A bill being discussed in the Costa Rican Assembly aims to accelerate and simplify the processes followed by companies when they request to be declared in a state of insolvency or bankruptcy.
Currently in the country there are two liquidation processes, which are bankruptcy and insolvency, in addition to two others in which "...the debtor makes proposals to creditors to reach a solution, which are the administration and reorganization with judicial intervention, exclusively for companies, and the preventive agreement, for companies and individuals."
In Costa Rica, the Assembly approved in second debate the bill that prohibits the delivery and sale of plastic straws and the purchase of single-use plastic in state institutions.
The initiative now only awaits the approval of the Executive Branch. The Legislative Plenary approved on October 31 in its second debate, file 20.985 Law to combat pollution by plastic to protect the environment, which among other things prohibits the marketing and free delivery of plastic straws for single use throughout the national territory, reported the Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly approved in the first debate the bill prohibiting the commercialization of plastic straws throughout the national territory, as well as the purchase of single-use plastic in all state institutions.
In addition, the marketing and free delivery of plastic bags to the final consumer in supermarkets and commercial establishments whose purpose is to carry the goods to their destination is prohibited, explains an official statement.
The supermarket chain accuses the Ministry of Economy of Costa Rica of not carrying out adequate controls to avoid the practice of selling rice with another product added as a gift, known as bandeo.
The practice reported by the supermarket chain before the Contentious-Administrative Court on June 20, in which the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) is accused of not controlling it, is known as "bandeo" and is prohibited by a decree that has been in force since April 4, 2017.
The bill being discussed in Costa Rica basically seeks to extinguish the assets of organized crime, but there are those who claim that as proposed, it puts at risk the presumption of innocence of individuals.
The extinction of domain is a concept that in practice refers to seizing or confiscating assets linked to criminal activities, and then transferring them in favor of the State.
Because the Constitutional Chamber in Costa Rica admitted an action challenging the articles regulating mergers and acquisitions, the file approval processes have been temporarily suspended.
Authorities informed that since last March 19, the Commission to Promote Competition (Coprocom) refrains from approving or failing processes of companies that seek to acquire others or merge in the country.
Seven years after Cofasa filed a monopoly complaint against Fischel, in Costa Rica the Commission for the Promotion of Competition decided to impose a fine of almost $19 million on the pharmacy chain.
Representatives of the Commission for the Promotion of Competition (Coprocom), informed that the fine imposed on Fischel is provisional, since the resolution is in the appeals phase, so it is not final and cannot be released figures or other aspects of the ruling.
Adverse court decisions against companies, social and political conflicts and fiscal issues are some of the factors that are impeding the development of productive projects in Central American countries.
One of the latest court decisions affecting companies with investments in the region was that of Minera Petaquilla, in Panama. The contract that this company had signed with the Panamanian State was declared unconstitutional last week.
An international tribunal has ruled in favor of the Costa Rican government in a legal process in which US investors denounced arbitrary actions in the development of a real estate project in Esterillos beach.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade:
San Jose.On September 19, 2018, the Government of Costa Rica was notified by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the decision adopted by the Arbitral Tribunal in the case of David Richard Aven et al.c.Costa Rica (known as "Las Olas").This arbitration was filed by a group of US investors in 2014, under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
Starting from March 1, law firms, notaries and legal advisors, as well as other professionals and legal services must be ready to use the new electronic receipt system.
"...Representatives from the Costa Rican Association of Public Accountants, suppliers and the business association GS-1 point out that the system's initial difficulties have been overcome.However they still advise that both the taxpayers in the legal sector and those who need to start using the electronic invoice in April and May, should prepare themselves in order to avoid inconveniences due to the saturation that occurs at the moment of registering in the Virtual Tax Administration system (ATV)."
Since October 2017, constructions whose coverage exceeds 20% of the land must submit a hydrogeological study.
The entry into force of the Generic Matrix for the Protection of Aquifers has generated doubts about what the projects that must comply with the presentation of the hydrogeological study really are.On the one hand, the guide indicates that constructions which have a coverage of land equal to or less than 20% of the area will not need the study, and on the other hand, representatives of the National Service of Underground Waters of Irrigation and Drainage (Senara), suggest a different interpretation.
In Costa Rica, the state power company will have to pay $112 million to the contractor of the Chucás hydroelectric project, for "additional expenses that it authorized and then refused to recognize."
In the ruling issued by the International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (CICA), to which the company Enel Green Power Costa Rica appealed to resolve a conflict that originated in 2015 due to an almost $148 millionincrease in the Chucás hydroelectric project, which has not yet been completed, it was established that Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) acted with "bad contractual faith".
Starting from November 24 of this year, new guidelines will be in effect governing requirements and conditions for transporting pigs in the country.
Directive SENASA-DG-D001-2017, published on August 24, officialized the new "Official Guide for Transporting Porcine Cattle," which will constitute the new regulations for transporting pigs from 24 November.
Following the transfer by Abdul Waked of Gese's majority shareholding to Fundación Publicando Historia, the Editorial Group's access restrictions to the United States financial system have been lifted.
From a statement by the US ambassador in Panama:
I and my Embassy colleagues in Panama congratulate all parties involved in the successful effort to reestablish unfettered access to markets and the financial system of the United States on behalf of the newspapers of the La Estrella de Panama and El Siglo Editorial Group (GESE).
Companies that have been dissolved by the National Registry of Costa Rica for being delinquent in the payment of the tax to legal entities can liquidate their assets, despite being inactive.
The National Registry clarified that the assets of the 265 thousand companies that were dissolved were not canceled, what remains in relation to them are collateral goods or mortgages, which means that the owners can dispose of them by means of a process of liquidation.