On 29 December 2022, the National Executive issued Decree No. 4,758, which adopts the legal regime of goods and the Common Customs Tariff Schedule of the States Parties of MERCOSUR (NCM). The Decree entered into force on 3 January 2023, five days after its publication on 29 December 2022.
The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service’s Normative Instruction No. 2119, published on 6 December 2022, amended the provisions on the requirements to the General Taxpayer’s Registry under the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, as well as the provisions related to the Disclosure of Ultimate Beneficial Owner with the Federal Revenue Service.
The National Executive issued the Decree No. 4,766 on 9 January 2023, which extends the waivers of Legal Regimes for export until 9 June 2023. Said waivers were established on 9 June 2021 by the Decree No. 4,5252 regarding Optimization of Export Processes, which was extended until June 2022. The Decree established its validity as of 9 December 2022, having a retroactive effect.
On 17 January 2023, the governor of the Province of La Rioja enacted Law No. 10,608, declaring the study, research, prospecting, exploration, exploitation and industrialization of lithium and its derivatives to be of public interest. The Law undertook the following measures: (i) suspended existing mining permits and concessions related to this resource for 120 days with a possible extension for the same period, with the plan to determine areas of interest; (ii) established the participation of the provincial company in all lithium-related projects; and (iii) established a preference right for provincial state-owned companies in the application for mining rights.
On 17 January 2023, State Decree nº 16,089/20231 was published, establishing and updating the take-back requirements system for packaging in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. In summary, the decree becomes the new regulatory standard on the take-back requirements system for packaging in the state.
Every 28 January, Data Protection Day is celebrated to remember the date on which Convention 108 for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Automatic Processing of Personal Data was opened for signature. As technology continues to develop and influence the manner in which we make decisions, data protection is confronted with new and dynamic challenges. Data protection is not something companies can easily tick from a to-do list. Instead, the latest tech developments and modern-day regulations require daily and ongoing efforts to proactively demonstrate compliance.
The Argentina Customs Director announced in a November press conference that Customs will continue focusing on customs valuations and transfer pricing issues. The asphyxiating foreign exchange regulations currently in place in Argentina are seen by Customs as an incentive for importers to artificially increase the import value of goods (since this will result in the transferring abroad of more foreign currency; a practice known as “over-invoicing”) as well as for exporters to artificially reduce the export value of goods (since this will result in some foreign exchange remaining abroad instead of being mandatorily converted into Pesos at an artificially low foreign exchange rate; known as “under-invoicing”).
The National Executive issued Decree No. 4,757 on 29 December 2022 which establishes exemptions from payment of VAT and customs duties for imports of various goods in Chapter II of the Decree. The Decree entered into force on 29 December 2022 and will apply the exemption benefits until 30 June 2023.
On 31 December 2022, Supreme Decree No. 022-2022-SA was published in the extraordinary digital edition of the official journal El Peruano. The decree extended the deadline by which adhesives that incorporate advertising warnings on imported food and nonalcoholic beverages, including those marketed by micro and small businesses must stop being used.
The extension has been granted until 30 June 2023.
This January 2023, the Law for Improper Advertising Practices was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Justice, considering that it violates the human rights of freedom to work, free contracting, freedom to trade and autonomy of will. However, this ruling is one isolated criterion which is not binding and has no general application yet, as it will only protect those who are parties in the “amparo” action that gave origin to the court ruling (since it is not a general declaration of unconstitutionality). Nonetheless, this is an important precedent that should be used by all the courts to grant the “amparos”, and also will help to pursue in the future a general declaration of unconstitutionality.