Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional

378 Revista Temas de Derecho Constitucional ABSTRACT This article intends to analyse the interaction between tax law in the field of penalties and constitutional law by studying three cases in which the author examines whether the Colombian tax administration’s practices are compatible with the basic constitutional guarantees concerning due process, the principle of legality, and the presumption of innocence and good faith. The structure of the text is divided into the three cases (the penalty for wrongful tax refunds and the non bis in idem, the penalty for wrongful tax refunds and the principle of legality, and the inaccuracy penalty and objective responsibility), and relies on an analysis of Colombian rules, Colombian constitutional precedent, and the contrast with the rules present in other jurisdictions, both from the civil law and the common law traditions. The author’s conclusion is that, in the three cases analysed, the tax administration’s practices breach basic constitutional guarantees concerning the non bis in idem principle, the principle of legality in its dimension of typicity, and the principle of culpability and the presumption of good faith. Furthermore, there is evidence of a contradiction between administrative practices, constitutional precedent, and what is seen in other jurisdictions. PALABRAS CLAVE sanciones tributarias, debido proceso constitucional, garantías constitucionales, sanción por inexactitud, sanción por devolución improcedente, Colombia. KEYWORDS tax penalties, constitutional due process, constitutional guarantees, inaccuracy penalty, penalty for wrongful tax reimbursements, Colombia.