by Juan Manuel González | Nov 16, 2023 | Noticias-en
The Constitutional Court has just ruled on a fragment of the new tax reform, specifically an article that included mining and oil companies. The article established the basis on which companies that exploit natural resources had to declare income. However, the high court declared that this adjustment is not in accordance with the constitution. Of the 15 lawsuits filed against the law, this was one of the two that the high court agreed to study, finally declaring it unenforceable.
The article of the law defined the basis on which companies that exploit non-renewable natural resources had to declare income. These types of companies have to transfer to the State a percentage of their profits in consideration, the so-called royalties. But in its article 19, the tax reform ensured that these royalties do not constitute a deductible from income tax, nor a cost or expense, but also that they must be recognized to the State through a tax percentage.
In April of this year, the Attorney General of the Nation, Margarita Cabello Blanco, had spoken out about this article, arguing that for her it was not “legitimate for Congress to prevent companies from deducting that payment.” In the concept that she sent to the Court, she explained that this type of use of natural resources generated a social and ecological impact that, until now, is compensated to the community through royalties. For her, these should be understood as expenses or costs associated with extractive activities, which when paid should translate into a deductible or discount as it currently works.
Source: El Espectador
For further information, contact:
Oscar Tutasaura | Partner Posse Herrera Ruiz | oscar.tutasaura@phrlegal.com
by Juan Manuel González | Nov 15, 2023 | Noticias-en
On November 8, 2023, Law No. 31919 was published, which modifies Law 30021 – Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating for Boys and Girls (hereinafter, “Healthy Eating Law”), regarding the use of adhesives. difficult to remove for the placement of octagons of advertising warnings on processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages imported and/or manufactured by MYPES.
Through this modification to the Healthy Eating Law, the following is contemplated:
- Advertising warnings placed on the packaging of processed foods and non-alcoholic beverages imported and/or manufactured by MYPES can be posted using adhesives that are difficult to remove.
- These difficult-to-remove adhesives:
- They must not cover relevant consumer information on labels, and
- must comply with the conditions contemplated in a future technical standard (hereinafter, the “Technical Standard”) that will be issued by the National Quality Institute – INACAL (hereinafter, the “INACAL”)
- Regarding said Technical Standard, INACAL will have a period of 240 business days, counted from the publication of the law, for its formulation, evaluation and approval.
- Once the Technical Standard is published, importers and MYPES will have a period of 180 business days to adapt to its full compliance.
- A period of 90 calendar days is granted to the Executive Branch, counted from the publication of the law, to proceed to adapt the Advertising Warning Manual, approved by Supreme Decree 012-2018-SA.
For more information contact:
Mario Pinatte | CPB Partner | mpinatte@cpb-abogados.com.pe
by Juan Manuel González | Nov 10, 2023 | Noticias-en
All commercial promotions that promote the consumption of products or services and that designate winners by any random mechanism require prior authorization from the Consumer Defense Unit.
To date, carrying out a promotion without said authorization or in breach of any other aspect of the regulations exposed the organizer to sanctions of warning, request for suspension of the promotion or confiscation of prizes in extreme cases. And, if there are three prior warnings, the prohibition of carrying out promotions for a period of 180 days
Since the last Accountability Law, it was established that economic sanctions may also be applied. They range from 10 to 1,000 Adjustable Units, which will be graduated taking into account the offender’s background, market position and the severity of the non-compliance.
The above represents an important change by introducing the possibility of applying fines that until now were not in the list of possible sanctions, which, depending on the case, could become considerable.
For more information contact:
Carla Arellano | Counselor Ferrere | carellano@ferrere.com
by Juan Manuel González | Nov 10, 2023 | Noticias-en
The Legislature of the province of Río Negro approved the law that complements the National Law of Minimum Budgets for Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change No. 27,520, through which provincial actions and strategies for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change are established. with the aim of protecting the inhabitants, the environment and contributing to sustainable development.
Establishes that the Provincial Action Plan against Climate Change is the base instrument for implementing the provincial policy to respond to climate change. Defines the specific actions necessary to achieve the objectives established by the policy. It is made up of a Provincial Mitigation Plan and a Provincial Adaptation Plan. It contains the goals, actions, execution schedule, evaluation mechanisms and necessary budget.
The Plan contains at least:
a. An analysis of the changes observed in the main present and future climate variables.
b. The identification and evaluation of current and future climate risk according to climate threats, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity of people, ecosystems and infrastructure.
c. The identification of critical regions, sectors, activities and climate risk groups.
d. A qualitative and quantitative goal of the necessary adaptation efforts.
and. A quantifiable, anthropic, fair and ambitious emissions reduction goal.
F. The survey of government actions with an impact on the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy, as well as review mechanisms for said actions.
g. Mitigation and adaptation actions necessary to achieve the planned goals. Description of the monitoring processes, evaluation of actions and definition of baselines and indicators.
Also, the enforcement authority will establish, within the period established by the regulations, measures and actions that seek to limit the magnitude or rate of global warming and its related effects. Mitigation actions include, but are not limited to:
a) Development and implementation of renewable and low-emission energy sources.
b) Promotion of energy efficiency in all sectors of the economy.
c) Promotion of carbon capture and storage, including reforestation and improvement of forest management.
d) Establishment of measures to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, including the promotion of low-emission modes of transportation.
e) Implementation of sustainable waste management programs to reduce emissions from waste management.
f) Development of carbon credit systems that encourage the reduction of emissions.
g) Promotion of sustainable agricultural and land management practices that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
h) Application of technologies and practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry.
The mitigation strategy will be governed by the principle of progressivity, taking into account the efforts established in the international framework and the specific contribution to the contribution determined at the national level.
On the other hand, it establishes that the Climate Change Cabinet may establish a Carbon Emissions Credit System based on the creation of measurable units, called carbon credits, that represent a reduction or elimination of greenhouse gas emissions. Each credit corresponds to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that has been avoided or extracted from the atmosphere. Entities, whether public or private, can generate carbon credits through projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase the capacity of carbon sinks. The regulations will determine the percentage of income obtained through the sale of Carbon Emissions Credits generated by provincial public projects that will be allocated to the Climate Action Fund of the Province of Río Negro.
Likewise, it provides that the province, municipalities and development commissions promote the generation, conservation and restoration of carbon sinks, prioritizing, as far as technically and economically viable, the use of native species.
For more information contact:
Gustavo Papeschi | Partner of Beccar Varela | gpapeschi@beccarvarela.com
by Juan Manuel González | Nov 6, 2023 | Noticias-en
We invite you to read the publication of El Mercurio, a space where our associate Constanza Pasarin referred to the sanctions after misleading advertising on digital platforms.
From large companies such as Codelco to public figures such as journalist Mauricio Bustamante, this year they have been the subject of false publications on different digital platforms, whether social networks, search engines, among others.
This is what is known as cyber hoaxes, where cybercriminals use images of people or organizations to spread false content, in order to attract web users to scam them or extract their personal data.
The problem is that this practice is increasingly common, and not only are users affected through misleading or malicious advertising, but also those who turn out to be victims of the use of their image.
In this regard, Constanza Pasarin, lawyer of the Compliance/Tech Group of Albagli Zaliasnik, points out that in Chile the regulation of advertising, regardless of the medium through which it is disseminated, is established mainly in Law 19,496 or Consumer Law, which establishes standards for the protection of consumer rights.
However, it warns that in the context of social networks and platforms where misleading advertising is spread, the prosecution of those behind these practices continues to be a challenge. “This is due, in part, to the intermediary role these platforms play, as well as the geographic location of the product or service provider. If you are abroad, the consumer protection law would not be applicable,” says the lawyer, who is also a member of the legal, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence & women and technology table at ACTI.
Despite the above, it says that if you want to start a legal process against a company in Chile, you can always resort to the National Consumer Service (Sernac), which is the authority in charge of supervising and sanctioning those who promote misleading advertising. . The fines and compensation to consumers will depend on the circumstances of each case, but the regulations establish that they could reach up to 1,500 UTM or even 2,250 UTM (about $144 million, considering the value of the UTM of November of this year) in situations that affect the health, safety or environment of the population.
In addition, it indicates that the Council for Self-Regulation and Advertising Ethics (Conar), made up of private companies and institutions representing the advertising sector in the country, provides guidelines related to this issue, as well as the Electronic Commerce Regulation, which imposes obligations related to the advertising of products marketed through electronic commerce platforms and grants rights to consumers. Of course, they have no legal powers.
Digital stance
On the digital platforms side, Google maintains that they already have solid and clear advertising policies that they harshly apply to protect the ecosystem from fraud situations, reduce hate or misinformation, and stop inappropriate experiences for children. “We develop and enforce policies that help keep people and our partners safe when using our advertising tools,” they say.
And they add: “Our dedication to this cause is reflected in the actions we have taken. In 2022, we added or updated 29 policies for advertisers and publishers, expanded our financial services verification program, and strengthened our election-related ad policies, among others. This allowed us to remove more than 5.2 billion ads, restrict more than 4.3 billion ads, and suspend more than 6.7 million accounts of advertisers who violated our policies. “These efforts represent a significant increase over the previous year.”
Along these lines, Google indicates that it combines human reviews with automated systems based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, which helps them identify violations around the world and take quick and effective measures. “We understand that challenges continue to evolve in the digital world, and that is why we continue to invest in our policies and enforcement. This includes expanding our financial services certification program to protect people from scammers and prevent fraud. Additionally, we are committed to confronting sophisticated threats from malicious actors who attempt to evade detection.”
In the case of Facebook, Constanza Pasarin comments, for example, that the social network recently implemented new measures to combat misleading advertising on its platform. Under this policy, she explains, the company will examine negative reviews submitted by users about businesses that advertise on the platform, with the aim of preventing abuses against consumers.
The lawyer adds that, within this new policy, Facebook will allow users to file complaints related to companies that have experienced problems, either due to dissatisfaction with the quality of the promised products or offers that were not fulfilled as announced in the social network. What’s more, if a significant number of complaints are detected directed at the same company, the latter will be prohibited from publishing new ads on the platform. However, companies will be guaranteed the right to reply and the possibility of responding to complaints.
“For this reason, it is highly advisable to verify the reputation of the company that offers a product or service before making a purchase through a platform or social network, verify if the company is located abroad and examine reviews to avoid being left unprotected” , maintains Constanza Pasarin.
For more information you can contact :
Francisca Franzani | Compliance Group Director | ffranzani@az.cl