Biz Latin Hub’s team of legal and accounting professionals based across Latin America report the following notable regulatory updates for June 2020 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.
In our regulatory update series, we report on legal and other reforms that could significantly impact businesses in Latin America. Note that this not an exhaustive list of all regulatory changes occurring in countries listed below.
For more information on how we can support your regulatory compliance needs, get in touch with our team.
Table of Contents
Argentina
| Regulation | Details |
| New SAS requirements | The Argentine government introduced additional requirements for the registration and operation of the Sociedad de Acciones Simplificadas (SAS) legal entity, also known as the Simplified Shares Company. |
What this means: Other legal entities may become comparatively more attractive for businesses expanding into Argentina.
Brazil
| Regulation | Details |
| MP 931/20 | This regulation extends the deadline for companies to hold Annual General Meetings from 30 April 2020 to 31 July 2020. |
Chile
The Chilean government and institutions introduced several regulatory updates in June.
| Regulation | Details |
| Law 21.232 | Allows employees to access their unemployment insurance fund under exceptional circumstances. |
| Law 21.234 | Introduction of new rules regarding liabilities in cases of theft and robbery. |
| NCG 30 | Issued by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero. Simplifies the registration of securities, stocks, and bonds. |
Costa Rica
The Costa Rican government introduced several regulatory updates in June.
| Regulation | Details |
| Sanitary directives | Airports and borders remained closed until 30 June Mobility, vehicle, and commercial restrictions enforced between 10pm-5am across the country, with some areas restricted between 5pm-5am Public transportation reduced to 50% Public institutions will continue to work with limited capacity and teleworking measures. |
| Migration and Foreign Affairs directives | Entry to the country suspended until 18 July Tourist Visa extended until 18 August 2020 for all tourists that entered the country after 17 December 2019 Offices must work at minimum capacity No new applications will be received before 18 July; deadlines extended to 18 September. |
| Presidential Guideline | Measure urges commercial banks to lower interest rates, extend credit terms and extend payments, among other provisions. |
| Tax Relief Law | Moratorium on the payment of VAT, partial payments of income tax, selective consumption tax and taxes to nationalize merchandise during the months of April-June 2020. The reported aim is to extend the moratorium on VAT for an additional 3 months. |
| Social security directive | Collection base of social security reduced for 3 months (April-June); possibility of extending for a further 3 months is pending confirmation. |
Ecuador
| Regulation | Details |
| Humanitarian Support (Ley de Apoyo Humanitario), 22 June 2020 | Private agreements between employer and employee to negotiate amounts owed Enables the payment of 20% of family rental fees and 30% in commercial rental fees in case of showing serious economic damages Prohibition of increase in rates for basic services, including telecommunications Prohibition of outages for non-payment during the current state of emergency and up to 2 months after Immediate reduction of up to 25% in educational pensions, including those from universities. To do this, student representatives have to demonstrate a decrease in income. |
El Salvador
The Salvadoran government introduced several regulatory updates in June.
| Regulation | Details |
| Tax exemption | Established an exemption of account tax payments for June and July 2020. |
| Reopening of economic business activities | Economic business activities will reopen in the following phases: Phase 1 (16 Jun-6 July): Restart of specific economic and social activities (construction, health, food, textiles, borders for import and export, diplomatic and consular organization, education centers) Phase 2 (7-21 July): Opening of call centers, real estate, plastic, public transport, restaurants, cosmetics, professional services Phase 3 (22 July-5 August): Opening of major and minor commerce, sports, mall centers, barber shops Phase 4 (6-20 August): approaching ‘new normal’ – opening of sports events, cinema theater, museums, tourism Phase 5 (21-31 August): ‘New normal’, full reopening |
Mexico
The Mexican government introduced several regulatory updates in June.
| Regulation | Details |
| Rule 2.4.19, Fiscal Miscellaneous Resolution 2020; Rule 295/CFF, Exhibit 1-A, Fiscal Miscellaneous Resolution 2020; Article 27, Section B-VI, Mexican Fiscal Code. | All companies that have changes in their capital structure must give notice to the SAT. This notice must be submitted to the SAT website within 30 days of when said changes were made. Companies that have not updated this information previously must give notice to the SAT no later than 30 June 2020. |
| Rule 12.1.1, Fiscal Miscellaneous Resolution 2020; Rule 3/PLT, Exhibit 1-A, Fiscal Miscellaneous Resolution 2020; Article 27, Section D-VII, Mexican Fiscal Code; Transitory Article 4, Section III and Article 18-D, VAT Law; Article 113-C, first paragraph, Section I, Income Tax Law | Foreign companies that provide digital services in Mexico but are not incorporated in Mexico must register their company and obtain tax identification before the SAT no later than 30 June 2020. |
Panama
| Regulation | Details |
| Executive decree 298 | Issued on 27 May by the National Tax Authority (DGI). The decree extends the deadline to present annual income tax declarations until 17 July 2020. |
Peru
| Regulation | Details |
| Resolution 099-2020 | Issued by the SUNAT (National Tax Authority), this resolution enforces: Extension of deadline for filing 2019 annual taxes from July 24 to August 6 Extension of the monthly tax filings until July Extension of the subdivision of tax debt until 31 July. |
Uruguay
The Uruguayan government introduced several regulatory updates in June.
| Regulation | Details |
| DGI Resolution (Tax Authority) | Delay of tax payments: June’s tax payments must be paid in July. |
| Decree 163/2020 | Introduces new eligibility criteria for investors to get tax residency in Uruguay through real estate or commercial activity. |
Countries with no reported updates
Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and Paraguay report no pertinent changes to regulation during June 2020 that could significantly impact business.
Work with trusted legal and accounting experts to adapt to regulatory changes
At Biz Latin Hub, we support companies to continue doing business in Latin America during challenging and turbulent regulatory periods.
Contact our team to understand how we can help you comply with new or changing regulations with our full suite of multilingual market entry and back office services, including:
- Accounting and taxation
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