Quito Patent-Payment Platform Problems Could Trigger Automatic Late Fees

Quito taxpayers are being told to document problems with the municipal patent-payment platform after reports of crashes and interruptions during the filing period.

Councilman Wilson Merino said several citizens have reported difficulty accessing the platform and completing their municipal patent procedures. The timing matters because each taxpayer must follow a deadline calendar based on the ninth digit of the Registro Único de Contribuyentes (RUC). Once the deadline passes, the system automatically generates late-payment surcharges.

What Merino Asked For

On June 11, 2026, Merino sent a letter to metropolitan tax director Diana Arias asking for details on the new Patent System under Metropolitan Ordinance 086-2024. His requests included:

• A technical report on whether the tool has been implemented.
• Information on socialization and training before launch.
• Technical tests for stability, including load, stress and usability tests.
• Internal control and technological risk-mitigation actions before the current tax period.
• A contingency plan for the failures users are reporting.

Merino also said that if the failures are the Municipality's responsibility, affected taxpayers should not be sanctioned. He asked taxpayers who have had problems declaring patents to document the issue with screenshots showing date and time.

Who This Affects

Patent payment began on June 10 for taxpayers whose RUC ends in 1. The tax applies to natural persons obligated to keep accounting records and companies carrying out economic activities in the Distrito Metropolitano de Quito with a RUC.

What This Means For Expats

If you operate a company, professional activity or accounting-obligated business in Quito, this is a paperwork-risk story. The key practical move is documentation: if the system fails while you are trying to comply, keep screenshots with date and time.

Also check your deadline by the ninth digit of your RUC. The article describes automatic surcharges after deadlines, so waiting until the last minute is the wrong kind of adventure.