Category: Uncategorized

Mediante la Resolución N° 3903/2019 (la Resolución), el Ministerio de Trabajo (MTESS) estableció un régimen transitorio de facilidades de pago, para que los empleadores se pongan al día con sus obligaciones laborales, incluyendo las deudas que se encuentren en proceso de gestión por parte de la institución o en instancia judicial.

Durante el régimen transitorio, los empleadores puede acceder  acceder a beneficios, mediante un plan de facilidades de pago y exoneración de intereses, así como la no aplicación de sanciones por el incumplimiento de normas laborales, en atención a la coyuntura económica actual.

De acuerdo con lo dispuesto en el Art. 1 de la Resolución, la exoneración seguirá las siguientes reglas:

1- Entrega inicial mínima equivalente al 20% de la deuda, de acuerdo al monto establecido por la autoridad administrativa mediante resolución o certificado de liquidación de deuda.

2- Tasa de interés anual de financiación del 0%.

3- Hasta 12 cuotas mensuales, iguales y consecutivas, para aquellos empleadores que se encuentren adeudando hasta 100.000.000 guaraníes y hasta 24 cuotas mensuales, iguales y consecutivas para aquellos que tengan deudas a más de 100.000.000 de guaraníes.

Este Régimen excepcional y Transitorio estará en vigor hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2019. 

El pasado 6 de noviembre de 2019 el Poder Ejecutivo promulgó el Decreto 2817/19 que reglamenta la Ley 6339 que Regula el Empleo a Tiempo Parcial. Entre los aspectos más resaltantes podemos destacar los siguientes:

La forma y el contenido del contrato: El contrato a tiempo parcial deberá ser instrumentado mediante acuerdo privado y por escrito y deberá contar, entre otras, con las siguientes cláusulas (i) importe de la remuneración/tarifa horaria, la forma y el periodo de pago, (ii) inscripción a la Seguridad Social, (iii) duración y tipo de jornada de trabajo (iv) una cláusula de no exclusividad del trabajador con el empleador.  

La cantidad de horas límite: Los contratos a tiempo parcial tendrán una duración mínima de 16 horas y de máximo 32 horas semanales. El total de horas que resultase del mes trabajado será la base de tiempo a ser utilizada para el cálculo de la remuneración.

Horas extraordinarias: Esta modalidad permite las horas extraordinarias; las mismas podrán ser de hasta el 10% de total de horas convenidas, siempre y cuando, el total de horas no excedan las 32 horas semanales.

Tasas de aporte a la Seguridad Social: serán las mismas que para el trabajador a tiempo completo.

Base imponible: La base imponible de las cotizaciones al seguro social se calculará sobre el total de las remuneraciones percibidas mensualmente.

Proporcionalidad para la licencia por lactancia materna: La licencia por lactancia se aplicará de acuerdo a las horas trabajadas por día y serán proporcionales a las mismas.

Creemos que el presente Decreto es un paso más, hacia la formalización de una práctica bastante extendida en nuestro país y que aportará beneficios a todas las partes interesadas.

Para más información acerca de las nuevas disposiciones del MTESS, no dude en contactar con Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py) y Daniela Leguizamón (dleguizamon@vouga.com.py)

Fuente: MTESS

On October 31, 2019, the Executive Branch issued Decree 2787/2019 (the Decree) establishing the schedule of the effective dates and the effectiveness of the provisions contained in Law 6380/2019 (the Law/Reform).

In view of the foregoing, the Reform will be effective and will impact the taxes according to the following schedule:

1. For the Corporate Income Tax (IRE), it will have the following cuts:

a. The Reform will become effective on January 1, 2020 for those companies whose next fiscal year-end is December 31, 2019.

b. The Reform will become effective on May 1, 2020 for those companies whose next fiscal year-end is April 30, 2020.

c. The Reform will become effective on July 1, 2020 for those companies whose next fiscal year-end is June 30, 2020.

2. Regarding the Special Valuation Standards for Transactions: The Reform will become effective on January 1, 2021.

3. Regarding Dividends and Profits Tax (IDU): The Reform will be effective as of January 1, 2020.

4. Regarding Personal Income Tax (IRP): The Reform will be effective as of January 1, 2020.

5. Regarding the Non-Resident Income Tax (INR): The Reform will be effective as of January 1, 2020.

6. Regarding Value Added Tax (VAT): The Reform will become effective as of January 1, 2020.

7. Regarding the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC): The Reform will become effective as of January 1, 2020.

8. With respect to the General Provisions: Except for articles 144, 145, 149, 151 and 152, the Reform will become effective as of January 1, 2020.

On the other hand, the provisions related to the Income Tax on Commercial, Industrial or Service Activities and the Income Tax on Agricultural Activities will remain in force until April 30 and June 30, 2020, so that taxpayers who have their tax closings on such dates may comply with their tax obligations in an orderly manner.

Likewise, the system of Advances and Withholdings affecting the payment of the IRE, provided for in Article 24 of Law 6380/19, will not enter into force until January 1, 2023.

Article 3 of the Decree establishes that the Electronic Invoice will come into force once the State Secretariat of Taxation (SET) has regulated the Integrated Electronic Invoicing System (SIFEN).

Finally, the Decree authorizes SET to take the necessary measures for the correct application of the Law.

We believe that the Decree is in line with the spirit of the Law; on the one hand, it seeks that the regulation of the same be carried out as expeditiously as possible, and on the other hand, that the introduction of the reforms be carried out in a gradual, orderly and staggered manner in order to allow the best possible adaptation by the subjects affected by the Reform. 

For further information on the Tax Reform Law and its application, please contact Andrés Vera, our associate expert in fiscal and tax matters (avera@vouga.com.py)  

Vouga Abogados advised TMF Paraguay S.R.L. in its capacity as guarantee agent in the framework of part of the financing of the project for the design, rehabilitation, construction, operation and maintenance of Routes 2 and 7. This is the first project to be implemented under the Public-Private Partnership (“PPP”) modality.

The financing obtained by the successful bidder, Rutas del Este S.A., amounted to a total of USD 658 million. Of this amount, USD 458 million was obtained through the issuance of debt and USD 200 million through financing granted by the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB”) and IDB Invest.

Vouga Abogados' advice consisted in the review of the collateral structure and guarantee documents corresponding to the USD 200 million financing granted by the IDB and IDB Invest.

For further information, please contact Cynthia Fatecha (cfatecha@vouga.com.py), Geor Birbaumer (gbirbaumer@vouga.com.py) or Carlos Vouga Z. (cvouga@vouga.com.py)

The Executive Branch enacted Law 6399/2019 which imposes the exchange of 100% of the bearer shares to registered shares. The deadline to proceed with the exchange was extended until December 10, 2019.

During this period, Corporations may update their bylaws and request the corresponding opinion from the Treasury Solicitor's Office. 

The Ministry of Finance is expected to issue the corresponding Regulations in the next few days, which will provide more details about the administrative procedure for the share exchange. 

Failure to proceed with the exchange will result in penalties ranging from the suspension of economic rights to the loss of such rights.

Through Resolution No. 4118/2019, the National Directorate of Public Procurement (DNCP), regulates the implementation of the Electronic Bidding Form for the acquisition of goods, in any process governed by Law No. 2051 “On Public Procurement”. 

The objective of the implementation of the Electronic Bidding Terms and Conditions is to speed up and improve the efficiency of the purchasing entities, as well as to improve transparency in the bidding processes.  

The implementation will affect, in the first instance, all those entities that were part of the pilot plan; with respect to the other entities, the training and implementation process will be staggered, starting in 2020. 

The IFLR100 directory, the world's leading guide specialized in banking and financial law, has ranked Vouga Abogados as a Tier 1 firm in the areas of Financial and Corporate Law. Likewise, this directory has included our Firm among the 5 firms considered as Active in the area of Project Development. 

Thus, the Corporate Law Department obtained the best rating in the three most prestigious directories worldwide: Band 1 in Chambers and Partners; Tier 1 in The Legal 500 and finally, Tier 1 in IFLR1000. In the area of Banking and Finance Law, the Firm obtained the best rating in 2 of the 3 directories mentioned above: Band 1 in Chambers and Partners; Tier 1 in IFLR1000 and Tier 2 in The Legal 500.

For more information about the news, please click on the following link. 

The prestigious publishing house Thompson Reuters (Argentina) has published a special supplement that analyzes the Decree 274/2019 of Commercial Loyalty in Argentina. The compendium makes an extensive analysis on the subject of unfair competition where aspects of both substantive law and procedural aspects are addressed, the link with other subjects and professional disciplines, as well as the impact of the matter in the economic field.

In the section dedicated to the analysis of Comparative Law, Marta makes a detailed analysis of the Paraguayan reality in this area, where she considers aspects related to (i) local regulations, (ii) the study of sources and their problems, (iii) the comparison between the law of unfair competition and the law of unfair competition vis a vis competition law (differences and points in common), (iv) standing to sue, (v) a brief review of the jurisprudential criteria and (vi) his final considerations regarding the desired evolution of the matter in Paraguay.

First, Marta mentions that in Paraguay, unlike other countries with special laws on unfair competition or where the competition authorities hear cases of unfair competition and in the absence of a unified regulatory body, it is the commercial judge who is responsible for assessing the qualification of unfair acts within a dispersed and extremely comprehensive regulatory catalog where the civil and commercial judge is the competent authority in cases of controversy.

Regarding the differences between unfair competition law and competition law, the author mentions that since competition law is a relatively new subject in Paraguay, it tends to be commonly confused with unfair competition law. Regarding the substantive aspect, Marta mentions that, historically, unfair competition deals with settling disputes between private parties within the commercial and professional sphere, while competition law deals with disciplining those competitive facts that may affect a public good, this being the main difference between one discipline and the other.

Finally, Marta considers that the main legal problem lies in the difficult task to be performed by the commercial judge (Civil and Commercial Court) when assessing issues such as: good practices, honest use in industrial or commercial matters and means contrary to the principles of professional ethics that may cause harm to the competitor, being this assessment -beyond the normative dispersion- what makes the legal system of protection against unfair acts in Paraguay vulnerable. In addition, with respect to the relationship between acts of unfair competition and anti-competitive acts, Marta recommends directing national legislation towards: (i) the international trend of understanding unfair acts as those that ultimately threaten the proper functioning of the market, either with the enactment of a special law on unfair competition or (ii) with the incorporation of unfair acts in the current antitrust legislation.

For further details on the subject, please contact Marta Martínez (mmartinez@vouga.com.py) 

On September 24, 2019, the National Congress released the Tax Reform as Law 6380/19, forwarded on such date to the President of the Republic, who, the following day, promulgated it and had it published in Official Gazette 186 of September 25, 2019, as a special and second edition of that date, the only content of which is the Tax Reform Law.

Here you will find the link to Gazette No. 186 from where you can download the text of the Tax Reform Law in PDF format. 

For further information or assistance regarding this or other tax issues, please contact Andrés Vera (avera@vouga.com.py).

On October 21, the President of the Republic, Mario Abdo Benítez, issued the Regulatory Decree establishing a new regime for the production of hemp for industrial purposes. 

The purpose of this Decree is to benefit small farmers who will have up to a maximum of two hectares of crops each. It is estimated that some 25,000 small farmers in the Departments of Paraguarí, San Pedro, Concepción, Central and Chaco will be the first to benefit from this measure.

According to experts, this cannabis variety has a yield of up to two harvests per year, which could generate a profit of up to 10,000,000 guaraníes per hectare per harvest.

The first seeds will be imported from Hungary, France and the United States and the first plantings are expected to begin in March or April 2020. 

This measure complements what has already been established by Law 6007/2017, Decree 9303/2018 and Resolution S.G. 433/2019 which legislate and regulate the production and industrialization of cannabis for research and medicinal purposes.  

We will be attentive to the publication of the Decree in the Official Gazette in order to prepare a detailed analysis on the matter.