Author: dev_

Vouga Abogados auspició con mucho interés el segundo Seminario Internacional sobre Defensa de la Competencia, organizado por la APEDEC (Asociación Paraguaya de Estudio sobre Defensa de la Competencia), el cual tuvo lugar ayer, miércoles 18 de octubre, en el Carmelitas Center.

El evento contó con la disertación de dos invitados extranjeros expertos en Derecho de la Competencia: el Dr. Luis Berenguer, quien fuera presidente de la Comisión Nacional de la Competencia de España, y el Dr. Fernando Magalhaes Furlán, ex presidente del Consejo Administrativo de Defensa Económica de Brasil, quienes expusieron junto con los miembros directivos de la Comisión Nacional de la Competencia de Paraguay y representantes de reguladores sectoriales del país.

Estamos convencidos de que la labor de promoción del Derecho de la Competencia es uno de los pilares fundamentales para instaurar la cultura de competencia en Paraguay y, por tanto, expresamos nuestro compromiso de colaborar con la generación de espacios de debate académico con el fin de que abogados, economistas, empresarios, autoridades y consumidores en general, entendamos que la competencia nos beneficia a todos.

In order to prevent money laundering and tax evasion through the use of joint stock companies, Law No. 5895/2017 “Establishing transparency rules in the regime of companies incorporated by shares” (the “Law”) was enacted on October 05, 2017 in Paraguay, one of the main changes being the elimination of bearer shares.

The regulation of the Law is pending.

Vouga Abogados proposes these simple and concrete answers to eleven fundamental questions that help to understand the changes.

1. What are the main changes brought about by the Law?

The main change that occurs with the enactment of the Law refers to the articles of the Civil Code that refer to the existence of bearer shares -specifically articles 1,050, 1,069 and 1,070-. In this sense, it is established as a requirement for the incorporation of companies the determination of the value and number of its shares, suppressing any reference to bearer shares. Also, in relation to the formalities of the shares and the provisional certificates, it is established as a requirement to identify the name of the holder of the share.

2. Who is affected by the changes in the new Law?

The changes provided by the new law affect only those corporations with bearer shares.

3. What happens if a corporation has registered shares?

Corporations with registered shares are not affected.

4. What happens with the bylaws of corporations with bearer shares?

The bylaws of corporations with bearer shares are modified by operation of law, and therefore it is not necessary for the corporation to hold an extraordinary meeting to adapt its bylaws to the new Law.

5. What obligations arise for the shareholders?

The law requires shareholders to exchange their bearer shares for registered shares before the Company's Board of Directors within 24 months from the effective date of the law. 

6. What obligations arise for the companies?

Companies must notify the Treasury Counsel's Office of the exchange of bearer shares for registered shares, although the requirements and conditions concerning such notification have not yet been established -subject to regulations to be prepared by the Executive Power through the Ministry of Finance-.

7. What are the tax implications of the conversion and exchange of shares?

Conversions of bearer shares into registered shares and the exchange are exempt from all taxes.

8. What happens in the event of a transfer of shares?

In the event of a transfer of shares, the buyer must notify the company within 5 business days, notwithstanding the fact that the communication is made by the seller. For such purpose, the name and surname, identity card or RUC and the domicile of the buyer must be indicated. In turn, the company must communicate such transfer to the Treasury Attorney's Office within 5 business days of having received the communication from the shareholders.

It should be clarified that the obligation to notify the Treasury Solicitor's Office is not applicable to issuing corporations that operate in the stock market, since they are subject to different provisions on this matter.

9. What are the penalties applicable to the shareholders that do not comply with the established deadlines?

The economic rights of shareholders who have not exchanged their shares with the company's board of directors within the established 24 months will be automatically suspended, which means that they will not be able to receive dividends until they comply with the requirements. In addition, they will be subject to fines ranging from 50 to 500 minimum daily wages for unspecified activities (between Gs. 3,830,800 and Gs. 38,308,800, equivalent to approximately USD 680 to USD 6,820 at the current exchange rate). 

10. What are the penalties applicable to the companies that do not comply with the established deadlines?

In the event that the degree of compliance with the share exchange has not reached at least 90% of the shares, the companies will be subject to the following penalties:

• Prohibition for entities that are part of the financial system (banks, finance companies, brokerage firms, exchange houses, cooperatives, among others) to carry out any type of active, passive or neutral operations with companies whose shares are bearer shares;
• Blocking of the company's Single Taxpayers Registry (RUC) by the Undersecretariat of State for Taxation (SET); and/or
• Fine of between 50 and 500 minimum daily wages for unspecified miscellaneous activities (between Gs. 3,830,800 and Gs. 38,308,800, equivalent to approximately USD 680 to USD 6,820 at the current exchange rate).

Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py), Carlos Vouga (cvouga@vouga.com.py), Rodolfo G. Vouga (rgvouga@vouga.com.py) or Marco Colmán (mcolman@vouga.com.py). 

El Ministerio de Industria y Comercio (MIC) ha comunicado que, a partir del 23 de septiembre del corriente año, tanto el trámite de inscripción como de renovación del Registro Industrial solamente podrá ser realizado en línea a través del Sistema de Ventanilla Única de Exportación (VUE), eliminándose de esta manera las documentaciones físicas, que ya no serán recibidas.

La inscripción en el Registro Industrial presenta múltiples beneficios, como ser la exoneración del pago de arancel aduanero en la importación de materias primas e insumos a ser utilizados en el proceso productivo, en caso de que las mismas no registren producción nacional. Asimismo, se prevén como beneficios los establecidos en la Ley Nº 60/90 en cuanto a la importación de bienes de capital a ser utilizados en los procesos fabriles, el Certificado de Producto y Empleo Nacional emitido para acogerse a un margen del 20% sobre precios ofertados en Licitaciones Públicas en el marco de la Ley Nº 4558/11 y la obtención y/o conservación de la categoría de tarifa industrial de energía eléctrica de la ANDE.

Es necesario destacar que la inscripción y actualización de datos en el Registro Industrial fue establecida como obligatoria en el Decreto Nº 6258/2011 para todas las personas físicas y jurídicas, nacionales o extranjeras, que realicen cualquier tipo de actividad industrial en el territorio nacional. La citada normativa establece también que el incumplimiento de esta disposición será sancionado primeramente con un apercibimiento y posteriormente con multa o incluso clausura, en caso de reincidencia. 

En estos tiempos de constantes cambios y permanentes innovaciones, contar con los métodos y canales adecuados de información es fundamental. Por ello, alineados con las nuevas exigencias de comunicación de hoy, Vouga Abogados se enorgullece en presentar sus renovadas plataformas en redes sociales.

A través de sus páginas en Facebook y Twitter, el estudio se propone mantener a sus clientes actualizados y al tanto de las últimas noticias y novedades legislativas. Asimismo, se publicarán artículos prácticos, guías y materiales de utilidad para el desenvolvimiento diario en el dinámico contexto en que nos encontramos actualmente.

La Cámara de Comercio Internacional (ICC) ha designado a la Abogada Marta Martínez, asociada de Vouga Abogados, como Presidenta de la Comisión de Competencia para Paraguay. La ICC es la mayor organización empresarial orientada a la promoción del comercio internacional, una conducta de negocios responsable y un acercamiento global a la regulación comercial, a modo de acelerar el crecimiento inclusivo y sustentable. Es un organismo de representación que habla con conocimiento de causa en nombre de las empresas y organizaciones empresariales de todos los sectores procedentes de cualquier rincón del planeta.

El comité paraguayo de la ICC es relativamente nuevo y viene desarrollando importantes actividades a través de sus diversas comisiones, entre las que se encuentra la de Competencia y respecto de la cual existe mucho optimismo acerca de lo que ella puede lograr para el bien del ecosistema empresarial paraguayo. A la fecha, la Comisión de Competencia se encuentra proyectando diversas actividades con la presencia de destacados referentes del Derecho de la Competencia.

Marta Martínez es Abogada por la Universidad Nacional de Asunción, integrante del cuadro de honor. Cuenta con un Máster en Derecho Público y otro en Gobierno y Administración Pública, ambos por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Actualmente se encuentra en la etapa de defensa de su tesis doctoral ante la misma universidad española, la cual lleva el título de “El soft law en defensa de la Competencia”.

Nos complace compartir con clientes y amigos la designación de nuestra colega Marta Martínez como miembro de tan destacado organismo internacional, ya que ello reafirma el compromiso de Vouga Abogados de contar con profesionales de primer nivel y promover constantemente el crecimiento de los mismos.

Si desea más información sobre Derecho de la Competencia y su potencial en el Paraguay, no dude en contactar a Marta Martínez (mmartinez@vouga.com.py).

VOUGA ABOGADOS was selected by the prestigious English publication LEGAL 500 in Band 1 in Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions; Litigation & Dispute Resolution; and Environmental. It is one of only two firms in Paraguay with recommendations in the 7 existing practice areas for Paraguay (Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions; Banking & Finance; Litigation & Dispute Resolution; Tax; Environmental; Labor and Intellectual Property). It is also one of only two Paraguayan firms with three practice areas in Band 1.

The Firm is proud that its Partners were selected as Leading Lawyers in Corporate & Mergers & Acquisitions; Banking & Finance; Litigation & Dispute Resolution; and Labor & Employment. In addition, 13 lawyers were recommended in all 7 practice areas and 4 were selected in the “Next Generation Lawyers” category.

We are grateful for the trust placed in us by our clients, who are the basis for the achievements of the Firm and its professionals.

In recent years, Paraguay has attracted numerous factories and companies under the “maquila” program. This is mainly due to the new policies and incentives that the national government has been promoting since 2000: low-cost electricity, less onerous labor regulations, suspension of import tariffs, a single 1% tax on domestic value added and other additional benefits. All this makes Paraguay a much more favorable scenario for producers, who prefer to leave their own country to set up their businesses in the Republic.

The maquila is a production system whereby companies located in Paraguay produce goods and services for export. It is developed between a parent company -contracting company located abroad- and a maquiladora -contracted company located in Paraguay-, which is responsible for developing the various production and value-adding processes. Such maquiladora company may, in turn, subcontract to other companies in the country in order to carry out the necessary processes within its productive structure. Any individual or legal entity, whether domestic or foreign, domiciled in the country and authorized to carry out commercial acts may operate as a maquiladora entity.

This production modality emerged in 1997 with the enactment of Law No. 1064 “On the export maquiladora industry”, which was regulated by Decree No. 9585 in 2000. The first operations under this regime started a year later, with 115 factories having been installed in Paraguay so far -89 of them since 2013-, while some 20 are preparing to start operations.

The maquila is nowadays in full expansion as a result of a joint work between the private and public sectors, through the National Council of Maquiladora Export Industries (CNIME), the Chamber of Maquiladora Companies of Paraguay (CEMAP) and other associations. In this context, the law firm Vouga Abogados has been involved in advising numerous maquila projects in Paraguay.

For further information on the maquila system in Paraguay, please contact: Rodolfo G. Vouga (rgvouga@vouga.com.py), Marco Colmán (mcolman@vouga.com.py) or Andrés Vera (avera@vouga.com.py).

In order to strengthen management transparency and thus have an efficient organization to achieve its purposes, the National Directorate of Intellectual Property (DINAPI), by Resolution No. 11/2017, established new rules on the documentation required for the registration of assignment, transfer, license and other legal business in relation to registered trademarks.

The aforementioned resolution arose within the framework of a process of standardization of procedures and services in charge of DINAPI, a public entity in charge of the execution of the national Intellectual Property policy and of the application of the different rules that regulate intellectual rights -by virtue of Law 4798/12-.

In this sense, the resolution establishes that for the registration of assignment or transfer of rights over trademarks registered in the General Technical Directorate of Industrial Property (DGPI), the interested party must submit the original or authenticated copy of the Public Deed wherein the legal business to be registered is recorded for transactions carried out within the national territory, or the due apostille or consular authentication of the documents formalized abroad. Likewise, it regulates the procedures in cases of licenses of use and mergers of companies.

The aforementioned regulation also reminds and clarifies the requirements that the Public Deed to which it refers must comply with, finally instructing the Head Office of Legal Acts -depending on the DGPI- to promote strict compliance with the established provisions. In this way, since they are regulated acts, the acts registered in the absence of the indicated formalities will be null and void.

In case you need further information about the new registration procedure for assignment, transfer, license of use and other legal transactions, please contact Laura Lezcano (llezcano@vouga.com.py) 

In accordance with governmental objectives, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications is developing various infrastructure projects nationwide, for which it is calling for bids from those interested in providing the required services.

Thus, for example, it foresees the construction of some 6,645 linear meters of bridges nationwide, including reinforced concrete, composite and metal bridges, at different points of the country. The goal would be the replacement of 12,000 linear meters of wooden bridges, having already been awarded more than 2,000 linear meters, while another more than 1,200 linear meters are under tender. This program began in 2015 and has resources until 2020, with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and a counterpart from the Local Fund.

It is also implementing the outsourcing of the road cleaning service since 2015. This year, a call for bids has been issued for the maintenance of the domain strip by levels of service for a total of 1,853 km of roads throughout the country. With this new call for tenders, more than 4,000 km of roads have already been tendered in three years, which shows that the modality is proving to be a success.

Guaranteeing Paraguay's growth requires an investment of around US$ 1 billion in infrastructure works executed, paid, built and completed each year, according to what was stated by the Minister of Public Works and Communications, Ramón Jiménez Gaona at the 2017 Economy Congress “Economic Regulation and Competition” -held at the end of July-, which is equivalent to 3.5% of the Gross Domestic Product. Being that the General Budget of the Nation currently limits infrastructure investment in the MOPC to US$500 million per year, it is vital for said portfolio to create favorable conditions for private capital investment in public works through tools such as the Public-Private Partnership Law and Law No. 5074 on “Turnkey” Projects.

For more information on bidding processes or private equity investment in public works, please contact Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py) or Walter Vera (wvera@vouga.com.py).

Source: Ministry of Public Works and Communications.

The Executive has issued the regulatory decree of the Maternity Leave Law, which establishes that prenatal leave is the mother's optional leave, which may be taken two weeks before the birth of the child, for which purpose the estimated date of delivery must be determined by the attending physician.

As for postnatal leave, it includes the period of rest that the mother enjoys after the birth of the child, this rest period is 18 (eighteen) weeks. In the event that the mother has chosen to take prenatal leave, the period of leave would be reduced to 16 (sixteen) weeks.

This leave also corresponds to the worker who has a minor under six (6) months of age under his/her care, because he/she has been judicially granted guardianship as a protective measure.

100% of the extension of the above-mentioned leaves will be paid by the worker's social security, and if she does not have it, it will be paid by the employer.

The father shall be entitled to paid leave at the employer's expense for fourteen (14) continuous and uninterrupted days in the event of the birth of the child, which may be used from the moment of delivery.

 The regulation also explains that the maternity allowance, which consists of the payment to the working woman on maternity leave, is 100% of the last taxable remuneration immediately prior to the use of the leave, as from the third year of effectiveness of the law.

The period of the subsidy must coincide with the period of pre- and post-natal leave and the payment of the subsidy is subject to the effective enjoyment of the maternity leave established in the Law.

On the other hand, the Social Security Institute is the entity in charge of paying the maternity leave allowance to all female workers affiliated to the social security system who are entitled to it in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

The table below shows the payout % and the weeks of leave to be granted:

DATE	PERMISSION GRANTED	PAYMENT GRANTED
30/10/2016	18 weeks (126 calendar days)	75% of Salary
30/10/2018 onwards	18 weeks (126 calendar days)	100% of Salary

For further information, please contact Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py) or Walter Vera (wvera@vouga.com.py)