcelo Valdovinos as judge of the Second Metropolitan Tax Court

The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, appointed Marcelo Alejandro Valdovinos Ríos as the presiding judge of the Second Tax and Customs Court of the Metropolitan Region, by means of decree No. 757, dated August 12, 2026, from the Ministry of Finance. The appointment was published in the Official Gazette No. 44,560, on Monday, September 28, 2026, in Section I, with the official reference CVE 2873691. The new judge assumes office at Level I of the Remuneration System for Personnel of the Tax and Customs Courts.

The position had remained vacant since March 5, 2025, when the vacancy was declared by decree No. 40, dated March 25, 2025, from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Until that date, the position was held by Óscar Renato Meriño Maturana, national identity card No. 15,553,943-7, who was rated on the deficient list.

Law No. 20,322, of 2009, from the Ministry of Finance, which strengthens and improves tax and customs jurisdiction, provides in Article 5 of its first article that the judge of the respective court is appointed by the President of the Republic from a shortlist proposed by the corresponding Court of Appeals.

The selection process

The appointment was based on a series of administrative and judicial records contained in the decree:

• The Hearing of April 29, 2026, of the Honorable Court of Appeals of Santiago, which contains the shortlist and the records to fill the position, Full Court Case Rol No. 1652-2026.
• Agreement No. 10,007, contained in numeral 6 of the Minutes of Ordinary Session No. 2,047, dated March 3, 2026, of the Senior Public Management Council.
• Confidential letters No. 10, dated April 7, 2026, and No. 15, dated June 15, 2026, both from the President of the Senior Public Management Council.
• Minutes No. 147-2009, dated July 3, 2009, of the Most Excellent Supreme Court, court ruling on the formation of shortlists to appoint judges and secretaries of Tax and Customs Courts.
• Resolution No. 36, of 2024, of the Comptroller General of the Republic, and Law No. 21,796, on the Public Sector Budget for 2026.

Conditions of the appointment

The decree establishes the conditions under which Valdovinos Ríos, national identity card No. 11,437,090-8, will hold the office:

• They shall assume their duties on the date of this decree, for reasons of good service, without awaiting its full processing.
• They must previously take an oath or promise to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Republic before the President of the Most Illustrious Court of Appeals of Santiago.
• The position corresponds to the Second Tax and Customs Court of the Metropolitan Region, based in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago.
• The expenditure arising from the decree is charged to the budget of the Administrative Unit of Tax and Customs Courts and the Public Procurement Court, code 08 01 06 24 03 001.

The administrative act was signed by José Antonio Kast Rist, President of the Republic; Jorge Antonio Quiroz Castro, Minister of Finance, and Fernando Rabat Celis, Minister of Justice and Human Rights. The transcription was submitted by Sebastián Vallebona Espinosa, Undersecretary of Finance.

Impact for taxpayers in the capital

The vacancy of the court extended for more than seventeen months, between the declaration of vacancy in March 2025 and the publication of the appointment in September 2026. With the incorporation of Valdovinos Ríos, the tenure of a body of the tax and customs jurisdiction based in the Metropolitan Region is completed, which is competent in the controversies that Law No. 20,322 submits to these special courts. The appointment also occurs within the framework of the selection system that combines the proposal of the Court of Appeals with the intervention of the High Public Management Council.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,560, Monday, September 28, 2026, Section I, p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2873691).