Atribución del funcionario ejecutor para imponer la medida de arraigo o prohibición de salida del país sin trámite previo en los procedimientos coactivos

Ruling No. 8-19-CN/22 issued by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador includes an important analysis of the power of the executing officer to dictate the measure of arraigo or prohibition to leave the country without prior process contained in Article 164 of the Tax Code. This declaration of unconstitutionality positively changes the rules regarding the manner in which this personal precautionary measure may be imposed in tax coercive enforcement proceedings. This paper starts from the doctrinal, legal and jurisprudential analysis regarding the coercive execution procedure as an element of the principle of administrative self-protection enjoyed by the Tax Administration, its origin and legal nature, the powers of the collecting officer; and the compatibility of this legal figure and its tools, with the constitutional text; as well as the respective analysis of the case, the consultation presented by the judge, the amicus curiae prepared by the IRS and finally, the decision reached by the Court.