Mr Juan Carlos Valencia > Holland & Knight > Bogota, Colombia > Lawyer Profile
Holland & Knight Offices
Carrera 7 # 71-21
Torre A, Piso 8
Bogotá, DC, Colombia
Colombia
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Mr Juan Carlos Valencia
Work Department
Tax | Mergers and Acquisitions | Tax Controversy and Litigation
Position
Partner
Career
Juan Carlos Valencia Marquez is a partner is the Bogotá office of Holland & Knight. Mr. Valencia has practiced for more than 20 years with an emphasis in tax law, tax controversies, litigation, corporate structuring issues and global contracts. Mr. Valencia is fluent in Spanish and English and has substantial language capabilities in Portuguese. Although Mr. Valencia is a Colombian lawyer, he has been employed by multinational companies in Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Miami, as well as in Bogotá.
Mr. Valencia has extensive experience in tax controversies. He has successfully defended clients against a number of assessments by DIAN and various Colombian municipalities in the $10-100 million range. Mr. Valencia has successfully challenged cases before the Consejo de Estado for a number of decrees relative to tax matters as well as certain official tax opinions. He is currently engaged in what is expected to be a lengthy tax-related trial for a major international bank and in defending a major cosmetics company against DIAN. Mr. Valencia is also an active participant in the legislative and rule-making process in Colombia concerning tax issues. He has participated in significant lobbying efforts resulting in changes to the Colombian tax code.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Valencia engaged in the practice of law at several private law firms and at KPMG. In addition, he served as general counsel for Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s master franchisee for Latin America), corporate tax director for Coca-Cola Femsa S.A. de C.V. and for Panamerican Beverages, Inc. (Coca-Cola Company anchor bottler for Latin America). Among his other responsibilities in these positions was a focus on structuring investments in Colombia and other Latin American jurisdictions, including issues related to transfer pricing.
Mr. Valencia has done significant course work at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Harvard Law School and the University of Miami.
Languages
English - Spanish
Education
- Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Specialization, Financial Law
- Universidad Externado de Colombia, J.D.
Lawyer Rankings
Colombia > Tax
The three-partner tax group at Holland & Knight continues to consolidate it offering following its May 2023 absorption of of Cuberos Cortés Gutiérrez, which saw the arrival of senior counsel Juan Camilo Riveira. The team added nine new clients during 2023/24, including domestic and multinational companies in the energy and natural resources, financial services and agrobusiness sectors. Department co-head Gustavo Pardo Ardila is a seasoned tax veteran, with extensive experience in tax planning, transactional tax, foreign exchange issues and litigation. He co-heads the practice together with tax litigator Juan Carlos Valencia and transactional tax partner Rafael Lafont. Senior associate José Alejandro Vivas is also recommended.