The Climate Action Law sets out a catalogue of governmental actions that involve all actors of the Colombian economy. It outlines the agenda for compliance with international commitments acquired by the Paris Agreement to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In this alert, Baker McKenzie associates identify the opportunities and obligations to be followed.
On 18 January 2022, the Colombian Government enacted Law 2195 of 2022, which adopts measures for transparency and corruption prevention. These measures entail significant changes in relation to competition protection such as modifications to the fines applicable to individuals and companies and to the leniency program.
Decree No. 4,630 of 14 January 20221 extends until 31 March 2022 the effect of all the exemptions of Decree No. 4,552 of 6 August 2021, which established exemptions from the payment of VAT, customs duties and customs service fees for certain categories of imported merchandise and economic sectors. We understand that the requirements to enjoy the benefits established in the Decree remain unchanged.
Federal decree No. 10.936/2022, which regulates the National Solid Waste Policy, was published on 13 January 2022.. The new regulation institutes the National Reverse Logistics Program, integrating the National Information System on Solid Waste Management and the National Solid Waste Plan.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection issued Resolution 392 of 2021, by which it modified Article 2 and sections 4.1 and 5 of the technical annex of Resolution 666 of 2020, recently modified by Resolution 223 of 2021 regarding biosafety protocols.
On 6 January 2022, the Congress of the Republic enacted Law 2191, which aims to create, regulate and promote the labor disconnection of workers in order to guarantee the effective enjoyment of free time and rest times, licenses, leaves and/or vacations to reconcile personal, family and work life.
Brazil: IBAMA publishes directive regulating the Annual Report of Potentially Polluting Activities and Users of Environmental Resources
The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) established the thresholds that will be taken into account to determine whether there is an obligation to undertake a merger control procedure during the year 20221. For this purpose, through Resolution No. 83304 of 22 December 2021, the SIC determined that those economic integrations whose participants, individually or jointly, have total assets or operating income equal to or greater than COP 57,322,387,083.44 (USD 14,398,413.292) must be subject of merger control.
On 5 January 2022, the Investigating Authority of the Federal Economic Competition Commission published notice of an investigation, file IO-001-2021, for the alleged anti-competitive conduct of horizontal monopolistic practices in the market for integration, installation, maintenance and commercialization of equipment, accessories and spare parts for the use of industrial gases in Mexico.
On 31 December 2021, the Energy Regulatory Commission published in the Mexican Official Gazette, resolution number RES/550/2021, through which it issued the General Administrative Provisions containing the criteria for efficiency, quality, reliability, continuity, safety and sustainability of the National Electric System: Network Code. This New Network Code modifies the technical requirements whose compliance is mandatory for all users of the National Electric System, i.e., the National Energy Control Center, transporters, distributors, power plants, suppliers and, in particular, all load centers connected at medium and high tension, regardless of their consumption levels.