Following the news that the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in Costa Rica plans to renew the framework that regulates outdoor advertising, businessmen of the sector are asking to be taken into account in this process.
In the country, outdoor advertising is regulated by a law that dates back to 2001. In the case of national roads, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) is in charge of regulating this type of advertising and in the case of cantonal roads, local governments are designated for these tasks.
A presidential decree gives the National Energy Secretariat the power to regulate maximum retail prices for 91 and 95 octane gasoline and low-sulfur diesel.
The regulation of maximum prices will be in effect for a six-month period, which may be extended, according to Executive Decree No. 474 of June 10, 2020 published in the Official Journal.
Henceforth, the Central Bank will be responsible for issuing operating licenses for exchange bureaus and remittance service providers operating in the country.
Resolutions CD-BCN-LIX-1-19 and CD-BCN-LIX-2-19 were published in the Official Journal, La Gaceta, on March 19, 2020, by which the Board of Directors of the BCN authorized the "Regulations for Providers of Foreign Exchange and/or Purchase Services" and the "Regulations for Remittance Payment Services", respectively, reported the Central Bank of Honduras.
Local authorities decided to raise by 10% the minimum capital required for the opening of a bank or the operation of existing ones.
The Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) announced that the minimum capital required for banks that already operate or wish to enter was raised by $1.03 million, from $10.67 million to $11.70 million.
A bill has been submitted to the National Assembly proposing to prohibit the practice of advance discounts for late payments.
The document also provides that banks agree to enter into a payment arrangement with the debtor when the customer is more than 90 days late in paying the loan.
Until December 16, 2022, businesses in Guatemala will have to comply with the rules contained in the Regulations for Environmental Evaluation, Control and Monitoring.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) reported that after the publication of Government Agreement 317-2019 on December 24, 2019 in the Central American Journal, which reforms Government Agreement 137-2016, the period was extended by three years so that all projects, works, industries or productive activities present their respective environmental instruments in order to function.
With the implementation of the new technical regulations on the quality of roasted and ground coffee for marketing in the national and international markets, coffee growers in El Salvador expect to sell at better prices.
The technical regulation is in the public hearing phase on the site of the Salvadoran Agency for Technical Regulation (Osartec), a process that will end on 17 February, and will then be presented to the coffee sector.
The new technical regulation for cement in Panama, which was scheduled to come into force on December 3, will be applicable as of March next year.
One of the new aspects of the regulation is that it requires national and importing cement companies to process a certificate of conformity and a civil liability policy for each lot to be marketed.
From the Ministry of Trade and Industry's statement:
The Superintendence of Telecommunications prepares the procedure to start issuing sanctions of up to $25,800 from February 2020, to businesses that do not have a registry of mobile terminal equipment and SIM cards.
The regulations have been in force for years, as on October 9, 2013, Decree 8-2013, the Mobile Terminal Equipment Law, came into force, which mandates the creation of the Registry of Mobile Terminal Equipment and SIM Cards Dealers, both under the responsibility of the Superintendence of Telecommunications (SIT).
On November 20, the moving weighing system began operating in Guatemala, which will verify that the weight and dimensions of the cargo vehicles are within the permitted range, otherwise the respective sanctions will be applied.
Ministry of Communications staff reported that the system is equipped with cameras and sensors embedded in the asphalt, which captures and sends the information immediately to a computer.
The changes that had been made to the Regulation of the Value Added Tax Law in Guatemala came into effect.
This is Governmental Agreement 222-2019 modifying the Regulation of the Value Added Tax Law, which contains provisions regarding the mechanisms for the recovery of the tax credit to exporters created by Decree 4-2019, informed the exporters' union.
In Guatemala, the entry into force of the speed measurement and control device, which must be installed in vehicles of 3.5 tons and 12 passengers or more, was extended for another year.
The regulations in Governmental Agreement 38-2019, published in April of this year, established that as of November 14 heavy transport units must carry a device that will have the function of measuring the speed at which vehicles travel, which must not exceed 80 kilometers per hour.
In Guatemala, transporters are asking to postpone the entry into force of the rule that establishes that vehicles of 3.5 tons and 12 passengers and above must install a device that will report the speed at which they circulate.
The regulation in Governmental Agreement 38-2019, published in April of this year, establishes that as of November 14 heavy transport units must carry a device that will have the function of measuring the speed at which vehicles travel, which must not exceed 80 kilometers per hour.
In Panama, a bill seeks to regulate messaging services offered through technological platforms, such as UberEats, Appetito 24, Glovo or Domicilio Don Juan.
The platforms of digital messaging services, such as transport activity, will be regulated, according to the essence of Draft Law 179 proposed in the Transport Commission, informed the National Assembly on October 14.
The Salvadoran government announced that in January 2020 it will submit a proposal to regulate the operation of nurseries dedicated to the care of employees' children, which will be mandatory for companies with more than 100 workers.
The regulation will be part of the application of the Special Law for the Regulation of Nurseries, which will enter into force on June 19, 2020.