No existe normativa expresa que regule la no deducibilidad publicitaria de productos alimenticios ultraprocesado.

Abstract

The absence of regulations on the non-deductibility of advertising expenses for companies that produce and market ultra-processed foods constitutes an important legal issue in the Ecuadorian tax system. The parameters on which the current regulations are based have allowed ambiguity in the tax position, since some expenses may be accepted as deductible while others may not. In this context, the Internal Revenue Service (SRI) has questioned and rejected deductibility without the existence of an explicit legal provision that directly supports this stance. This leads to a violation of the principle of transparency, which demands that tax management be carried out clearly and in a way that is easily understandable, while also requiring that every tax obligation be duly supported by a specific rule and subject to oversight by the relevant authorities. This study examines the legal framework, along with the administrative criteria that should be applied, and highlights the absence of a technical regulation that precisely determines which products should be considered as ultra-processed, in order to establish in which cases expenses allocated to their advertising could be classified as non-deductible. This regulatory gap directly affects essential rights such as legal certainty and due process, creating a scenario filled with tax limitations without solid normative support. Faced with this situation, the need for a comprehensive reform is proposed, providing more precise definitions and transparent rules, with the aim of ensuring greater equity, coherence, and clarity in control and oversight activities.