The Executive Branch is considering the cancellation of the lease agreement between Ferrovías and Cobigua after the Attorney General's Office filed a complaint alleging anomalies.
The Executive is evaluating whether it will declare invalid the lease agreement between Compañía Desarrolladora Ferroviaria (Ferrovías) and Compañía Bananera Guatemalteca Independiente (Cobigua) days after the PGN filed a suit with the Public Prosecutor to start an investigation to determine " ... who were the people responsible for signing the contract, in addition to identifying what legal standards were used by Ferrovías to finalise the aforementioned contract, since that company has no power over the state." See "Corruption denounce in the concessioning and management of Puerto Quetzal" Lahora.gt reports that "...The contract entitles Cobigua to use the port of Puerto Barrios, Izabal, until 2048, after the expiry last year of the onerous usufruct contract, awarded in 1990. In the view of the former Attorney General of the Nation, Maria Eugenia Villagran, Ferrovías had no authority to give the port administration over to Cobigua."
In order to protect sources of employment the Panamanian government wants the US to grant permissions so that Waked Group companies can temporarily transact with US citizens and businesses.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF):
Objective is to protect the jobs of Waked companies
Treasury Department has been asked to grant a license.
The identification of Grupo Waked in a money laundering network could result in significant changes in the representations of brands marketed in the country.
An article on Prensa.com cites Jorge Garcia Icaza, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama, who emphasized that restraint should excerised when dealing with the case in order to minimize damage which it is estimated could be caused, especially in relation to jobs in the companies under question.
Various organizations have criticized the text of the new procurement law pointing out that it does not impose the transparency needed in these processes.
The main criticism concerns the fact that the text finally approved by the National Assembly eliminated an item which enabled companies convicted of corruption to be disqualified.
Costa Rica and Guatemala are on the list of 23 countries that the US government considers necessary to monitor for violations of intellectual property rights.
On April 12, 2016, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2016 Special 301 Report. The Special 301 Report is the result of an annual review of the state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement in U.S. trading partners around the world.
A law has come into force which grants legal equivalence to signatures in transactions made via electronic means.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The new Law on Electronic Signatures, adopted by the Legislature last October, took effect this April 26, 2016, converting the Ministry of Economy into the Accrediting Entity for Digital Signatures.
President Morales has already given clear signals that the concession contract with the company Puerto Quetzal TCB, will have to be canceled.
Despite being a decision which falls to the Attorney General's Office, in response to persistent queries by journalists, President Jimmy Morales said "... 'The declaration of invalidity is a fact that must be declared. '"
The acquisition of TCB by APM Terminals means that any dispute concerning the granting of Puerto Quetzal will involve the largest group in the world in the maritime sector, the Maersk shipping company.
Following the Public Ministry's denouncement of the existence of an illicit money laundering network operating in the Container Terminal at Quetzal , the government of Jimmy Morales is torn between declaring void the concession contract with the current operator, TCB, as recommended by the Attorney General's Office on several occasions, or making other arrangements with the company. The Morales government may have to negotiate with the Danish giant Maersk Group, which bought 100% of the shares of the Spanish TCB in October 2015, according to an article on Elperiodico.com.gt.
Noting that the right to property was violated, the tax that the Mayoral Office of San Salvador charged private companies using a calculation based on their assets has been declared unconstitutional.
The ruling in question eliminates Article 1.021.1 from the rate of Excise Taxes set by the Municipality of San Salvador, San Salvador department, which stated that the municipal tax collection must be calculated based on the assets of companies.
Consideration is being given to removing the ceiling of 500 kW in installed capacity for solar power plants producing energy for self consumption.
The proposal by the Public Services Authority (ASEP) emerged as a result of the public consultation which was carried out on the rules to generate solar power for self consumption by households and businesses.
The governments have announced the beginning of negotiations to sign a bilateral agreement to exchange tax information which will include an exchange format based on the OECD standard.
Varela's announcement came as part of the visit to Japan to sign a financing agreement worth up to $2.6 billion to build Metro Line 3. The agreement also includes a technical cooperation grant for hiring a Project Management company for $35 million.
The Public Ministry of Guatemala has announced that its investigations have shown that a network of illicit laundering of money and other assets operated in the port terminal.
Consideration is being given to canceling the contract with the concessionaire Container Terminal Spanish Quetzal after the denouncement that it paid bribes to Perez Molina for the award of the terminal.
Corporations that have not paid their annual fee for ten years will be officially dissolved after their names have been published in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
The Minister of Economy and Finance said in an article on Laestrella.com.pa that "... 'it is a plan we have been working on since last year. There is a provision in the tax code that establishes that corporations that have not paid their annual fee for ten years will be dissolved ex officio.'"