Context: Health Emergency

 

Date:     June 12^th 2020

 

As a consequence of COVID-19 Pandemic and the implementation of the “Social Preventive and Mandatory Isolation” (SPMI), our legislation has been affected by regular and permanent updates. Within the past few months, a series of norms have been published in the Official Gazette in order to regulate issues relevant to the operability and functioning of the companies in our country.

Hereunder, we will proceed to briefly describe our regulation´s initial situation by the time the health emergency was declared and detail the main aspects of it that are in force nowadays.

 

BACKGROUND TO THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION

Worldwide Pandemic and Public Emergency

Once the COVID-19 (also known as Coronavirus) was declared as a Worldwide Pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) and considering the rate and characteristics of its spreading, the Argentinian Government decided to get ahead of the situation and publish Decree N° 260/2020. The mentioned Decree was included on March 12^th Special Supplement of the Official Gazette and decided to extend for one year since its publication, the Public Emergency declared by Law N° 27.541/2020 (Law of Social Solidarity and Productive Reactivation in the framework of Public Emergency). Also, some measures regarding the containment and mitigation of the risks of transmission were taken, such as:

1. Enforcement Authority: The Decree assigned the Ministry of Health as the enforcement authority, empowering them to carry out any act aimed to mitigate the spread of the pandemic and its health impact.
2. Affected Areas: By the time the Decree was published, the areas that were affected by the COVID-19 were (i) member states of the European Union, (ii) members of the Schengen Area, (iii) United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, (iv) United States, (v) Republic of Korea, (vi) Japan State,(vii) Popular Republic of China and  (viii) Iran Republic. Notwithstanding this, the norm stated that the information will be actualized on daily basis by the Ministry of Health. Nowadays, the affected áreas have grown considerably.
3. Mandatory Isolation: Before the SPMI was established, the authorities implemented a compulsory isolation for the term of 14 days for people who (i) were suspected of becoming infected, (ii) were confirmed cases, (iii) were in contact with confirmed cases, (iv) have arrived from affected areas or had prior arrivals to those places. Moreover, it stated that non-residential foreigners that do not comply with the mandatory isolation norms and sanitary measures in force (except dispositions of the migratory and health authority), cannot enter nor remain in our country. If the isolation is breached, the Decree anticipates the presentation of penal claims according to Articles 205, 239 and concordant of the Penal Code. It is important to point out that, through Resolution N° 627/2020, emitted on March 20th 2020, the Ministry of Health adopted mandatory indications for the isolation of people that were among the mentioned cases
4. Symptoms report: Anybody that presents symptoms compatible to the COVID-19 is obligated to immediately report this situation to the health caring staff.
5. Flights temporary suspensions: At first, international flights from the affected areas were suspended for 30 days. This measure, after the “SPMI”, increased. It is convenient to remark that the aforementioned Resolution N° 627/2020 also determined that: (i) regarding the crew of transports from and to countries considered as affected areas, they must stay in isolation at the hotel or their residence and once this measure is fulfilled, they will be exempted from completing the term of 14 days of mandatory isolation as long as they don’t present symptoms and in order to give continuity to their labor activity in consideration of the need of the service; and (ii) to travelers that have remained “in transit” in a country considered as affected areas, it was disposed that they were exempted of complying with the mandatory isolation once they entered the country.
6. Public Sector Performance: The National Public Sector needs to coordinate actions. So as to achieve this, the Ministries Cabinet Chief will coordinate with the agencies of the National Public Sector, the implementation of the measures and policies for compliance of the recommendations provided by the health authority. The Cabinets Chief will also coordinate the “General Coordination Unit of the Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention of Public Health Events of International Importance” (which replaces the General Coordination Unit of the Comprehensive Influenza Pandemic Plan and the Executive Commission created by Decree 644/07), which will be composed by the relevant areas of the Ministry of Health and the other jurisdictions and entities that have competence on the matter.
7. Mass Events: In respect of mass attendance events, the Decree: (i) closes museums, sports centers, game rooms, restaurants, swimming pools and other places of public access; (ii) suspends public shows and all other massive events; (iii) imposes safety distances and other necessary measures to avoid crowds. The norm adds that, in order to implement this measure, actions must be coordinated with the corresponding jurisdictional authorities.

Furthermore, the National Migration Direction published on March 12th 2020 the Disposition Nº 1644/2020 with the purpose of regulating the migratory situation of people who come from the countries with high risk of COVID-19 contagion (affected areas). This disposition includes measures whose sole implementation is based on preventing the spreading of the virus in the Argentinian Republic, specifically related to the transitory suspension of: (i) temporary residence admission requests, (ii) transitory residence requests, (iii) on-line processes related to Electronic Travel Authorization, and (iv) in the Argentinian consulates the process of entry permits and visas as temporary and/or transitory residents from previously detailed countries.

Moreover, by means of Decree Nº 287/2020 issued on March 18th 2020, Decree N° 260/2020 was modified and extended, including among other issues, that during the term of the Health Emergency, jurisdictions, organisms and entities are empowered to develop a direct hiring of goods and services that are considered necessary in order to attend the situation, without being subject to the contracting regime of the National Public Administration or its specific contracting regimes. When they proceed this way, they must make a subsequent publication at the National Contracting Office web site and the Official Gazette. The Ministries Chief of Cabinet will establish the rules that will apply in the Goods and Service Hiring procedure.

On the other hand, with the aforementioned Resolution Nº 627/2020, social distance indications were approved, indicating that they are compulsory in areas that are public, semi-public, and private with free or restricted access whether this is paid or free of charge. In addition, the risk groups established in the context of Decree Nº 260/20 were stated, such as people with (i) chronic respiratory diseases, (ii) heart diseases, (iii) diabetics, (iv) chronic kidney failure that are going through dialysis or are expected to have dialysis in the following six months, (v) immunodeficiencies, (vi) cancer or transplant patients and (vii) disabilities certificate. Regarding the last cases, in the matter of labor licenses and in order to fulfill with the confidentiality obligation towards the patients, the Resolution established that doctors could indicate the licenses only by mentioning that the workers are reached by article 3 of the mentioned norm or the sectorial regulation that defined the “risk groups”

Finally, with Decree Nº 274/2020 (published on March 16th 2020) it was forbitten the entry from all the access points to our country of foreigner non-residents. Originally, this was established for the term of 15 calendar days to be counted from March 16^th 2020. The mentioned norm also determined a few exclusions to this rule, such as those affected to (i) the transfer of goods in cargo transport for international commerce operations, (ii) the carriers and crew of ships and airplanes and (iii) flight operations and sanitary transfers. This will all take place if the exempted people are asymptomatic and fulfill with the recommendations and instructions that the sanitary national authority disposes. Once the “SPMI” was established, this norm was extended and modified. We will proceed to give more details about this aspect in the section identified as MEASURES RELATED TO THE ENTRY TO THE NATIONAL TERRITORY.

 

SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION: ESTABLISHMENT

Considering the sanitary impact of COVID-19, the advance of the pandemic and that despite the initial measures taken it was not possible to stop or mitigate the spread, the Argentinian Government decided to publish on March 20^th 2020, the Decree N° 297/2020. This norm was created in order to mitigate the expansion of the virus, its impact in the health system, and to protect the health and life of the people in our country, especially because there is still no preventive vaccine nor an effective antiviral treatment.

One of the most important measure taken by the Decree was to establish the preventive and mandatory social isolation between the period of March 20^th, 2020 till March 31^st, 2020. Notwithstanding this, the aforementioned isolation was extended by the following norms:

• On March 31^st 2020, Decree N° 325/2020 was issued to prolong the quarantine until April 12^th
• Decree N° 355/2020 (published on April 11^th 2020) selected as the new isolation end-date April 26^th 2020
• By means of Decree N° 408/2020 emitted on April 26^th 2020, it was extended until May 10^th
• Decree N° 459/2020 prolonged it until May 24^th
• Through Decree N°493/2020 (posted on May 25^th 2020), the extension was established until June 7^th
• Finally, it was extended until June 28^th by Decree 520/2020, published on June 8^th (currently in force). It is important to point out that this last Decree extends the “SPMI” only for people that reside or are located in urban settlements and departments and parties of the Argentinian provinces, that do not positively comply with the epidemiologic and sanitary parameters provided by article 2 of the aforementioned Decree (for those who fulfill the requirements, the Social, Preventive and Mandatory Distancing will apply).

The SPMI regulation includes a series of general prohibitions for the entire country, such as: (1.) On site teaching for all levels and modalities, (2.) Public and private events: social, cultural, recreational, sporting, religious and any other kind of event involving the conglomeration of people, (3.) Shopping centers, cinemas, theatres, cultural centers, libraries, museums, restaurants, bars, gyms, clubs and any other public or private space that involves the attendance of people, (4.) Interurban, interjurisdictional and international public passenger transport, except for those who must travel to carry out the activities referred to in article 6 of Decree N° 297/20, in Administrative Decisions N° 429/20, 450/20, 468/20, 490/20, 524/20 and 703/20 (activities exempt from compliance with “social isolation, preventive and compulsory”). The Head of the Cabinet of Ministers is empowered to expand or reduce the list provided for in this Article. (5.) Tourist activities, opening of parks, squares or similar.

For these cases, the Ministries Cabinet Chief´s may only make exceptions after the intervention of the national health authority and at the request of the provincial authority or the Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

 

THE MEASURE: IMPLICATIONS

During the term of the isolation, people who are within the national territory must remain in their habitual residences or in the place where they are and abstain from attending their workplaces. This means people are not allowed to go to their workplaces and cannot travel on routes, roads, and public spaces. Only minimal trips are allowed to purchase supplies such as medicines, food, or cleaning products.

Also, cultural, recreational, sports shows, religious gatherings or any other event that involves the conglomeration of people are suspended and shopping centers, wholesale and retail establishments and any other place that involves the presence of people are not allowed to open.

 

COMPLIANCE CONTROLS 

In order to guarantee the compliance with the measure, the Decree establishes that the Ministry of Security will set permanent controls on routes, roads and public spaces, accesses, and other strategic places. This measure must be coordinated between the provincial jurisdictions and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Moreover, the authorities of the other jurisdictions and organizations of the national public sector, within the scope of their competences, in coordination with provincial jurisdictions and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, must establish inspection procedures.

 

NON- COMPLIANCE

In case of non-compliance with “SPMI” or related measures, the Decree states the first action to be taken must be to stop the offending behavior. After this, the competent authority will handle the situation, within the framework of articles 205, 239 and concordant of the Penal Code. The mentioned articles penalize with “prison from six months to two years to anyone who violates the measures adopted by the competent authorities to prevent the introduction or spread of an epidemic” (art. 205 Penal Code), and “fifteen days to one year, for anyone who resists or disobeys a public official in the legitimate exercise of his functions or the person who provides assistance at his request or by virtue of a legal obligation” (art. 239 Penal Code).

On the other hand, the norm foresees that the Ministry of Security will have the authority to retain the vehicles that circulate in violation of the provisions of the Decree.

EXCEPTIONS.

However, the regulation also establishes that people affected by the activities and services declared essential in the emergency are exempted from complying with the “SPMI” and the prohibition on movement. They must limit their movements to the fulfilment of those activities and services and their employees must guarantee the hygiene and security conditions established by the Health Ministry. Currently, the exceptions are those listed below, but the list may be extended or reduced depending on the progress of the epidemiological situation:

1. Health Personnel, Security Forces, Armed Forces, migratory activity, national meteorological service, firefighters, and air traffic control.
2. Higher authorities of the governments, workers of the public sector summoned to guarantee essential activities required by the respective authorities.
3. Personnel of the justice services on duty.
4. Foreign diplomatic and consular personnel accredited to the Argentine government, and personnel of international organizations accredited to the Argentine government, of the Red Cross and White Helmets.
5. Persons who must assist others with disabilities; family members needing assistance; older people; to boys, girls and adolescents.
6. People who must attend to a situation of force majeure.
7. People affected to the performance of funeral services, burials and cremations, although activities that mean gathering of people are not authorized. With regards of this section, the Administrative Decision Nº 450/2020 clarifies that the people affected to activities destined to the provision of inputs needed to the performance of funeral services, burials and cremations.
8. People the affected to the attention of children and community dining halls.
9. Personnel that works in audiovisual, radio and graphic communication services.
10. Personnel affected by public works.
11. Wholesale and retail supermarkets and local retail stores. Pharmacy. Ironmongery. Veterinary. Carafes supply.
12. Food industries, their production chain and supplies; personal hygiene and cleanliness; of medical equipment, medicines, vaccines and other sanitary supplies. Administrative Decision Nº 429/2020 adds that when the Decree talks about the Food Industry, it refers to those who integrate the chain of value of inputs of the productive areas of food and beverages, personal hygiene and cleaning products, medical equipment, vaccines and other sanitary goods.
13. Activities related to the production, distribution and commercialization of agriculture and fishing.
14. Telecommunications fixed and mobile internet and digital services activities. The Administrative Decision Nº 450/2020 clarifies that server’s maintenance activities are included.
15. Non-deferrable activities related to foreign trade.
16. Collection, transport and treatment of urban solid waste, dangerous and pathogenic.
17. Maintenance of basic services (water, electricity, gas, communications, etc.) and emergency care.
18. Public passenger transportation, transportation of goods, oil, fuels and LPG.
19. Home delivery of food, medicines, hygiene products, cleaning products and other supplies of need.
20. Laundry services.
21. Postal and packages distribution services.
22. Essential surveillance, cleaning and guard services.
23. Minimum guards to ensure the operation and maintenance of Oil and Gas Fields, Oil and gas treatment and / or refining plants, transportation and distribution of electrical energy, liquid fuels, oil and gas, fuel dispensing stations and generators of electric power.
24. Casa de la Moneda, ATM services, transportation of values and activities that the CENTRAL BANK OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC has essential to guarantee the operation of the payment system.

Through the Administrative Decision N° 429/2020, publishes on the Special Supplement of March 20^th, 2020, 10 more activities and services were added to the list. This means that the people that work in those areas are exempted to complying to the social and preventive mandatory isolation and the prohibition to move freely. We will proceed to list them below:

• Industries that carry out continuous processes whose interruption involves structural damage to production lines and/or machinery may request authorization from the Secretary of Industry, Knowledge Economy and External Commercial Management, not to discontinue their production, minimizing their activity and staff.
• Production and distribution of biofuel.
• Nuclear Plants operations
• Hotels at service of the Health Emergency. Supplies for the people that live there must be guaranteed according to what the Decree 297/2020 demands.
• Minimum staff needed to keep the operations in the Argentinian Plant of Planes of Saint Martin S.A.
• If necessary, the National Securities Commission authorities may authorize to work a minimum amount of personnel and regulators.
• Airport operations. Garages and packings operations with minimal staff.
• Activities related to miner’s environmental protection.
• Tanneries for leather from the cold storage activities. (also, with minimum personnel).
• Restaurant, stores with ready meals and fast food establishments may sell their products through the delivery service, if they follow the specific protocol established by the sanitary authorities. However, they are forbidden to sell their food with the on-site modality.

Another situation that the Administrative Decision addresses is related to religious congregations. Of course, temples cannot perform masses nor any kind of religious events that imply the gathering of people, but the regulation allows the ministries of different cults to move freely in order to assist people in spiritual matters.

Moreover, on March 20th 2020 the Disposition Nº 80/2020 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenue was issued. This norm establishes (i) actions of control and audits related to customs, tax and social security resources revenues, (ii) control and audits of people, goods and means of transport in the area of exterior commerce and (iii) collaboration duties with other public authorities,  as activities and services that are essential to the emergency.

After this, on April 3rd 2020 by the Administrative Decision N° 450/2020, 8 new activities and services considered essential to the emergency were added. Hereunder, we will list them:

1. Sales construction goods and materials provided by pens.
2. Activities related to miners and forestry production, distribution and Commercialization.
3. Tanneries, sawmills and products made of Wood fabrics as well as matrices, agricultural and road machineries fabrics.
4. Activities linked to exterior commerce: elaborated products exports and essential imports for the functioning of the economy.
5. Exploration, prospecting, production, transformation and Commercialization of nuclear fuel.
6. Essential services of maintenance and fumigation.
7. Mutuals and credit cooperatives, through minimal guards, to the sole purpose of guaranteeing the functioning of the credit and payment system.
8. Peoples registration, identification and documentation.

Subsequently, on April 7^th 2020, two Administrative Decisions were published. The aim of the norms was focused on extending the list of activities and services declared essential in the emergency context. Hereunder we will proceed to mention the activities and services that the mentioned norms included in the extension: (i) the Administrative Decision N° 468/2020 incorporates to the list, private energy infrastructure work; and (ii) Administrative Decision N° 467/2020, adds the notaries’ activities, limited to enabling compliance with the activities and services considered essential, with the relevant notarial acts being granted only with the intervention of the people who are necessary for this purpose, avoiding all types of meetings. The latter rule adds that any request for notarial service, aimed at preventing the transfer or movement of people considered to be at risk, shall be granted for free. To obtain this free service, the holder of the benefits of Retirement, Pensions, Universal Allowance for Children, Universal Allowance for Pregnancy, Emergency Family Income or similar benefit from the National Social Security Administration, must require it.

Following this line, the Administrative Decision N° 490/2020 published on April 11^th 2020, decided to keep extending the list of exceptions to preventive and compulsory social isolation, including the following activities:

1. Circulation of people with disabilities and those with autism spectrum disorder for short outings in the vicinity of their residence, together with a family member or partner.
2. Professional services at home, aimed at persons with disabilities and those persons included in the group of autism spectrum disorder.
3. Banking activity with public attention, exclusively with a shift system.
4. Workshops for the maintenance and reparation of automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles, exclusively for public transport, vehicles of the security forces and armed forces, vehicles affected by health benefits or personnel with authorization to travel
5. Sale of spare parts and components for cars, motorcycles and bicycles only on a door-to-door basis. Under no circumstances may they be sold to the public.
6. Manufacture of tires; sale and repair of the same exclusively for public transport, vehicles of the security forces and armed forces, vehicles affected by health services or personnel with authorization to drive, in accordance with the regulations in force.
7. Sale of bookshop articles and computer supplies, exclusively under the home delivery modality. Under no circumstances may the service be provided to the public.

On the other hand, Administrative Decision N° 524/2020 was posted on April 18^th 2020 with the same purpose as the norms mentioned prior. The exceptions extended to compliance with the “SPMI” and the prohibition of movement, in the area of the Provinces of La Pampa, Neuquén, Formosa, Santa Cruz, Currents, Tierra Del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, Salta, San Juan, Córdoba, Jujuy, La Rioja, Chubut, Catamarca, Río Negro, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Chaco, Buenos Aires, San Luis and Misiones and to the City of Buenos Aires, to the personnel affected by the following activities and services:

1. Establishments carrying out activities of collection of services and taxes.
2. Revenue offices of the provinces, CABA and municipalities, with minimum shift and guard systems.
3. National and provincial registry activity, with a system of minimum shifts and guards.
4. Sale of ready-made goods from retail shops, through e-commerce platforms, telephone sales and other mechanisms that do not require personal contact with customers and only through home delivery with the appropriate health checks, protocols and logistics planning. Under no circumstances may the aforementioned shops open their doors to the public.
5. Scheduled medical and dental care, of a preventive nature and monitoring of chronic diseases, with a pre-shift system.
6. Clinical analysis laboratories and image diagnosis centers, with a previous shift system.
7. Opticians, with a previous shift system.
8. Insurance company claims adjusters and valuers to enable the settlement and payment of claims reported to beneficiaries. Under no circumstances may the public be served, and all procedures must be carried out virtually, including the corresponding payments.
9. Establishments for the support of victims of gender violence.
10. Production for export, with prior authorization from the Ministry of Production Development.
11. Specific industrial processes, with prior authorization from the Ministry of Production Development.

On the other hand, Resolution Nº 179/2020 of the Ministry of Productive Development was published on April 24^th 2020, which provides the parameters to be considered for the authorization of activities under section 10 and 11 of Article 1 of Administrative Decision Nº 524/2020 (section 10 – production for export, with prior authorization from the Ministry Of Productive Development; and paragraph 11 – specific industrial processes, with prior authorization from the Ministry Of Productive Development). This rule indicates that these authorizations become effective at the discretion of the Provincial Authorities and City of Buenos Aires, according to each jurisdiction, in accordance with the rules issued by the competent Local Authorities. It is important to remark that, with regard to the requirements, Annex I of the regulation provides the following considerations:

• For activities of the above-mentioned section 10:

o to have the proper international purchase orders.

o to have registered international sales during the years 2019 and/or 2020.

• For the activities of the section 11:

o Production of goods destined to the direct provision of the following activities and/or sectors: Hardware stores; Provision of carafes; Maintenance of basic services (water, electricity, gas, communications, etc.) ) and emergency attention; Oil and Gas fields, treatment and/or refining plants of Oil and Gas, transport and distribution of electric energy, liquid fuels, oil and gas, fuel vending stations and electric energy generators; Operations of nuclear power plants; Production and distribution of biofuel; Sale of construction supplies and materials provided by corralones; Tanneries, sawmills and wood product factories, mattress factories and road and agricultural machinery factories; Workshops for the maintenance and repair of automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles, exclusively for public transport, vehicles of the security forces and armed forces, vehicles affected by health benefits or personnel with authorization to circulate, in accordance with the regulations in force; Sale of computer inputs; Opticians; Industries that carry out continuous processes provided that they have been authorized.

o the manufacture of stoves, heaters and heating appliances for domestic use is also considered a specific industrial process authorized.

Finally, regarding the extension of the list of exempted activities and services and the prohibition to circulate, the following Administrative Resolutions were published on April 24^th 2020:

• Administrative Decision N° 625/2020, relates to the Provinces of San Juan, Misiones, Neuquén, Santa Cruz, Entre Ríos, Salta, Mendoza, La Pampa and Jujuy. It involves people affected by the development of private works, in compliance with the health protocols established by each jurisdiction. Without prejudice to this, each provincial jurisdiction shall issue the necessary regulations and the respective governor may revoke the authorization according to epidemiological developments.
• Administrative Decision 622/2020, in the Provinces of Entre Ríos, Misiones, Salta, San Juan, Neuquén and Jujuy, extends the authorization for the liberal professions. However, each provincial jurisdiction shall issue the necessary regulations and the respective governor may revoke the authorization according to epidemiological developments.
• Administrative Decision 607/2020 extends to the province of Tucumán the exceptions previously provided for by Administrative Decision No. 524/2020.

Moreover, Decree N° 408/2020 (which extended the SPMI until May 10^th 2020) clarified that governors may establish exceptions to the circulation prohibition as long as some parameters are fulfilled (such as the capacity of the health system, that the proportion of persons exempted does not exceed 50% of the population of the jurisdiction, etc.). The same decree also provides the possibility of short outputs without going further than 500 meters from the residence, for those who comply with the “preventive and compulsory social isolation” according to certain parameters, with the local authorities having to issue the relevant regulations and being able to limit or suspend this possibility.

Likewise, the Administrative Decision N° 729/2020, issued on May 7^th 2020, established the following new exceptions to “SPMI”, applicable only in the jurisdictions stated below:

Jurisdiction	Department/Areas/ Conglomerates	Activity/Service
Mendoza	Gran Mendoza	1. Liberal Professions (Lawyers, Accountants, Brokers, etc.). 2. Hairdressers.
Buenos Aires	General Pueyrredón Party	1. Paint sellers. 2. Real Estate Auctioneer and Broker. 3. Economic Science and Professional Council. 4. Surveyor and Council. 5. Food Shops with take away modality. 6. Architecture Studies, technical offices and Schools for the development of construction. 7. Private Works.
Salta	Salta Province	1. Trade in its various forms so that they can commercialize already elaborated goods, with respect to the limitations on custom service. 2. Activities related with food will only be accepted in the takeaway form or if the purchase is done to consume outside the shop.
Santa Fe	Gran Santa Fe/Gran Rosario	1. Real State. 2. Relocation services

 

Moreover, the aforementioned Decree N° 459/2020 (which extended the SPMI and its complementary regulations until May 24^th  2020), indicates  the steps to follow in case of “NEW EXCEPTIONS” in: (i) AREAS OF MORE THAN 500.000 HABITANTS, EXCEPT THE BUENOS AIRES METROPOLITAN AREA (BAMA); (ii) AREAS OF LESS THAN 500.000 HABITANTS, EXCEPT THE BAMA; and (iii) THE BAMA. For every case, there are steps to be taken by the Governors or by the Head of Government, and the decree includes an Annex detailing the protocols authorized by the national health authority. If the activity to be authorized does not have a previously approved protocol included in the Annex, then it must be accompanied by a proposed protocol that provides, as a minimum, the compliance with all the recommendations and instructions issued by the national health authority. With regard to BAMA, this is a common urban area that composes the CITY OF BUENOS AIRES and the 40 Municipalities of the Province of BUENOS AIRES (Almirante Brown, Avellaneda, Berazategui, Berisso, Brandsen, Campana, Cañuelas, Ensenada, Escobar, Esteban Echeverría, Exaltación de la Cruz, Ezeiza, Florencio Varela, General Las Heras, General Rodríguez, General San Martín, Hurlingham, Ituzaingó, José C. Paz, La Matanza, Lanús, La Plata, Lomas de Zamora, Luján, Marcos Paz, Malvinas Argentinas, Moreno, Merlo, Morón, Pilar, Presidente Perón, Quilmes, San Fernando, San Isidro, San Miguel, San Vicente, Tigre, Tres de Febrero, Vicente López and Zárate). In this area, the exceptions will only be authorized if the employer guarantees the transfer of the workers, without the use of the public service of transport of passengers by bus, train and subway.

Subsequently, the Administrative Decision Nº 763/2020 (emitted on May 12^th 2020), established new exceptions to the compliance with the “SPMI” and the prohibition of movement of people affected to certain activities, services and professions for the City of Buenos Aires, the Province of Buenos Aires and the Province of Santa Fe, as detailed below:

Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

1.- Proximity retailing with attention to the public, except for clothing and footwear

2.- Removals: freights and mini freights,

3.- Privately managed educational establishments: minimum guards for administrative activity without attention to the public,

4.- Notarial activity,

5.- Personnel affected by the demolition and excavation activity,

6.- Gastronomic shops exclusively for the “TAKEAWAY” modality.

Province of Buenos Aires

General Pueyrredón 1.- Recycling of metal products. 2.- Manufacture of special use machines. 3.- Manufacture of knitted fabrics. 4.- Manufacture of clothing. 5.- Manufacture of textile products 6.- Notaries and its council. 7.- Automobile and motorcycles selling stores 8.- Hairdressers 9.- Services provided by Insurance Consultant Producer. 10. Speech therapists. 11. Technical Professionals related to construction, engineering and their council.	Avellaneda Companies: 1.-ANSELMO L. MORVILLO SA (CUIT 30549547288). 2.-FACHAL Y GOMEZ SRL (CUIT 30662202750). 3.-TABACALERA SARANDI SA (CUIT 30677421548) 3.-Basic chemical substances manufacture. 4.-Machine manufacturing. 5.-Metal products manufacturers. 6.-Metal and iron basic industry.
Lujan 1.- Presential Ensurance Producers Payments. 2.- Hairdressers.	MERLO 1.- Cigarrets production
Tigre 1.- Automotive Vehicles Industries.	Provincia de Buenos Aires Autopistas de Buenos Aires S.A. (AUBASA)

 

Gran Rosario y Gran Santa Fe

1.- Associations and Agencies that perform development activities or entities with a similar purpose.

2.- Liberal professions, including agents, brokers and auctioneers duly registered and enrolled.

4.- Wholesale and retail trade of goods, in the towns that form part of the large urban agglomerations of Santa Fe and Rosario.

5.- Private works, that need more than five (5) workers, and provided that the works do not involve entering homes with residents, premises or establishments in operation.

7.- Insurance activity, behind closed doors, with the minimum necessary staff.

8.- Home collection activities.

9.- Mechanical workshops, washing, maintenance and repairing services for auto and motor vehicles.

10.- Hairdressing, manicure, cosmetology and podiatry services.

To this end, certain requirements must be fulfilled, such as ensuring the shift system, working methods and transfers that guarantee the necessary distance and hygiene measures. Each provincial jurisdiction and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires must issue the necessary regulations for the development of the activities, services and professions exempted.

On the other hand, the Administrative Decision N 766/2020 published on May 13^th 2020 established new exceptions to compliance with the “Social Preventive and Mandatory Isolation” and the prohibition of movement of people affected to certain activities, services and professions for the Provinces of Mendoza, Salta and Jujuy, as detailed below:

Salta Province 1.- Gastronomy, cleaning and staff from bars and restaurants. 2.- Individual sports practice.   Jujuy Province 1.- Coffee Shops and restaurants. 2.- Shopping centers. 3.- Galleries.

Gran Mendoza 1.- Trade in general. Custom service limited to 50%of the capacity of the shop. 2.- Lottery and Gaming Agencies. 3.- Bars, coffee shops and restaurants (with take away modality until May 18th 2020 and as of that date custom service on site). 4.- Relocation services. 5.- Domestic service.

 

On 16^th May 2020, the Administrative Decision N° 810/2020 was published, extending the list of activities and services throughout the national territory with the exception of the BAMA for: (i) Individual religious activities in churches, temples and cult places, corresponding to the Roman Catholic Church and religious entities registered in the National Register of Cults, as long as they do not celebrate ceremonies involving the gathering of people; (ii) activity and service of maintenance and repair of railway rolling stock, vessels, ships and aircraft; (iii) the manufacture and supply of inputs and spare parts essential for the provision of railway, air, river or sea transport services and any other service required for the maintenance of the railway, vessels, ships and aircraft services; (iv) and Pilot training activities, developed through private flights, in air clubs and flight schools, in order to maintain the standards of instruction and operational safety, with a maximum of 2 people per aircraft, which must use masks and maintain the proper distance between them, to minimize the risk of contagion; (vi) ANSES personnel; (vii) Professionals and technicians specialized in occupational health and safety; (viii) the activities of the concessionaires of the national road corridors, including toll collection; (ix) Insurance activity developed by insurance, reinsurance companies and intermediaries.

Subsequently, Administrative Decision Nº 818/2020 published on May 19^th 2020 established new exceptions to the Social Preventive and Mandatory Isolation in the Province of Buenos Aires in the following jurisdictions and according to the detail indicated below:

La Matanza Municipality 1.      Automotive and auto parts. 2.      Clothing Industry. 3.      Metallurgical industry, machinery and equipment. 4.      Shoe Industry. 5.      Graphic Industry, editorials and printing. 6.      Wood and furniture Industry. 7.      Toy industry 8.      Textile industry 9.      Chemical and petrochemical industry. 10.  Plastic and subproducts industry.	Pilar Municipality 1.      Tabaco Products 2.      Parts, pieces and accessories manufacture for automobiles and its motors n.c.p.
	Quilmes Municipality. 1.      Toy manufacturing 2.      Textile Products manufacturing.
General San Martin Municipality 1.      Automobile and autoparts 2.      Electric and devices 3.      Clothing 4.      Tabaco products 5.      Metallurgical industry, machinery and equipment. 6.      Shoe Industry. 7.      Graphic Industry, editorials and printing. 8.      Wood and furniture Industry. 9.      Toy industry 10.  Cement 11.  Textile products 12.  Leather manufacture 13.  Tyres 14.  Bicycles and motorcycles 15.  Chemical and Petrochemical 16.  Cellulose and Paper 17.  Plastics and subproducts. 18.  Ceramics.	Tres de Febrero Municipality 1.      Automovile and autoparts
	Zarate Municipality 1.      Automovile and autoparts

 

Finally, on May 22^nd 2020 the Administrative Decision 876/2020 was issued, establishing new exceptions to compliance with the “SPMI” and the prohibition of circulation, for the Provinces of Santa Cruz, Corrientes and Chubut, as detailed below:

Santa Cruz Province 1.       Restaurants, Coffee Shops and Delivery and take away services.

Corrientes Province 1.       Gyms 2.       Bars and restaurants.

Chubut Province 1.       Public transport of interurban passengers for the road that extends between the cities of Rada Tilly and Comodoro Rivadavia. 2.       Public transport of interurban passengers for the road that extends between the cities of Esquel and Trevelin.

 

Subsequently, the Administrative Decision Nº 897/2020, emitted on May 25^th 2020, established new exceptions to SPMI for the Province of Buenos Aires, as detailed below:

Lanus Municipality 1.       Automotive and auto parts 2.       Electronics and appliances 3.       Clothing 4.       Tobacco Products 5.       Metallurgy, machinery and equipment 6.       Footwear 7.       Graphics, editing and printing 8.       Wood and furniture 9.       Toys 10.   Cements 11.   Textile products 12.   Leather goods 13.   Tyres 14.   Bicycles and motorcycles 15.   Chemical and petrochemical 16.   Cellulose and paper 17.   Plastics and by-products Ceramics	CAÑUELAS Municipality 1.       Machinery for the production of food, beverages and tabaco 2.       Electronica and appliances	TRES DE FEBRERO Municipality 1. Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 2.Plastics and by-products
	GENERAL LAS HERAS Municipality 1.       Transport equipment fabrication n.p.c.	MALVINAS ARGENTINAS Municipality. 1.       Provision of auto parts for reposition.
	HURLINGHAM Municipality 1.       Metalurgy Activity	SAN MIGUEL Municipality 1.       Shoe Industry 2.       Textil Industry
	TIGRE Municipality 1.       Autoparts 2.       Plastic Industry	BERAZATEGUI Municipality 1.       Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 2.       Tabaco Products

 

On May 27th, two Administrative Decisions established new exceptions to the SPMI, as detailed below:

Administrative Decision N° 903/2020

PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES GENERAL PUEYREDON 1.       Administration Offices of health mutuals and social Works 2.       Clubhouse Administration Offices 3.       Material Recovery 4.       CEAMSE Recyclers

MENDOZA 1.       Shopping malls

 

Administrative Decision N° 904/2020

PROVINCE DE BUENOS AIRES
Vicente Lopez 1. Automotive and auto parts 2. Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 3. Wood and furniture 4. Leather goods 5. Footwear 6. Graphics, editing and printing 7. Toys 8. Plastics and by-products 9. Steel, aluminum and related metals 10. Electronics and appliances 11. Chemical and petrochemical	Hurlingham 1.       Graphics, editing and printing	Morón 1.       Leather goods 2.       Plastics and by-products 3.       Shoe industry 4.       Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 5.       Automotive and auto parts
	Luján 1.       Wood and furniture 2.       Plastics and by-products. 3.       Chemical and petrochemica. 4.       Cement fabrication 5.       Graphics, editing and printing 6.       Textile products fabrication 7.       Clothing 8.       Leather goods 9.       Shoe industry 10.   Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 11.   Automotive and auto parts	Avellaneda 1.       Graphics, editing and printing 2.       Cellulouse and Paper.
		Esteban Echeverría 1. Electronics and appliances

 

Then, on May 28th 2020, the Administrative Decision N° 909/2020 added the following exceptions:

PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES- BAMA 1.       Relocation services only inside the same jurisdiction.   PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES Except BAMA 1.       Interjurisdictional relocation, as long as they do not come from municipalities with local transmission of the virus.   HURLINGHAM 1.       Textile Products   GENERAL PUEYRREDON 1.       Retailing of bazaar goods. 2.       Retail sale of leather and leather goods 3.       Retail sale of lighting items. 4.       Retail sale of optical and photographic item’s 5.       Retail sale of bicycles and similar vehicles 6.       Retail of books, magazines and newspapers 7.       Repair of computer and communication equipment 8.       Retail sale for cars, motorcycles and bicycles parts. 9.       Sales of toys and leisure products and sports articles for local retail trade. On-site pick-up mode (without trying them on) 10.   Sale of clothing and accessories, footwear and similar for the local retail trade. On- site pick-up mode (without trying them on)

LA PAMPA PROVINCE 1.       Take out places, food trucks, restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, ice-cream shops, confectioneries, and every shop intended to produce and sell or only sale food and/or beverages that have municipal authorization for the attention and permanence of the public on-site. 2.       Gyms 3.       Libraries

 

Subsequently, on May 29^th 2020, two new Administrative Decisions were posted through which they established new exceptions to the “SPMI”, as detailed below:

Administrative Decision N° 919/2020: the personnel of the official lottery agencies, in the area of the Province of Buenos Aires is exempted from the isolation.

Administrative Decision N° 920/2020:

PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES
MALVINAS ARGENTINAS 1.        Automotive and auto parts. 2.       Electronics and household appliances. 3.       Clothing. 4.       Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment. 5.       Graphics, Editions and Printing. 6.       Wood and Furniture. 7.       Cement. 8.       Textile Products 9.       Bicycles and Motorcycles. 10.   Chemicals and Petrochemica 11.   Plastics and by-products. 12.   Ceramics	ALMIRANTE BROWN   1.       Automotive and autoparts 2.       Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment. 3.       Wood and Furniture. 4.       Cement 5.       Textile Products. 6.       Chemical and Petrochemical. 7.       Footwear	PILAR   1.       Metallurgy, Machinery and Equipment 2.       Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products (except cement and ceramics)
		ESTEBAN ECHEVERRIA   1.       Paper and products of paper fabrication
	TIGRE   1.       Navy Industry	SAN ISIDRO   1.       Nautical Industry and boat maintenance.

 

After this, on May 31^st 2020, the Administrative Decisions N° 941/2020 and 942/2020 were published, establishing the following new exceptions:

• Administrative Decision 941/2020: Establishes as exceptions for the compliance of the SPMI and the prohibition to circulate, the personnel affected to the activities and services related to audits and emissions of safety certificates in facilities regulated by (i) Resolutions N° 349/93, 419/93, 404/94 and 419/98 from the ENERGY SECRETARIAT of the former MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND PUBLIC WORKS AND SERVICES, (ii) Resolutions N° 1102/04, 785/05 and 1097/15, from the ENERGY SECRETARIAT of the ex- MINISTRY OF FEDERAL PLANNING, PUBLIC INVESTMENT AND SERVICES, (iii) and Disposition N° 76/97 of the former SUBSECRETARIAT OF FUELS of the ENERGY SECRETARIAT of the former MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND PUBLIC WORKS AND SERVICES, and its amendments and supplements.
• Administrative Decision N° 942/2020
  

  BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE
  SAN ISIDRO 1.       Clothes Manufacture 2.       Bicycles and Motorcycle Fabrication 3.       Shoe Manufacture 4.       Ceramics Manufacture 5.       Wood and Furniture Manufacture 6.       Plastic and by products fabrication 7.       Electronic devices and appliances fabrication. 8.       Metallurgical products, machinery and equipment’s fabrication. 9.       Graphic, editions and printing. 10.   Automotive and autoparts industry.	HURLINGHAM 1.       Ceramics Manufacture 2.       Plastic and by products fabrication 3.       Cellulose and paper 4.       Chemistry and petrochemistry. 5.       Bicycles and Motorcycle Fabrication 6.       Tyres 7.       Leather Manufacture 8.       Cement 9.       Toys 10.   Wood and Furniture Manufacture 11.   Electronic devices and appliances fabrication 12.   Shoe Manufacture 13.   Clothes Manufacture 14.   Automotive and autoparts industry.	GENERAL RODRIGUEZ 1.       Bicycles and Motorcycle Fabrication 2.       Metallurgical products, machinery and equipment’s fabrication. 3.       Automotive and autoparts industry. 4.       Plastic and by products fabrication 5.       Textile Productr Fabrication.	SAN MIGUEL 1.       Metallurgical products, machinery and equipment’s. 2.       Graphic, editions and printing.
  			SAN FERNANDO 1.       Navy Industry: light marine and essential boat maintenance activity in yacht clubs and nurseries
  		BERAZATEGUI 1.       Automotive and autoparts industry 2.       Graphic, editions and printing. 3.       Wood and Furniture Manufacture	LA PLATA 1.       Clothes manufacture
  			ITUZAINGO 1.       Shoes manufacture.

 

Subsequently, on June 3^rd 2020 new exceptions to the SPMI were published in the Official Gazette for Salta, Santa Fe, La Rioja, and Buenos Aires, in accordance with the following Administrative Decisions:

• Administrative Decision 966/2020:

SANTA FE PROVINCE: GRAN SANTA FE AND GRAN ROSARIO   1.       Authorization to the facilities that perform sports activities that do not require physical contact between the participants, prior approval of the particular protocols for each discipline by the local authorities who should count with the assessment of the Ministry of Health from the Province of Santa Fe. 2.       Family gatherings with up to 10 people, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, in private homes, as long as they (i) have a prompt ventilation, (ii) comply with the prevention measures established by the health authorities, (iii) comply with the personal distancing and (iv) with the obligatory use of correct protective elements covering nose, mouth and chin when travelling to and in the facilities. 3.       Examining boards of the academic units of National and Private Universities and Institutes with headquarters in the province of Santa Fe. 4.       Trade unions, business associations, social works, professional associations, political parties, administration of national and private universities with offices in the province and administration of sports entities: Closed doors, with the minimum necessary staff that could attend without using public transport, complying with health prevention measures and personal distance, with entry to the offices of others with previous shift, in cases where it is essential to attend because the operation to be performed cannot be done remotely, working days from Monday to Friday, not being able to exceed the hours of closure of the offices of 19 hours. 5.       Activity of gastronomic premises (bars, restaurants, rotisseries, ice-cream shops, and others selling processed food products), in the “take away” mode, with the minimum necessary staff, complying with the health prevention measures ordered by the authorities, within the establishments and at the time of delivery of the products; 6.       Activity of the retail trade located in premises within shopping centers, commercial walks or shopping, exclusively with the particular modality of payment and delivery previously agreed upon (“pick up”), to be carried out in an adjacent exterior space (parking lots or similar), duly conditioned, complying with the sanitary prevention measures ordered by the authorities, within the establishments and at the time of delivery of the products 7.       Activities of employees of private homes, covered by the regime of Law No. 26844: complying with the health prevention measures and personal distance, provided that the transfer is resolved without the use of public passenger transport, subject to the condition that neither at the worker’s residence nor at the service provider’s home is a person particularly subject to isolation for presenting symptoms of COVID-19, or being under study and not defined as positive for the disease, because the results of the tests are pending; or for returning from areas defined as “at risk” by the national or provincial health authority.

SALTA PROVINCE   1. Gyms and physical exercise facilities. 2.            Sports clubs for the practice of disciplines already exempted. 3.            Circulation of people between municipalities in order to carry out tourist activities in the territory of the province of Salta

PROVINCIA DE LA RIOJA 1.       Outdoor activities 2.       Paddle and Tennis Activities 3.       Golf 4.       Religious Activities

 

Administrative Decision N° 965/2020:

BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE
ALMIRANTE BROWN   1.    Home maintenance service (plumber, gasman, electrician, gardener) 2.    Commercial activities with on-premises retreat – take away (gastronomy, paint shops, sale of electrical materials, wood/furniture, sale of openings, sale of ceramics, automotive parts houses, nurseries). 3.     Professionals (lawyers, accountants, auctioneers, managers, surveyors, notaries, architects) 4.      Professions related to medicine and assistants (kinesiologists, speech therapists, podiatrists, nutritionists) 5.    Vehicle repair workshops (lubricant centers, car washes, brakes, clutches, etc.)	EZEIZA   1.       Automotive and auto parts 2.       Electronic devices and appliances fabrication 3.       Clothes Manufacture 4.       Tabaco 5.       Metallurgic, machinery and equipmements. 6.       Shoe Manufacture 7.       Gráphic, editions and printing. 8.       Wood and Furniture Manufacture 9.       Toys. 10.   Cement 11.   Textile Products. 12.   Leather Manufacture 13.   Tyres, Bicycles and Motorcycle Fabrication 14.   Chemistry and petrochemistry. 15.   Cellulose and paper. 16.   Plastic and by products fabrication 17.   Ceramics Manufacture	EXALTACION DE LA CRUZ   1.       Alumminum Industry and related. 2.       Glass industry 3.       Paint industry 4.       Printing companies (graphic industry, graphic editions and printing) 5.       Car wash 6.       Blacksmiths and carpenters 7.       Bookstore 8.       Kiosks 9.       Telephone, cellular and computers items sale. 10.   Furniture (wood and furniture manufacture) 11.   Cement Factory 12.   Bicycle and motorcycle fabrication. 13.   Cellulose and paper manufacturing. 14.   Plastics and by-productrs. 15.   Ceramics
AVELLANEDA   1. Automotive and auto parts 2. Electronic devices and appliances fabrication 3. Clothes Manufacture 4. Tabaco 5. Metallurgic, machinery and equipment. 6. Shoe Manufacture 7. Wood and Furniture Toys Manufacture 8. Toys 9. Cement 10. Textile Products. 11. Leather Manufacture 12. Tyres 13. Bicycles and Motorcycle Fabrication 14.  Chemistry and petrochemistry. 15. Plastic and by products fabrication 16. Ceramic.	TIGRE   1.       Shoe Manufacture 2.       Cellulose and paper 3.       Cement 4.       Ceramics 5.       Clothes Manufacture 6.       Toys 7.       Leather Manufacture 8.       Tyres manufacture. 9.       Gráphic, editions and printing.	PILAR 1.       Locksmiths 2.       Fodder crops 3.       Bookstores and paper industry 4.       Orthopaedics 5.       Diaper shops 6.       Cellulars sale and reparation shops 7.       Sale and Repair of computer supplies. 8.       Sale and repair of automotive parts.
	GENERAL RODRIGUEZ 1.       Paint and coating manufacturing.	BERAZATEGUI 1.       Cement 2.       . Textile Products. 3.       Chemistry and petrochemistry. 4.       Cellulose and Paper 5.       Plastic and by products fabrication 6.       Ceramic. 7.       Glass
	CAÑUELAS 1.       Metallurgic, machinery and equipmements 2.       Chemistry and petrochemistry.

 

Moreover, on June 5th 2020, the Administrative Decision N° 975/2020 published new exceptions for Buenos Aires, Neuquén and Mendoza:

BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE
QUILMES 1. Lawyers, notaries, accountants 2. Maintenance services: gardeners and poolers 3. Transport related services: sale of automotive and related spare parts 4. Private passenger transport companies 5. Commercial activities with a take-away	MARCOS PAZ 1. Chiropody. 2. Orthopedics. 3. Health professionals (kinesiology, phonoaudiology, nutrition, psychology and psychopedagogy) 4. Administration of private educational institutions, civil associations, sports, cultural (only collection of fees and administrative formalities) 5. Repair and maintenance of electrical appliances with collection and home delivery. 6. Professional services (legal, notary, surveying, architecture, engineering, real estate and insurance).	LANUS 1. Retail sale of bazaar items and household goods 2. Retail sale of furniture and mattresses. 3. Retail sale of household appliances. 4. Retail sale of paper, cardboard and bookstore articles. 5. Retail sale of watches and jewelry. 6. Kinesiology. 7. Chiropody. 8. Notarial activity
ESTEBAN ECHEVERRIA 1. Automotive industry and auto parts 2. Manufacture of metallurgical products, machinery and equipment 3. Chemical and petrochemical manufacturing 4. Plastics and by-products 5. Graphics, editing and printing	VICENTE LOPEZ 1.       Textile products 2.       Clothing 3.       Bicycles and motorcycle 4.       Glass Manufacture 5.       Pain	GENERAL PUEYRREDON 1.       Nutricionists
		MORENO 1.       Notaries
		LUJAN 1.       Kinesiology
		LA PLATA 1. Public accountants. 2. Producers of cut flowers and ornamental plants
CAÑUELAS 1.       Notaries 2.       Lawyers Association of Cañuelas. 3.       Common Metal Fabrication	MORON 1.       Notaries 2.       Economic Cience Professionals 3.       Lawyers	GENERAL SAN MARTIN 1.       Brokers 2.       Private Educational Institutes (only for money collection)

 

NEUQUEN PROVINCE 1. Gastronomic premises, bars and restaurants. 2. Gyms, Pilates workshops, yoga, reiki, tai chi and other similar centers. 3. Swimming pools. 4. Workshops and seminars for dance and other artistic disciplines, without opening to the public. 5. Popular libraries.

MENDOZA PROVINCE 1.       Gyms and individual sports.

 

Administrative Decision N° 968/2020:

BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE
LOMAS DE ZAMORA   1. Architects and Surveyors 2. Accountants, Lawyers, Notaries, Auctioneers 3. Phonoaudiologists 4. Kinesiologists 5. Nutritionists 6. Podiatrists 7. Managers. 8. Vehicle repair and maintenance workshops. 9. Home maintenance 10. Gastronomic premises: Restaurants, Bars and Ice Cream Shops (under Take Away modality or on-site withdrawal). 11. Paint shops, sale of electrical materials, sale of wood products, sale of openings, sale of ceramics and/or sanitary ware, spare parts shops for the car and nurseries (only take away modality or on-site withdrawal).	HURLINGHAM   1. Medical services (kinesiologists, physiatrists, podiatrists). 2.   Liberal and/or collegiate professionals (accountants, lawyers, engineers, architects, surveyors, psychologists, managers, auctioneers, and real estate agents) 3.   Retailers and personal services (technicians, seamstresses and car washers) 4. Gastronomy under the delivery modality	GENERAL LAS HERAS   1. Non-medical professionals (notaries, accountants, lawyers, auctioneers, public brokers, managers) 2. Real estate agents
		LUJAN 1. Management service 2. Technical Services 3. Shops with public attention (except for: Clothing, Shoes, Sports Houses, Accessories, Gifts and Toy Store) 4. Vehicle dealerships
	SAN FERNANDO 1. Maintenance and reparation of aircraft, their activities, medical flights	MORON   1. Offices of “Edenor” with public attention, City of Morón, Partido de Morón, Pcia De Bs As
	CORONEL BRANDSEN 1.       Chemical and petrochemical industry.	MARCOS PAZ 1.       Aluminum and metals
		TRES DE FEBRERO 1.       Shoes industry

 

SANTA FE PROVINCE 1.       Bars and restaurants from the province territory, according to the following: a.       With prior reservation modality, guaranteeing the proper social distance between the clients, who must attend by their own means, and being able only to use 50% of the premises capacity. b.       Taking the measures to disinfect the shoes of the assistants and the cleaning and disinfection of the frequently used surfaces and objects before the opening and periodically during the schedule in which the facilities are open. c.       Mandatory and correct usage by the staff of the protective elements that cover nose, mouth and chin.

 

On the other hand, the aforementioned Decree N° 520/2020 issued on June 8^th 2020 (currently in force) has established that the SPMI is only applicable to people who live or are staying in the urban agglomerations and in the departments and districts of the provinces of Argentina that do not positively meet the epidemiological and health parameters foreseen for the application of   the “Social, Preventive and Mandatory Distancing” (SPMD) measures.

This means that the regions that meet the epidemiological and health parameters are exempted from the SPMI. Currently, jurisdictions that remain complied to the obligation of the SPMI are: (i) Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (BAMA), (ii) Department of San Fernando of the Province of Chaco, (iii) Departments of Bariloche and General Roca of the Province of Río Negro, (iv) Department of Rawson of the Province of Chubut, and (v) City of Córdoba and its urban agglomeration of the Province of Córdoba. In these places, the respective provincial authorities and the Government Head of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires may request the Minister´s Cabinet Chief to authorize new exceptions to comply with the SPMI and the circulation prohibition in order to allow the performance of industrial, service, commercial, sports or recreational activities.

Finally, the Administrative Decision N! 1018/2020, issued on June 9^th 2020, exempt from the SPMI and the circulation prohibition to people, activities, services and professions for the Province of Buenos Aires, exclusively in the following geographic areas:

GENERAL SAN MARTIN 1.       Notaries (only for essentially declared activities) 2.       Lawyers (opening and functioning of la firms) 3.       Retail Goods sales through the door-to-door collection modality 4.       Shoe sale by electronic and telephone means with door-to-door collection modality. 5.       Clothes sale by electronic and telephone means and door-to-door collection modality. 6.       Car wash.	AVELLANEDA 1.       Liberal Professionals that perform activities in their office or studies. 2.       -Lubricenters, car and/or motorcycle repair shops, alignment and balancing shops and tire shops. 3.       Door- to-door collection: gastronomic, furniture’s automobile parts and related, electricity devices sanitary, ceramic, libraries and nursery shops.	SAN FERNANDO 1.       Electronic and household appliances 2.       Clothing 3.       Tabaco products 4.       Metallurgic, machinery and equipments 5.       Footwear 6.       Graphic, editions and printing. 7.       Wood and Furniture 8.       Toys 9.       Cement 10.   Textile products 11.   Leather manufactures 12.   Tyres 13.   Bycicle and motorcycle 14.   Chemistry and Petrochemistry 15.   Cellulose and paper. 16.   Plastic and subproducts. 17.   Ceramic
SAN ISIDRO 1. Chemistry and Petrochemistry	PILAR 1.       Electronic and household appliances 2.       Ceramics	MARCOS PAZ 1.       Clothes industry.
		MORON 1.       Kinesiology services.
GENERAL RODRIGUEZ 1.       Accountants 2.       Managers	TIGRE 1.       Brokers services. 2.       Architecture and engeneering services. 3.       Sale and maintenance of automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles. 4.       Dog walkers. 5.       Dog handlers 6.       Dogs Hairdressers 7.       Canine Educational and leisure Centers. 8.       Boarding houses and doggy day-care centers 9.       Nurseries 10.   Car wash	ITUZAINGO 1.       Sale and maintenance of automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles 2.       Accountant services 3.       Architecture and engeneering services. 4.       Brokers services 5.       Law services 6.       Managment 7.       Kinesiology 8.       Notaries
LA PLATA 1.       Baazar articles sales.
LANUS 1.       Glass industry		ENSENADA 1.       Mantainence of essential boats in the Regatas La Plata Clubs.

 

SALARIES

The rule establishes that during the period of “SPMI”, workers in the private sector will have the right to full payment of their usual income, in the terms established by the regulations of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

The Ministry has proceeded to regulate this matter with norms that will be detailed in the Section LABOR MEASURES RELATED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SPMI.

 

HOLIDAYS.

In order to minimize the impact of the measure, the decree provides that the holiday on April 2^ND  2020 will be moved to Tuesday March 31^ST  2020. Also, it grants personal holidays to the National Public Administration on March 20th, 25th, 26th, 27th y 30rd 2020 and obligates the different organisms to implement the necessary measures so as to maintain the continuity of the pertinent activities. In this sense, the section PROCEDIMENTAL MEASURES, DEADLINES, PROCEDURES, MANAGMENT AND CUSTOMS SERVICES detail the norms especially elaborated by the different organisms related to their functioning during this particular period.

 

SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY DISTANCING

The aforementioned Decree N° 520/2020 published on June 8^th 2020 and currently in force has established the measure of “Social, Preventive and Compulsory Distancing” (SPMD) from 8^TH  to 28^th  June 2020.

APPLICATION

The SPMD is applicable to people who reside or transit in the urban settlements from districts and departments of the Argentinian provinces as long as they verify the following epidemiological and health parameters:

1. Health system with proper capacity to respond to the health demand.
2. Urban agglomeration/department that does not have “community transmission” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
3. The time in which the COVID-19 confirmed cases duplicate must not be less than 15 days (or non-relevant or null quantity of cases that prevent the above calculation)

The urban settlements, departments or districts that do not fulfill those requirements must keep on complying with the SPMI, which shall also cover their bordering areas.

CIRCULATION LIMITS.

It is forbidden the circulation outside the limits of the department or district where the people affected by the SPMD reside, unless they possess the “UNIQUE ENABLING CIRCULATION CERTIFICATE- COVID-19 EMERGENCY ”  which enables them to do so.

Regarding the detection of situations in which there is a risk of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading, the Governors may order the persons that enter to the province from another jurisdiction to comply with the preventive isolation. The isolation will take place after intervention by the provincial health authority and for a maximum period of 14 days.

The provincial authorities may publish norms in order to limit the circulation and prevent situations that could favor the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, for instance, by organizing people by schedules or areas.

Not only people with a “suspected case” or a “confirmed case” may not circulate, but also those who are required to comply with isolation under the terms of Decree N° 260/20, its amendment and supplementary regulations.

GENERAL RULES (MANDATORY)

1. Maintain a minimum distance of 2 meters between people,
2. Use of mouthpieces in shared spaces,
3. Sanitize the hands constantly,
4. Cough into the crease of the elbow,
5. Disinfect surfaces,
6. Ventilate rooms and
7. Strictly comply with the activity protocols, recommendations and instructions of the provincial and national health authorities.

PROTOCOLS

1. Economic, industrial, commercial or service activities may perform their activities only if they have an operating protocol approved by the provincial health authority, that complies with every recommendation and instruction stated by the national health authority and restricts the usage of closed areas to a maximum of 50% of their capacity. The provincial authorities may regulate the days and hours in which certain activities are carried out and establish additional requirements for their performance, in order to prevent the circulation of the virus.
2. Only sports, artistic and social activities may be implemented, as long as they comply with the general rules and provided that they do not involve more than 10 people, limiting the spaces to 1 person for every 2.25 square meters (it is possible to use the reservation or pre-stablished shifts modality).The provincial authority will determine the pertinent protocols for the performance of these activities, being able to establish schedules, determined days and additional requirements with the purpose of preventing the circulation of the virus.
3. With respect to educational activities, on-site classes shall remain suspended until a norm is published stating its resumption, subject to the approval of the corresponding protocols. The Ministry of Education shall establish for each level and modality the mechanisms and authorities that may take the decision of the resumption of on-site classes and the approval of protocols.
4. The following activities are still forbitten:

1. Events in public or private, social, cultural, recreational, religious and any other type of space with more than 10 people attending.
2. Sports where more than 10 people participate or where the minimum distance of 2 meters between participants cannot be maintained.
3. Cinemas, theaters, clubs, cultural centers.
4. Public transport service of interurban, interjurisdictional and international passengers, except for the cases expressly authorized (it is reserved for people who must travel to carry out the activities considered essential in the emergency, that is, those referred to in Article 6 of Decree N° 297/20; in Administrative Decisions N° 429/20, 450/20, 468/20, 490/20, 524/20, 703/20 and article 2, paragraph 1, of Administrative Decision N° 810/20, which may be extended or reduced by the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers).
5. Tourism.

Notwithstanding this, the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers may consider exceptions, which shall have the respective protocol according to the recommendations and instructions of the national health authority.

DISPENSATION FROM THE DUTY TO ASSIST AT THE WORKPLACE

Workers who are over 60 years of age, pregnant women or people included in the risk groups and those whose presence at home is indispensable for the care of children or adolescents, are exempt from the duty to attend the workplace (under the same terms of Resolution N° 207/20, who  was extended by Resolution N° 296/20, of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security).

INFRINGEMENTS.

When the SPMD is breached, the offending conduct shall be immediately stopped and measures shall be taken by the competent authority, within the framework of articles 205, 239 and concordant of the Criminal Code. The same happens if the SPMI or any other rule provided for the protection of public health in the framework of a public health emergency is breached.

 CURRENT JURISDICTIONS AFFECTED BY THE SPMD

As of today, the SPMD reaches every department of the Province of: (i) Catamarca, (ii)  Corrientes, (ii) Entre Ríos, (iv) Formosa, (v) Jujuy, (vi) La Pampa, (vii) La Rioja, (viii) Mendoza, (ix) Misiones, (x) Neuquén, (xi) Salta, (xii) San Juan, (xiii) San Luis, (xiv) Santa Cruz, (xv) Santa Fe, (xvi) Santiago del Estero, (xvii) Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, (xviii) Tucumán, (xix) Chaco, except the one of San Fernando, (xx) Chubut, except the one of Rawson, (xxi) Río Negro, except the ones of Bariloche and General Roca, (xxii) Córdoba, except the city of Córdoba and its urban agglomeration and (xxiii) All the districts of the Province of Buenos Aires, except the 40 that comprise the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

 

MEASURES RELATED TO THE FREE MOVEMENT AND TRANSPORT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MADATORY ISOLATION

 

FREE MOVEMENT

On March 23rd 2020, the Ministry of Transport issued and Official Notice at the Official Gazette through which they communicated that the national and international cargo transport in all of its modalities (air, land, sea, lakes, among other) is enabled to circulate.

The Ministries of Transport Resolution Nº 74/2020 was emitted on March 25^th 2020 and adopts a model of affectation certificate for activities and services declared essential by article 6 sections 15 and 18 of the Decree N° 297/2020 and Article 1 point 2 of the Administrative Decision N° 429/202. This refers to people affected to activities related to (i) exterior commerce, (ii) goods transportation, (iii) oil, (iv) fuels and GLP, (vi) and production and distribution of biofuel. Annex I is attached to the norm and its use is recommended in order to certify the exception to the “social and preventive compulsory isolation” and the prohibition to move freely as transporters in front of National, Provincial, City of Buenos Aires and Municipalities that require it.

On March 27^th 2020, this model was replaced and held with no effects by the publication of  Resolution Nº 78/2020 and on April 5th 2020 Resolution Nº 84/2020 was issued replacing again the model for a new one that includes activities and services declare essential for the emergency by Article 6°, sections 13,15 ,16 and 18 and 21 of the Decree N° 297/20 and Article 1° point 2 of the Administrative Decision N° 429/20. This includes activities linked to: (i) the agricultural and fishing production, distribution and commercialization, (ii) non-deferable activities related to exterior commerce, including operative tasks in ports, rivers, maritime, lakes and automotive cargo areas, (iii) recollection, transport and treatment of urban, dangerous and pathogenic solid residues, (iv) goods transports, (v) fuel, oil and LPG, (vi) post and  packages distribution services and (vii) production and distribution of biofuel. The model mentioned is currently in force.

Regarding the situation, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires established inside its jurisdiction Decree Nº 163/20. With it, people who require to certify that they are reached by one of the exemptions of the “SPMI” disposed by Decree N° 297/20 must present an affidavit in order to justify the free movement. Notwithstanding this, they must also carry the certificate that the employee provided (in case it applies). To obtain the mentioned permits, it is necessary to generate them from the web site of the City Government: https://permisos.seguridadciudad.gob.ar/Solicitud/Default.aspx.

On the other hand, the Province of Buenos Aires has developed for exceptional cases, a circulation permit system valid for 24 hours. The procedure to obtain the authorization is online and serves to those cases in which somebody requires to move freely in order to assist old people, people with disabilities, children, among other force majeure reasons. To sum up, the generation of the permits is done through the web site of the Province of Buenos Aires Government: https://permisostransito.mseg.gba.gov.ar/

This was the system that used to work until the Resolution Nº 48/2020 from the Interior Ministry was published on March 29th 2020. The norm had the purpose to unify the circulation permits in our country, so it implemented the “UNIQUE ENABLING CIRCULATION CERTIFICATE- COVID-19 EMERGENCY” for those exempted from the obligation to comply with the “SPMI”. The mentioned certificate must be required by the “Distance Procedure” platform, so as to present it along with the ID to the competent authority when they request it. The people who must move freely as a consequence of force majeure are exempted from this obligation. One of the main problems that had to be treated was related to the norms implementation because by the time it came into force, the “Distance Procedures” platform was not working properly and the  norm was supposed to be applied in an immediate modality, allowing 7 days validity to circulate to whomever possessed it. For some time, all the certificates coexisted.

However, the technical problems persisted and because of this, on March 31^st 2020 the Administrative Decision N° 446/2020 was included in the Official Gazette. The Decision clarified a few matters related to the “Unique Enabled Circulation Certificate” establishing that it will come into force as of April 6^th 2020. Notwithstanding this, the same norm adds some people that are exempted from the obligation to process and carry the “Unique Enabled Circulation Certificate- COVID-19”. Hereunder we will proceed to mention them as:

1. People included in Section 1 (healthcare staff, Security Forces, Armed Forces, Migratory activity, national weather service, firefighters and air traffic control), 2 (Government Authorities), 3 (Justice service), 4 (diplomatic and Embassy staff), 5 (those who must assist people with disabilities, families that need assistance, old people, kids and teenagers), 8 (People affected to the attention of children and community dining halls), 9 (Personnel that works in audiovisual, radio and graphic communication services), 13 (Activities related to the production, distribution and commercialization of agriculture and fishing), 14 (Telecommunications, fixed and mobile internet and digital services activities), 15 (Non-deferrable activities related to foreign trade), 16 (Collection, transport and treatment of urban solid waste, dangerous and pathogenic), 17 (Maintenance of basic services (water, electricity, gas, communications, etc.) and emergency care), 18 (Public passenger transportation of goods, oil, fuels and LPG, 21 (Postal and parcel distribution services) and 24 (Casa de la Moneda, ATM services, transportation of values and activities that the CENTRAL BANK OF THE ARGENTINIAN REPUBLIC has essential to guarantee the operation of the payment system) of Article 6 Decree Nº 297/2020. Also, the ones included in Article 1 point 2 (Production and distribution of biofuel) of the Administrative Decision N° 429/20, who must certify their condition through the forms and procedures that the competent authorities establish for those means.
2. People who must circulate as a consequence of a force majeure situation, according to Article 6°, section 6°, Decree N° 297/20 (those who must certify this situation in agreement with Article 2° of the Interior Ministry Resolution N° 48/2020: credible documentation that states the incident).

In respect of the National Public Sector, the dispositions of the Administrative Decision N° 427/2020 will apply and the competent authorities will establish the payroll of the agents that provide essential services. Regarding the judicial power, the legislative power and the authorities from the province, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and municipalities, they must determine the formalities and procedures for the public agents that provide critical services in the frame of Decree Nº 297/20.

Finally, the norm clarifies that according to the in-force legislation, there will be sanctions to those who falsify or distort the information when requiring the “Unique Enable Circulation Certificate”.

Later on, the Resolution Nº 83/2020 from the Ministry of Transport was issued, through which the minimal precautions established by the competent authorities in the Administrative Decision N° 446/2020 for the certificate models had to be fulfilled. Also, it informs that the web site of the Ministry contains the models in force for every situation. Furthermore, the norm clarifies that the certificates, instruments and formalities properly issued by the competent authorities in respect to the activities included in the Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 24 of Article 6º Decree Nº 297/20 and Article 1° point 2 of the Administrative Decision N° 429/20, keep having effect until either the end of the isolation or their expressed repeal. The certificate models for each case can be found in the following link:  https://www.argentina.gob.ar/coronavirus/aislamiento/aclaraciones/permisos.

On the other hand, it is important to mention that the Disposition Nº 5/2020 of the CHIEF OF MINISTERS’ CABINETS- SUBSECRETARY OF OPEN GOVERNMENT AND DIGITAL COUNTRY, published on May 21^st 2020, created the Data Base called “Single Certificate Enabling for Circulation – Emergency COVID-19”. This database is established and administered by the SUBSECRETARIAT OF OPEN GOVERNMENT AND DIGITAL COUNTRY, and its purpose is to store the data generated from the Single Certificate Enabling Circulation – Emergency COVID-19.

Finally, Administrative Decision N° 897/2020, emitted on May 25^th 2020, established the expiration of the “UNIQUE ENABLING CIRCULATION CERTIFICATE- COVID-19 EMERGENCY” that was processed under the rules nowadays in force. Such expiration will operate at 00:00 hours on 30 May 2020, and its holders must proceed to process it again. To this end, they must use the website https://www.argentina.gob.ar/circular so that all the personnel from companies that are in operation must process their respective permits again. It is important to note that the application to generate this permit makes a distinction between three types of activities exempted from the circulation prohibition:

• Essential Activities
• Non-essential activities.
• 48 hours permit for special situations

When applying for the permit, it is very important to state that this is an essential activity (if it is the case), since this will also be relevant when using public transport (in most jurisdictions, this will only be available to personnel from companies that carry out activities considered essential). The steps to be taken and the options available to obtain the form are set out below:

1. ID number
2. Residency Province
3. Specification of the motive of the permit
4. Fill in the form with personal data and the indications related to the activity: since in the previous step it was already stated that it is an “essential activity”, the available options to select the “essential activity” in question will be listed there, so there should be no inconvenience in using public transport when selecting one of those options (only those considered as “essential activities” will be listed).
5. Once the form has been completed, it should be downloaded from the above-mentioned site: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/circular
6. Once they have processed the permit, they must carry the certificate at all times. It is important to emphasize that it is not necessary to print it, it will be enough to install the Cuidar app in your cell phones and have it there to be able to exhibit it whenever it is requested by the control authorities.

USE OF PROTECTIVE ELEMENTS IN PUBLIC SPACES

By means of Resolution N° 95/2020 from the Ministry of Transport, it was established that as of April 20^th 2020, the usage of protective elements that cover the nose, mouth and chin is mandatory. This norm applies for people staying or travelling on passenger transport services, car or rail under national jurisdiction.

On April 13th 2020, the Joint Resolution N° 15 was included in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. This norm was signed by the Minister of Health, the Minister of Economic Development and Production, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff of Ministers and came into force on April 15th 2020 declaring as well the mandatory use of “protective elements that cover nose, mouth and chin to enter or remain in commercial premises, in public service facilities and public transport in the area of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires”.  Likewise, the regulation forbids the sale of chinstraps N95 to anybody who is not a professional nor staff from the health service in the area of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. This measure was taken in order to avoid the sale by a legal person who does not provide that service.

Furthermore, with Decree N° 255/2020, the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires determined that as of 20^th April 2020, the use of protective elements covering the nose and mouth is mandatory to anybody who is staying or travelling on (i) public passenger transport, (ii) private transport when there are two or more persons inside of it, and (iii) in all closed public spaces (public offices, commercial premises, etc.) within the territory of the Province of Buenos Aires.

TRANSPORT

On March 20th 2020, the Ministry of Transport- Transport Management Secretary, added to the Special Supplement the Resolution Nº 60/2020. By means of this norm, the National Application Protocol for The Covid-19 Crisis Prevention Committee in Rain, Maritime and Lake transportation was approved.

The same Supplement included the Ministries of Transports Resolution Nº 71/2020 that stated a scheme for the provision of urban and suburban automobile and train services in the National Jurisdiction. Subsequently, the Resolution Nº 73/2020 of March 25th 2020 modified the aforementioned scheme establishing a new and special one which extended until March 31^st 2020 the absolute suspensions of the services related to: (i) automobile and train transport of interurban and international passengers and (ii) commercial cabotage and general aviation air transport, disposed by  Resolution N° 64/2020. This scheme was modified again by Resolution N° 89/2020 (published on April 9^th 2020) and Resolution N° 110/2020 (issued on May 10^th 2020).

 

MEASURES RELATED TO THE ENTRY TO THE NATIONAL TERRITORY

With Disposition Nº 1771/2020 of March 26th 2020, the National Migratory Direction determined that those who enter the country must subscribe and use the mobile app known as “COVID 19- Health Ministry” (https://argentina.gob.ar/coronavirus/app). The following day,  the Decree Nº 313/2020 was published in order to expand the effects of the prohibition to enter the national territory until March 31st (this was disposed by  Decree Nº 274/2020) and to apply this to the residents and Argentinians that were abroad as well. On the other hand, the original term was extended until April 12^th 2020 by Decree Nº 331/2020, emitted on March 31^st 2020 and subsequently extended until April 26^th 2020 by Decree N° 365/2020 of April 11^th 2020 (posted on April 11^th 2020). Then, Decree N° 409/2020 of April 26^th 2020 extended this until May 10^TH 2020.

The aforementioned Decree Nº 331/2020 also regulated the situation related to the gradual entry to the national territory of people who are residents of the country and Argentinians with residence abroad that were unable to do so during the validity of Decree Nº 313/2020.

Moreover, it instructs the pertinent areas to proceed with the establishment of schedules and to coordinate the necessary actions in order to allow the return to the country to the mentioned people, having to determine the safest air, river, sea and land corridors to choose based on the best sanitary and security measures. It is vital to pay special attention to people who are among the risk groups.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Relationships, International Commerce and Cult was instructed to extend the validity of the “PROGRAM OF ASSISTANCE TO ARGENTINIANS THAT ARE ABROAD IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC” until they enter the national territory through the safe corridors.

In addition, it is important to remark that the Disposition Nº 1800/2020 published by the National Migratory Direction on March 28th 2020, suspended in a temporary way the entry to the country of the subcategory “crews of international transport” (Art. 24 Law N° 25.871) though the border crossing Iguazu – Foz de Iguazu (Tancredo Neves) until March 31^st 2020. However, for this means, other international passages that allow the cargo operations are available.

Moreover, Resolution N° 90/2020 of the Ministry of Transport approved the procedure for authorizing exceptional shipments, requested for health and/or humanitarian reasons and/or supply in the framework of Resolution N° 71/2020.

Finally, Decree N° 409/2020, issued on April 26^th 2020, prolonged until May 10^th 2020 the prohibition to enter the national territory, according to Decree N° 274/20 (also extended by Decrees N° 331/20 and 365/20.

 

FOREIGN COMMERCE MEASURES COMPLEMENTARY TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION

Considering the Public Health Emergency, in virtue of the Pandemic declared by the World Health Organization regarding the COVID-19, our Government decided to publish Decree Nº 301/2020 on March 20^th 2020 in order to prevent a negative impact on the health care system and to guarantee access to critical inputs. The Decrees main function was to establish that the exportation of goods that classify in the tariff position “9019.20.10 Oxygen Machines, its parts and accessories” of the MERCOSUR COMMON NOMENCLATURE (MCN) must obtain an export permit issued by the Ministry of Productive Development with the necessary intervention of the Health Ministry. The measure does not reach exportations that have as a destination the Special Customs Area (Law Nº 19.640) or the General Customs Territory (point 2. Article 593 Law N° 22.415 -Customs Code) and the previsions of Article 624 of it.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Productive Development posted Resolution N°114/2020 to suspend, for as long as the period that the COVID-19 pandemic extends,  the effects of Resolution N° 360/2019 of the former Ministry of Production, regarding antidoping measures applied to hypodermic syringes made of plastic, disposable materials, sterilized, with or without needles, from all sizes between 1 cc till 60 cc, that enter the Republic of Argentina from the Popular Republic of China. The mentioned goods classify in the tariff positions of the MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature 9018.31.11 and 9018.31.19.

Subsequently, by means of the Resolution N° 118/2020 (published by the Ministry of Public Development on March 24^th 2020), the effects of Resolution N° 1347/2019 of the former Ministry of Work and Production are suspended for as long as the period of the health emergency extends. This suspension is related to antidumping measures for parenteral dilutions that contain sodium chloride or dextrose, esterized, in closed infusion systems, for containers with capacity superior or equal to 0,1 liter but inferior or equal to 1 liter. Also, the norm states that they enter the Republic of Argentina through the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Mexican United States and that the products described classify in the tariff positions of the MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature 3004.90.99. This decision was made because the product mentioned is considered sensitive and vital for the public health in the frame of the Emergency.

Following the same objective of the norms described prior, Decree Nº 317/2020 was issued on March 28^th 2020, establishing that the export of goods comprehended in the tariff positions of the MERCOSUR COMMON NOMENCLATURE listed in the ANNEX of the norm must proceed to obtain an export permit before the Ministry of Productive Development with the necessary intervention of the Ministry of Health. The Annex referred to includes elements linked to the health care and service in the frame of the Pandemic such as alcohol, gel alcohol, disposable gloves, paracetamol, etc.

Likewise, the Decree Nº 333/2020 (published on April 2nd 2020) disposed to settle an Extrazone Imports Right of 0% for goods grasped in the tariff positions of the norms Annex, those who refer to goods and inputs related to the treatment and prevention off the COVID-19 Pandemic. The list includes products like alcohol, disinfectants, gel alcohol, lab articles, pharmacies articles, among others.

On another note, the Resolution N° 140/2020 of the Ministry of Productive Development was published on April 7^th 2020 and established the procedure for companies interested in exporting goods covered by Decrees Nº 310/2020 (oxygen therapy equipment, its parts and accessories) and Nº 317/2020 (certain products or goods required by the health system to deal with the health situation such as alcohol, medicines, diagnostic equipment, protective elements, respirators and oxygenators, etc.). In this sense, the regulation provides that these companies must be duly registered in the Single Registry Of The Ministry Of Production, created by Resolution N° 442/2016 of the former Ministry of Production, and must enter the platform “Distance Procedures”, of the Electronic Document Management System and from there complete the management.

With reference to the Origin Certificates from the Federal Administration of Public Revenue, the Circular N° 2/2020, posted on April 7^th 2020 states that it will be exceptionally accepted for the goods to be accompanied by the electronic presentation of the documents. The purpose of this is certificates is to prove the origin of the products and access the preferences of each Agreement before the local customs authority, after they have been transmitted to Argentine importers. In this sense, the presentation of Origin Certificates issued under Preferential Agreements in “original” will not be required temporarily, being sufficient the presentation of the electronically transmitted Origin Certificates to Argentine importers. The aim of this Circular is to guarantee the safety of people, facilitate commercial operations and ensure the normal flow of trade in the respective Agreements.

Finally, the Ministry of Productive Development published on May 20^th 2020 the Disposition N° 9/2020, which amended the Annexes of the Resolution N° 523/2017 from the former Commerce Secretariat of the ex-Ministry of Production. The currently modified Resolution established a procedure system for Automatic and Non-Automatic Import Licenses for goods included in all tariff positions of the Common MERCOSUR Nomenclature (C.M.N.), destined as consumption imports. Annexes II to XIV are the ones that include the tariff positions subject to the processing of “Non-Automatic” type Import Licenses. The new standard replaces and modifies Annexes II, V, VIII, IX, XI, XIII and XIV.

 

MEASURES RELATED TO CONTRACTS AND GUARANTEES

In connection with contracts, it is vital to point out two norms that were sanctioned to be applied in matters related to rental contracts and mortgage guarantees.

 

RENTAL CONTRACTS.

On March 29th 2020, Decree Nº 320/2020 was issued in order to suspend until September 30th 2020, the execution of the eviction judicial sentences from properties for those cases in which the payment obligation of the rental contract was breached. It also suspends for the same period, the prescription terms of the execution sentence process.

At the same time, it extended for the aforementioned term, the validity of rental contracts for properties whose expiration date should have operated as of March 20^th 2020 or it is foreseen to terminate before September 30^th 2020. The owner can choose between keeping the expiry date settled by the parties or to extend it for a period shorter than the one authorized by the Decree. Either option taken by the Owner must be notified with at least 15 days’ notice. The obligations of the guarantors will also be extended for the same period of the contract.

The Decree also stated that the rental prices will freeze until September 30^th 2020 and the difference between what was contractually negotiated and the amount that was tenants have to pay as a result of the application of this norm will be paid in minimum 3 installments and maximum 6. The quotas must be monthly, equal and consecutive.

Regarding the debts accumulated until September 30^th 2020, whose origin comes from (i) lack of payment, (ii) payments subscripted out of the terms that the contracts provide and (iii) partial payments, they can be fulfilled in at least 3 installments and 6 as maximum. They must be monthly, equal and consecutive. In this case, compensatory interests may be applied but those cannot exceed the interest rate of fixed terms in Pesos for 30 days that the Bank of the Argentine Nation pays.

The same Decree highlights that, within 20 days the Owner must notify the tenant about the necessary information required in order to perform bank transferences or ATM deposits in concept of payments. This measure is also applied to the following properties:

• Single urban or rural housing.
• Rooms destined for families or pensions personnel, hotels or any other similar accommodation.
• For cultural or communitarian activities.
• Rural properties used for small family productions and small agricultural productions.
• Rented by monotax personnel (involved in provision of services, commers and industry).
• Rented by autonomous professionals for the exercise of their profession.
• Rented by Micro, Small or Medium Corporations for the purpose of providing services, commerce and industry.
• Rented by Work Cooperatives or Recovered Companies registered at the INAES.

Notwithstanding what we exposed, the Decree states that the disposition related with the freezing of prices will not apply if the Owner depends on this payment to cover his or his family’s basic needs. It is important to point out that when the norm says family group, it is referring to the people from the primary group and those who live at the same house. This situation must be certified.

 

MORTGAGES

Through Decree N° 319/2020, published on March 29^th 2020, it was established that:

• Until September 30^th 2020, the monthly payment for homes mortgages loans cannot exceed the amount of the fees regulated in March 2020.
• The disposition prior also applies to the monthly payments for the collateral credits actualized by Unit of Acquired Value, also known in Argentina as UVA credits.
• The suspension until the same date of mortgages executions, whether they are judicial or extrajudicial, in those who the real right guarantee falls over properties. This is also applicable to the executions regarding collateral credits actualized by UVA.
• Until September 30^th 2020, the prescription and expiration terms are suspended in execution processes of mortgages and collateral credits actualized by UVA.
• The extension of the guarantees registral inscriptions.
• The difference between the amount that should be paid according to contract clauses and the sum that is effectively paid, can be disbursed in at least 3 instalments which are characterized as monthly, equal and consecutive and bear no interests.
• The debts generated until September 30^th whose origin comes from (i) lack of payment, (ii) payments subscripted out of the terms the contracts provide and (iii) partial payments, can be fulfilled in at least 3 installments. They must be monthly, equal and consecutive. In this case, compensatory interests may be applied but those cannot exceed the interest rate of fixed terms in Pesos for 30 days that the Bank of the Argentine Nation pays.

 

TAX MEASURES COMPLEMENTARY TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION

REPATRIATION – EXTENSION FOR THE TAX PERIOD 2019.

On April 1st 2020, Decree Nº 330/2020 was issued as a way to extend  the repatriation date of the tax period from the year 2019 until April 31st 2020, according to the dispositions of Articles 10 and 11 of Decree N° 99/19 (this norm regulates the Social Solidarity and Productive Reactivation Law in the context of the Public Emergency).

Furthermore, the abovementioned Article 11 is incorporated in the Decree N° 99/19 so as to determine the exemptions to the fees disposed: “The Benefit provided for this article will be appropriate when the funds and results, derived from the investments mentioned in the second paragraph- obtained before December 31st, included, of the calendar year in which repatriation had been verified- were affected by any of the destinations established in this and in the conditions stated there, even interchangeability and successively to any of them.”

 

PAYMENT FACILITIES AND DEBT REGULARIZATION.

Before the SPMI was announced, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue emitted- on March 18^th 2020- the General Resolution Nº 4684/2020 so as to extend until April 30th 2020 the suspension period for the application of precautionary measures corresponding to those who (i) register the status of Micro, Small and Medium Companies (MiPyMES), registered in the “Register of MiPyMES Companies”, and (ii) taxpayers who are characterized in the “Registry System” as “Micro, Small and Medium Business Potential – Section I and II”. This was established in order to contemplate the economic situation that taxpayers are experiencing in the frame of the current pandemic.

On March 20th 2020, the General Resolution Nº 4683/2020 was published by the Federal Administration of Public Revenue so as to extend the term of application of the facility payment plans until June 30^th 2020.

Then, with Decree N° 316/2020 (issued on March 28^th 2020) the term of accession to the Debt Regularization Regime was extended until June 30^th 2020, in order to prevent it from being affected by the current situation. The mentioned regime, was created to regularize debts that involve: (i) taxes, (ii) social security resources, (iii) customs resources and (iv) any other fines, interests and sanctions taxpayers must pay, when the Federal Administration of Public Revenues is the one that applies, perceives and audits. This applies to Micro, Small or Medium Companies and non-profit civil entities.

Finally, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue, by means of General Resolution N° 4705/2020 -issued on April 29^th 2020- decided to extend until June 30^th 2020 the suspension of the precautionary measures, correspondent to those who register the condition of Micro, Small and Medium Companies.

 

REGULARIZATION OF TAX, SOCIAL SECURITIES AND CUSTOMS OBLIGATIONS FOR MIPYMES AND NON-PROFIT CIVIL ENTITIES.

It is important to point out that Law N° 27.541 declared the Public Emergency in economic, financial, fiscal, administrative, pension, tariff, energy, health, and social matters. In this context, it established a regime in order to regularize tax obligations and social security and customs resources that expired by November 30^th 2019 for taxpayers who obtain the “MiPyME Certificate” as well as for non-profit civil entities. The Law also stated (i) the benefit for the release of fines and other penalties that are not firm or paid, (ii) the removal from the consolidated debt when the capital, the firm fines and non-forgiven interests are paid by cash, (iii) the exemption and/or total forgiveness of the compensatory and/or punitive interests that have as their origin the social security contributions owed by self-employed workers and (iv) a percentage of the interest owed by the rest of the tax obligations, providing that the inclusion to such a regime could be formulated until April 30^th 2020.

Considering how the context changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Federal Administration of Public Revenue decided to publish the General Resolution N° 4690/2020 on April 1^st 2020, as a way to extended the term until June 30^th 2020, modifying the pertinent articles of General Resolution N° 4667 .

Finally, on June 1^st 2020, the General Resolution N° 4728/2020 was emitted in order to establish a term of 60 calendar days for exporters registered in the “Registry of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises – Law N° 24.467” to fulfil the obligation of submitting the relevant documentation to remedy non-compliance with their tax and/or social security obligations. Within this term, they may use the “Exporter’s Affidavit” guarantee.

 

ECONOMIC MEASURES COMPLEMENTARY TO THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION

SUSPENSION OF SERVICE DISRUPTION IN CASE OF ARREARS OR LACK OF PAYMENT.

Based on the current situation of SPMI, Decree Nº 311/2020 was posted on March 25th 2020 with the purpose of promoting the temporally suspension of the disruption of essential services for the period of 180 days. This Decree considers as vital services, the ones related to: (i) electric power, (ii) water, (iii) gas, (iv) telephones, mobile phones, internet and TV either by radio or satellite, among other.

Furthermore, the Decree adds that the provision applies to the following entities that suffer nowadays emergency:

• The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The Work Cooperatives or Recovered Companies registered at the National Institute of Associativism and Social Economy.
• Health, Public and Private Institutions; and
• Public Benefit Entities that elaborate and distribute food in the frame of the alimentary emergency.

 

SUSPENSION RELATED TO THE CLOSURE OF BANK ACCOUNTS.

Decree 312/2020 was published on March 25^th 2020 in order to consider the following situations:

• If a check is rejected producing an economic aggravation on the economic situation of somebody that has already been affected by the current scenario, fines will be applied.
• The closure and disqualification of an account, in case somebody does not satisfy a fine, will refrain the affected economical agents from a vital element to the development of their activities. This will worsen the possibility to make and receive payments, producing a damage to the economy as a group.

Also, the Decree promoted the suspension until April 30^th 2020 of:

• The obligation to close bank accounts, disable them and apply the fines determined in Law N° 25.730. This is the norm that evokes sanctions to the drawers of rejected checks when they have insufficient funds, are not authorized to overdraft or have formal defects.
• The obligation mentioned in article 12 Law N° 14.499 (the one that settles grounds for the payment to retirees or pensioners) refers to credit institutions that, before granting loans, require the employees to present an affidavit stating that they do not owe sums in concept of social security contributions, or that they have opted for a moratorium but their payment is up to date.

In this sense, the Central Bank of the Argentinian Republic, issued the Communication “A” 6950, through which they extended for 30 additional days the term to present common checks or deferred payments that expire during the validity of the aforementioned Decree. Moreover, it allows a second presentation of the rejected checks when the cause is related to “insufficient funds in the account”, although it clarifies that this is not applicable to the checks emitted by electronic means or ECHEQ. The norm adds that the financial entities cannot apply commissions to clients when checks are rejected.

On the other hand, through Communication “B” 12005/2020 –published on May 11^th 2020- the Central Bank of the Argentinian Republic formulates some clarifications regarding the informational regime of Rejected Checks. In this sense, it basically establishes that:

1. Fines set by the Law N° 25.730 for rejected checks whose date is prior to March 23^rd 2020, must be paid.
2. If they are not cancelled, they will not be unusable until June 30^th When the disqualification processes resume, people that have those debts will be included in the “Central of Disabled Bank Account Holders”.
3. The fines for the checks rejected between March 25^th and June 30^th, are suspended.

 

ARGENTINIAN GUARANTEES FUND

With Decree Nº 326/2020, issued on March 31st 2020, instructions were given to the Application Authority and Administration Committee of the Argentinian Guarantees Fund (FoGAr) -Law Nº 25.300- to proceed with the construction of the Specific Affectation Fund in order to grant guarantees to facilitate access to loans for working capital by Micro, Small and Medium Companies registered in the MiPyMES Business Registry (Law Nº 24.467).

In this context, the Ministries Chief of Cabinet was empowered to make budget adjustments in order to transfer as a direct contribution to the FoGAr, the amount of $30.000.000.000. This sum must be destined to grant guarantees according to the following guidelines:

1. Guarantee recipients: financial entities authorized by the Central Bank of the Argentinian Republic and non-financial entities that developed financing tools in support of those issued by societies of reciprocal guarantees and National, Provincial, Regional or Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, constituted by the respective governments as long as they fulfill with the technical requirements that the Application Authority establishes.
2. Object of the guarantees is to ensure the re-payment of the work capital loans, including salaries, social security’s payments and the coverage of deferred checks that the aforementioned entities issue to the beneficiaries stated in the next section.
3. Beneficiaries: Micro, Small and Medium Companies (MiPyMES) registered in the “MiPyMES Companies Registry” (Law Nº 24.467), with valid MiPyME Certificate.
4. Scope: (i) the guarantees could cover up to 100% of the loan granted to the legal persons as beneficiaries; (ii) the FoGAr could give the guarantees up to the amount of the Specific Affectation Fund, without demanding counter guarantees from the company that took the loan, (iii) the Application Authority and FoGAr Administration Committee will define the demanded requirements in each case and the financing lines chosen for the guarantees given, (iv) the Application Authority could modify or/and extend the people considered as beneficiaries of the loans and/or the destination of the ones established in this section.

The validity of the dispositions is subject to the timeframe in which the emergency situation determined by Law Nº 27.541 prolongs and its eventual extensions. The Application Authority is the Productive Development Ministry.

 

SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR THE NATIONAL PRODUCTIVE SYSTEM IN THE AREA OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, HEALTH SUPPLIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS IN CONNECTION TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

The Productive Development Ministry issued the Resolution Nº 132/2020 on March 31st 2020 which created the SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR THE NATIONAL PRODUCTIVE SYSTEM IN THE AREA OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, HEALTH SUPPLIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS IN CONNECTION TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. The programs objective is to assist and finance the Public Health Area and the companies, entrepreneurs and public institutions in the framework of the Sanitary Emergency.

 

WORK AND PRODUCTION EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (WPEAP).

On April 1st 2020, the Decree Nº 332/2020 created the “Work and Production Emergency Assistance Program” for employees and workers affected by the sanitary emergency. This Decree was modified by Decree N° 376/2020– published on April 20^th 2020. Hereunder, we will highlight the main characteristics of the Program:

Benefits for employers included in the Program:

1. Deferment or reduction of the payment of social security’s contributions to the Argentinian Integrated Social Security System (AISS). This measure can establish an up to 95% suspension or reduction of the fee.
2. Complementary Salary: The Government will grant this benefit to all the workers, hired in the private sector, under de modality of dependency ratio.

 

Criteria established in order to be achieve one or more benefit.

1. Economic activities critically affected in the geographic areas where they develop.
2. Relevant number of workers: (i) infected by the COVID-19, or (ii) complying with the mandatory isolation, or (iii) with a time-off work as they are considered members of the risky groups or have to take care of their family obligations.
3. Substantial reduction of their billings as of March 20^th 2020.

 

Exclusions:

The subjects excluded from this benefits are those who (i) perform activities and services that are considered as essential in the framework of the Health Emergency and as a consequence of this, their staff has been exempted from the obligation to comply with the “Social Preventive and Mandatory Isolation” according to Article 6 from Decree N° 297/2020 and the Administrative Decision N° 429/2020, or  (ii) those who, without being expressly stipulated in the norms mentioned prior, show no concrete indication that allows to infer a representative reduction on their activities.

Later on, Decree Nº 347/2020 added the possibility to consider the special circumstances that would have caused a high negative impact on the development of their activity or service. The aforementioned “excluded” subjects may submit the request to be reached for the benefits provided in this decree. The Ministries Chief of Cabinet, after obtaining the opinion based on technical criteria from the Evaluation and Monitoring Committee of the Emergency Assistance Program for Work and Production based on technical criteria, will decide whether to accept or deny such requests.

Objective Criteria, Activity areas and other relevant elements: They will be determined by the Ministry of Chiefs Cabinet.

Benefits Specifications: The subjects that fulfill the requirements can access to one of the following benefits:

1. Social Security Obligations
   1. Due date deferral of the employer’s contributions payment to Integrated Social Security System (AISS).
   2. Reduction of up to 95 % of the employer´s contributions to the AISS accrued during the month of April 2020.

The Federal Administration of Public Revenue will dispose the special due dates for the payment of the social security contributions to the AISS accrued during the months of March and April 2020. They will also determine payment facilities.

1. Complementary Salary:

It is a sum of money to be paid by the Social Security National Administration to all or a part of the employees hired in the dependency ratio relationship that fulfill the requirements of reached subjects. Hereunder, we will mention the parameters for the determination of the amount of the allocation:

• The amount of the assignation will be equivalent to 50% of the net salary that the worker perceived in February 2020. It cannot be inferior to the sum of the Minimum, Vital and Mobile Salary of the mentioned month.
• These allocations will be considered as a down payment of the salaries or as the monetary assignation provided by Article 223 bis Labor Law.

We consider it important to add that through Resolution N° 408/2020 (published on May 8^th  2020), the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security clarified the situation when companies paid to their employees April´s salary before they could perceive the Complementary Salary. In this case, the amount that the workers collected (salary paid by employer plus the Complementary Salary) exceeds the sum that they should have collected. The solution for this is that the employers may charge the surplus amount against the payment of the salary for the month of May 2020. This same scheme is applicable to the payment of the non-remunerative sum established by article 223 bis of the Labor Law.

 

Data that the employees reached by the Benefit must present:

1. To the Federal Administration of Public Revenue: the staff payroll and the activities affected by the current situation.
2. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security will analyze the information and documentation presented by the company. They can also request additional information or documentation considered relevant and necessary. Furthermore, they can conduct evaluation visits in order to ratify and rectify the conclusions.

 

Relevant Period:  The Decree is applicable to the economic results of the companies occurred as of March 12^th 2020. It should be added that the Chief of Minister´s Cabinet may extend the benefits, modifying the activities reached, companies and independent workers affected, prior intervention of the Committee For Evaluation And Monitoring Of The Emergency Assistance Program For Work And Production. This will be evaluated depending on the evolution of the economic situation, until June 30^th 2020. Without prejudice of this, for those cases in which the social distancing measures continue to be affected, even when the preventive and obligatory social isolation has ended, the benefits may be extended until to October 2020.

 

Non-Employer Natural Persons: on the other hand, the same norm contemplates the comprehensive system of unemployment benefits. In this sense, workers who fulfill the requirements provided in Law N° 24.013 (Employment) and 25.371 (Construction Work) can access to an unemployment economic provision. For this provision, the minimum amount rises to $ 6.000 and the maximum to $10.000 during the period established by the Ministry´s Chief of Cabinet. On another note, it also provides the granting of the Zero Rate Credit for people registered in the Simplified Regime for Small Taxpayers and for Autonomous Workers, with a subsidy of 100% of the total financial cost.

In this sense, the Central Bank of the Argentinian Republic published on April 28^th 2020 the Communication “A” 6993/2020 that determines the steps that must be followed by the financial entities that grant the “Zero Rate Credit” funds for self-employed and freelancers.

Also, Communication “A” 6992 indicates that people that have access to the aforementioned credit cannot (i) access to the foreign exchange to perform operations related to the formation of foreign assets of residents, family assistance remission and derivatives, (ii) nor sell securities with liquidation in foreign currency or transfer them to other depository entities, until the complete cancelation of them.

Moreover, it is important to remark that prior to this norm, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security emitted Resolution 260/2020 (March 28th 2020) through which they extended the expiration of the Unemployment Benefits until May 31^st 2020 (Laws N° 24.013 and Nº 25.371) that take place between February 1^st 2020 and April 30^th 2020  for the amount equivalent to 70% of the original benefit.

In addition, the Social Security Secretariat, by means of the Resolution Nº 8/2020 (issued on March 31st 2020) approved the rules of application of the Family Emergency Income (FEI) of Decree N° 310/2020, stating recipients, requirements, compatibilities, concept of “Family Group”, socioeconomic and patrimonial evaluation, notification to the applicants, granting and payment, and control, supervision and recovery of improper perceptions. In this context, the National Social Security Administration is empowered to: (i) create the norms required to implement what was disposed and for the administration, granting, payment, control, supervision and recovery of improper perceptions of the FEI and (ii) liquidate and make the payment of the FEI prior to April 1^st 2020, in those cases that, by virtue of the available information, its operationally impossible.

It is important to add that the aforementioned Decree N° 347/2020 created the Evaluation and Monitor Committee for the Work and Production Emergency Assistance Program, constituted by the heads of the Ministries of Productive Development, Economy and Labor, Employment and Social Security and the Federal Administration of Public Revenue. The functions of this Committee will be:

1. Define the relevant facts that justify the inclusion of the beneficiary subjects.
2. Judge the situation of the different economic activities and recommend or advise against their inclusion.
3. Judge regarding specific requests that require a special treatment and recommend or discourage their inclusion
4. Propose to the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers all the measures he deems conducive in order to achieve greater efficiency in meeting the objectives.

Likewise, as far as practical matters are concerned: (i) the General Resolution N° 4693/2020 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenue published on April 9th 2020 enabled the web site for the “Work and Production Emergency Assistance Program” (WPEAP) in order to allow companies and employers to access the benefits and (ii) the Administrative Decision N°591/2020 issued on April 22nd 2020 adopts the recommendations of the “Evaluation and Monitor Committee for the Work and Production Emergency Assistance Program”(EMC-WPEAP) related to the criteria and conditions for the granting of the Complementary Salary.

Those criteria and conditions must be settled according to the following guidelines: (a) benefits with reference of the salaries accrued on April 2020, (b) conditions to fulfil: main activities of the employers as of March 12^th 2020 must be one of the defined by the Committee N° 1 and 2, modified by N°3 (listed by the Federal Administration of Public Revenue); (c)  nominal variation of the billing between March 12^th and April 12^th in relation to the same period of the year 2019 must be 0 or inferior to 0 (there must not be a nominal increase of the invoice; (d) general principle: payroll that does not exceed the 800 employees as of February 29^th 2020; (e) for companies with more than 800 employees: the financial information or additional information provided to the Federal Administration of Public Revenue ´s web site must be evaluated and the additional requirements applicable during a fiscal period must be fulfilled.

The abovementioned requirements are: (i) non-distribution of the fiscal periods utilities as of November 2019, (ii) no re-buying directly or indirectly their shares, (iii) non purchase of securities in pesos for their subsequent and immediate sale in foreign currency or their transfer in custody to another country, (iv) no disbursements to subjects directly or indirectly related whose residence, establishment or domicile is in a non-cooperative jurisdiction or a jurisdiction with a low or no taxation.

For the purpose of calculating the employee’s plaintiff, the labor relationships terminated by April 4^th 2020 must be deducted. Regarding the Complementary Salary, the “net salary” is considered as the amount equivalent to the 83% of the gross remuneration earned for the month of February 2020. This amount will be determined from the affidavits that the employer presented to the Federal Administration of Public Revenue who must perform a pre-liquidation that will be checked by the National Social Security’s Administration before the payment is settled.

On the other hand, the Administrative Decision N° 663/2020 adopts the recommendations for the “EMC-WPEAP” (this norm includes 7 Annexes).  It is important to point out that “the first billing data shows that being exempted of the quarantine or having a high rate of personnel that performs their activities through homeworking, does not guarantee that the companies can work properly. A lot of them have had important turnovers of their billing which increments the risk of termination of their business and therefore the loss of work for their employees. In order to preserve the organizational capacities and the quality employment, it is recommended to expand the list of the areas that are potentially beneficiaries of the WPEAP”.

Subsequently, on May 5th 2020 the Administrative Decision N° 702/2020 was published so as to adopt new recommendations of the “EMC-WPEAP”. In this case, there are 3 Annexes added to the norm and proceeds as following:

1. Exempted Activities: insurance and financial services companies are exempted from the WPEAP.
2. Clarifications over the Complementary Salary (CS):

• Single employment: (i) the CS to be assign as a Benefit must be equivalent to 50% of the net salary for the month of February 2020; (ii) it cannot be inferior to the Minimum, Vital and Mobil Salary (MVMS) nor superior to the amount of two MVMS; (iii) the sum cannot imply that the worker will perceive a benefit superior to the net remuneration for the month of February 2020.
• Multiple Jobs: (i) the Benefit must be proportionally distributed, considering the salaries accrued by the workers in February 2020; (ii) these cases must be analyzed jointly by the Federal Administration of Public Revenue and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Securities to avoid mistakes in the information that the companies provide.
• Companies with more than 800 employees: to the requirements included in the Administrative Decision N° 591/2020, the condition of non-cooperative jurisdiction or jurisdiction with low or null taxation, in the terms of the articles 24 and 25 of the Decree N° 862/2019 (that regulated the Income Tax Law) must be taken into account. Also, it added that: (i) the requirements detailed will be applied during the fiscal period; (ii) the beneficiary companies will not be able to perform the operations expected during the period in force and for 12 months after the competition of the subsequent economic exercise of the one in which the benefit was granted, including the ones for the prior accumulated results; and (iii) no case should carry the reduction of the net patrimony until the termination of the term of the 12 months indicated.

Furthermore, the Administrative Decision N° 712/2020- emitted on May 7th 2020- adopted the recommendations of the “EMC-WPEAP”, which are detailed in the 4 Annexes that integrate the norm.

Annex I include the minute of April 30^th 2020 of the “EMC-WPEAP” which indicates the background and the agenda to be fulfilled. With reference to the relevant information for companies, we can remark the following considerations:

2020. Extension of the activities that are incorporated to the WPEAP: These activities are listed in Annex III. Likewise, it is recommended the granting of the Complementary Salary to workers that perform duties in companies that register more than 800 employees as of February 29^th
2021. Affidavit: It is recommended that in case of adherence to the web service of the WPEAP between April 21^st and 23^rd 2020, the original affidavits presented during that period of time are considered as valid.
2022. Complementary Salary:

• • Companies that do not register billing in the period of March 12th 2019 and April 12th 2019: they must use the billing information of the period November 12^th to December 12^th 2019 to perform a comparison and evaluate its evolution.
  • Companies that started performing their activities before March 12th 2019 to April 12th 2019 must use the information of the billing from the period November 12^th 2019 to December 2019 to perform a comparison and evaluate its evolution.
  • Companies that started performing their activities during the year 2020, are recommended to be considered as an “activity affected in a critical way” and therefore they fulfill the criteria required to be beneficiaries of the WPEAP.
  • Companies that at the moment of the WPEAP registry used codes of the activities that are different from the Nomenclators that are currently in force- Form N° 883. It is advised that the Federal Administration of Public Revenue instruments their re-inscription so as to be able to gain the benefit.

1. Criteria for the determination of the turnover of the sales: Taking into consideration the technical report elaborated by the Ministry of Production Development (Annex II), it is suggested to modify the criteria prior adopted and increase the billing level variation until a positive 5% in the period from 12 March to 12 April 2020 compared to the same period in the year 2019 (equivalent to a real contraction of approximately 30%, taking into account the year-on-year inflation level between March 2019 and March 2020).

Subsequently, the Administrative Decision N° 745/2020 published on May 8th 2020, authorized the private Works to perform their activities with no more than 5 workers, as long as they do not have to enter homes with residents, shops or establishments that are functioning in the urban settlement of Gran Santa Fe and Gran Rosario, that belong to the Province of Santa Fe.

In addition, the Administrative Decision N° 747/2020 (issued on May 12^th 2020) adopted the recommendations formulated by the “EMC-WPEAP” with its 8 Annexes as well as the Administrative Decision N° 765/2020 (issued on May 13^th 2020), which also adopted other recommendations formulated by the same Committee. It is vital to remark that the aforementioned Committee understands that for the calculation of the Complementary Salary from the month of May it is appropriate to take as reference the remunerations paid in March 2020. Likewise, the Administrative Decision N° 817/2020 was emitted on May 18th 2020 and also adopted the recommendations that the EMC-WPEAP proposed in its 4 Annexes.

On the other hand, the Administrative Decision N° 963/2020 -published on June 3^rd 2020- took the recommendations of the EMC-WPEAP related to the clarifications on supplementary wages.

At the same time, taking into consideration that the WPEAP´s benefits were extended to the salaries and contributions that were accrued during May 2020, the General Resolution N° 4716/2020 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenue (issued on May 14^th 2020)  disposes that they could access to the web service of the WPEAP since May 14^th 2020 until May 21^st 2020 so as to obtain the benefit, when applicable.

Then, by means of the General Resolution N° 4719/2020, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue implemented the mechanism to be complied by employers that request the termination of the WPEAP, with respect of the benefit of the Complementary Salary perceived by their dependent workers.

On the other hand, the General Resolution N° 4711/2020 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenue, emitted on May 11th 2020 has resolve the following regarding the benefit of the reduction of the employer´s contributions and the due date deferral of the employers contributions payment, both with destination to AISS.

A. Benefit of reduction of the employer´s contributions to the AISS.

• The employers reached by this Benefit whose main activity is declared according to the “Economic Activities Classifier” (Form N° 883) approved by General Resolution N° 3537, any of those included in the list posted on the institutional website (http://www.afip.gob.ar), shall be characterized in the “Registration System” with the code “461 – Benefit Dto. 332/2020 Reduction of S.S. Contributions”.
• The nominative determination and payment of social security contributions must be carried out through the Release 3 of the version 42 of the application program called “Social Security Obligations Calculation System- SSOCS”, which is available in the “Applications” option of the institutional website (http://www.afip.gob.ar).
• The “Online Declaration” system will automatically calculate the reduction of the fee of the employer´s contributions to those employers that possess the code “461 – Benefit Dto. 332/2020 Reduction of Social Security Contributions”.

B. Benefit of payment deferral of the employer´s contributions to AISS.

• For those whose main activity is included in the list of activities published on the institutional website (http://www.afip.gob.ar) and are not covered by the benefit of reduction of employer contributions, may request the benefit of postponement of the due date for payment of employer contributions to AISS for the accrued period April 2020. In order to obtain the aforementioned benefit, they must make a request on the dates indicated according to the termination of the Taxpayer’s Identification Code (also known as CUIT in Argentina):
  • CUIT TERMINATION      DATE

    0, 1, 2 y 3                           July 15th 2020

    4, 5 y 6                                July 16th 2020

    7, 8 y 9                                 July 17th 2020

    These subjects will be characterized in the “Registry System” with the code “460 – Benefit Dto. 332/2020 Postponement of payment of contrib. Social Securities”. In addition, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue, through General Resolution N° 4712/2020 (issued on May 11^th 2020), has extended the general deadline for the submission and payment of the affidavit related to the social security contributions for the period accrued on April 2020, according to the following schedule.:

CUIT TERMINATION      DATE

0, 1, 2 y 3                           May 18th 2020

4, 5 y 6                               May 19th 2020

7, 8 y 9                               May 20th 2020

 

Subsequently, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue issued on May 21^st 2020 the General Resolution N° 4720/2020, which extends the term provided by the General Resolution N° 4716. The latter Resolution states that the subjects indicated in Article 1 of General Resolution N° 4693 may access the web service of the WPEAP between May 14^th and 21^st 2020 for the purpose of obtaining such benefits. In this sense, in order to facilitate the registration and supply of information, the new standard has extended the deadline until May 26^th 2020.

Finally, Administrative Decision N° 887/2020, published on May 25^th 2020, adopted new recommendations made by the EMC-WPEAP, especially with regard to Supplementary Salary (wage limits and multiple jobs) and payment deferment of employer’s contributions.

 

COMMERCIAL MEASURES LINKED TO THE ESTABLISMENT OF THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE AND MANDATORY ISOLATION

SUPERMARKETS, AUTO SERVICES AND OTHER SHOPS.

The Interior Commerce Secretary issued the Resolution N°101/2020 on March 23^rd 2020, which aims mainly to regulate the activities developed by full-service supermarkets, superstores, self-services food grocery stores, non-food grocery stores, chains of retail stores, wholesale supply organizations, perishable packers, and shopping centers.

With this purpose, the norm establishes a few measures that these shops have to implement within the term of 30 days, such as:

• Enforcement of a customer services schedule of at least 13 hours daily, according to the demand and to avoid crowds. Full-service supermarket, food grocery stores, non-food grocery stores, chains of retail stores, wholesale supply organizations, perishable packers and shopping malls are exempted of complying with this.
• To prevent client’s gatherings inside the shops, staff members must control the access and organize the amount of people that go in according to the surface of the place.
• To mark the waiting areas to the clients (either the lines outside the shops or the supermarkets checkouts) adding that it is vital to keep a 1,5m distance from each other.
• Putting on each floor of the commercial establishment’s banners, audio and materials about prevention ways for the clients.

Finally, in connection with the presentation of cases that a company or natural people has to do at the Internal Commerce Secretary or any of its dependencies, a result of an inspection, imputations or requirements, within the framework of the Health Emergency, those must be processed through the platform “Distance procedures” (TAD) o the Documental Electronic Management system.

 

PRICES.

At the beginning of the Health Emergency, our country experienced a noticeable increase of the Price of food and personal hygiene products. Those increases were determined by companies with diverse economic capacity and were considered unreasonable because they did not correspond to recent variations in production costs structures. This is the reason why the Ministry of Productive Development- Secretary of Interior Commerce, decided to publish Resolution Nº 100/2020. With this, they settled that, as an exceptional and temporal measure for the term of 30 calendar days, the maximum sales Price for consuming goods would be fixed to the values in force by March 6^th 2020 (Prices reported in the Electronic Publicity System of Argentinian Prices as of March 6^th 2020). Thereupon, the maximum sales prices to the general public are mandatory for marketers complied with the duty of information provided (Resolution N° 12/16 and its modifications of the former Commerce Secretary). It is important to point out that through Resolution N°117/2020 issued on April 18^th 2020, the validity of the Resolution 100/2020 was extended for 30 calendar additional days until May 19^th 2020 and after this, the Resolution N° 133/2020 (published on May 18^th 2020) prolonged it until June 30^th 2020.

Moreover, in order to avoid the imbalances or distortions of the chain of production, distribution and commercialization of the products included in the measures (those that the Resolution lists in an Annex), and achieve an effective integral protection of the consumer, they dispose for the same term, the fixing of maximum sale prices of the subjects reached by Law N° 20.680. That is,  economic processes related to (i) goods, benefits and services and any other stage of economic activity linked directly or indirectly to sales, exchange and rental of mobile goods, works and services (their direct or indirect raw material and supplies) (ii) provisions whatever their nature, contract or legal relationship that originated them, either with a free of charge or paid modality, habitual or occasional, that are destined to the production, construction, processing, commercialization, sanity, food, clothing, hygiene, housing, culture, transport and logistic, recreation, as well as any other mobile good or services that directly or indirectly satisfy basic and essential needs oriented to the general well-being of the population.

It is important to clarify that subsequently, by means of the Resolution N° 118/2020 posted on April 18^th 2020, the Exterior Commerce Secretary modifies the sales products whose prices must be informed to the Argentinian Electronic System of Prices Publicity. This is a transitory measure that is valid as long as the Resolution N° 100/2020 is in force.

This in force regulation urges companies that compose chain of production, distribution and commercialization, (i) to manufacture the products included in the list of those whose production should be increased until the maximum of the installed capacity and (ii) to arbitrate the conductive measures  to secure their transport and provision during the period of validity of the measure.

On the other hand, it disposes the Sub-Secretariat of Actions for the Defense of Consumers to publish on its web site the list of prices reported to the Electronic Publicity System of Argentinian Prices that was in force on March 6^th 2020 for every product established as well as the maximum prices of reference for the basic food basket for each province. This publication must be in done in a prominent way. The mentioned Sub-secretariat will also be in charge of implementing measures for the reception of complaints for non-compliance.

By means of Resolution Nº 102/2020, emitted on March 28^th 2020, the Ministry of Productive Development- Secretary of Interior Commerce disposed that distributors, producers and retailers reached by Law 20.680 must comply with the obligation of having in every sale location, the list of the prices in force on March 6^th 2020 for each of the products established in Resolution N°100/2020 (maximum selling prices). Law N° 20.680 is the supply law that addresses everything related to sale and purchase, exchange and rentals (mobile, work and services).

Furthermore, the subjects with the obligation to comply in Resolution Nº 86/2020 must have in every sales store the list with the gel alcohol prices of February 15^th 2020. The norm prior was the one that stated a transitory regression of the price of gel alcohol whose selling is authorized in the national territory to February 1^st 2020.

Subsequently, Resolution Nº 151/2020 from the Ministry of Productive Development – Secretariat of Internal Trade published on June 3^rd 2020 extended Resolution Nº 86/2020 for 60 more days.

Finally, through Disposition 3/2020, the Sub-Secretariat of Actions for the Defense of Consumers created an exclusive informative regime of public consultation for all consumers. This regime has the purpose of publishing maximum reference prices for the consumers basic basket for each of the provinces, available on the web site www.preciosmaximos.produccion.gob.ar free of charge. The same norm established a public and free of charge mechanism of complaints  for consumers and every economic agent that composes the chain of production, distribution and commercialization of the products reached by the fixation of maximum prices, enabled on the web site: www.preciosmaximos.produccion.gob.ar.

 

“NOW 12 PLAN”

On March 31^st 2020, the Resolution Nº 104/2020 was issued by the Interior Commerce Secretariat of the Ministry of Productive Development. This norm extends until June 30^th 2020 the “Program for the Promotion of Consumption and Production of Goods and Services” (known as NOW 12). The Program was created by Joint Resolution N° 671 of the former Ministry of Economy and Public Finance and N° 267/2014 of the former Industry Minister, which will keep its validity exclusively for credit card operations issued by financial entities. Also, as a consequence of the COVID-19 Sanitary Emergency, new items and purchases were added in fixed installments.

Within the framework of the Program, the products included in the following categories can be purchased: “the goods of national production and services provided in the territory of the Argentine Republic included in the categories detailed below: (i) Households appliances, (ii) Clothing, (iii) Footwear and leather goods, (iv) Materials and tools for construction, (v) Furniture, (vi) Bicycles, (vii) Motorcycles, (viii) Tourism, (ix) Mattresses, (x) Books, (xi) Eyeglasses, (xii) Bookstore Articles, (xiii) Toys and Board Games, (xiv) 4G Cellphones, (xv) Tires, accessories and CNG gas vehicle conversion kits and spare parts for automobile and motorcycles, (xvi) Musical Instruments, (xvii) Computers, notebooks and tablets, (xviii) Light Devices, (xix) Televisions, (xx) Perfumery, (xxi) Small household appliances, (xxii) Sports preparation services, (xxiii) Medical Equipment, (xxiv) Machinery and Tools , (xxv) Food and (xxvi) Medicine”.

On the other hand, by means of Resolution Nº 106/2020 on April 3^rd 2020, the Secretary of Interior Commerce of the Ministry of Productive Development, ratifies the Articles 4° and 7° of the Resolution Nº 104/20 once they detected involuntary errors on its writing.

It is important to highlight that the official web site “Now 12” contains all the information necessary to Access it. There, it is explained among other issues, that the businesses that are interested in being a part of the program must access the web site of the Credit Cards and Purchases Chamber or get in touch with the bank of the credit cards and the registration must be done with each of the cards that they work with. The web site is https://www.argentina.gob.ar/ahora-12/comerciantes.

Finally, the Resolution N° 130/2020 published on May 11^th 2020 modifies definitions and guidelines related to the accession to the program. One of those modifications is to replace the reference “digital payment operators”, which were companies that provide an online payment system and/or ecommerce, through which transactions related to acquisition/purchase/sale of goods and/or services included in the “Program”  were carried out, for the term “digital payment groups”. The latter concept defines the companies that provide an online payment system, through which transactions related to the acquisition/purchase/sale of goods and/or services included in the “Program” are carried out electronically.

Also, the norm refers to “Electronic Commerce Platform” and defines it as the companies that carry out ecommerce activities, as well as the distribution, sale, purchase, marketing and/or supply of product or service information through the Internet, or any other electronic means, with respect to the goods and/or services included in the “Program”. This are adapted to the accession guidelines.

 

Special Compensation Regime

As a consequence of the current economic and social scenario, it was vital to establish a special compensation regime for those whose activity is related to selling essential goods, such as certain dairy products. This is the reason why Decree N° 418/2020 was emitted on April 30^th 2020, in order to generate a positive effect on the prices for the population.  The aforementioned regime: (i) seeks the stability of the dairy food prices listed in Articles 558, 559, 559 bis, 559 tris, 560, 560 bis, 560 tris, 562, 564 and 567 of the National Food Code; and (ii) is applicable to the sale of the indicated goods, to the extent that the purchaser is one of the subjects of Article 7, Section f of the Value Added Tax Law. The products excepted are ordinary natural water, fluid or powdered milk, whole or skimmed, milk without additives, when the buyer is the final consumer and its activity is “Retail sale in hypermarkets” (471110), “Retail sale in supermarkets” (471120), “Retail sale in mini-markets” (471130), or “Retail sale of dairy products” (472111)

• Hyper-vulnerable Consumers.

By means of Resolution N° 139/2020 of the Ministry Of Productive Development – Secretariat Of Internal Commerce, published on May 28^th 2020, it was established that extremely vulnerable consumers are “those human beings who are in a vulnerability situation due to their age, gender, physical or mental state, or due to social, economic, ethnic and/or cultural circumstances, which cause special difficulties for the full exercise of their rights as consumers” and “also, legal persons without profit-making purposes that direct their social objects to the groups included in this article”. This regulation entrusts the Sub-Secretariat of Actions for the Defense of Consumers and the Secretariat of Internal Commerce of the Ministry of Productive Development, to take the measures necessary for the implementation of this resolution and details the main objectives and functions that they shall have, among which we can remark the following:

1. Foster actions in order to favor effective and expeditious procedures for the adequate resolution of conflicts of hyper-vulnerable consumers.
2. Implement measures to eliminate and mitigate obstacles to access to justice for hyper-vulnerable consumers.
3. To guide, advise, assist and accompany hyper vulnerable consumers in the filing of claims within the framework of consumer relations.
4. To make arrangements before the suppliers identified in the complaints for the adequate resolution of the conflicts of hyper-vulnerable consumers, among others.

• Protective Elements Sales

The Resolution Nº 144/2020 of the Ministry of Productive Development – Secretariat of Internal Commerce, posted on May 29^th 2020, some limits to the commercialization of the “Chinstraps type N95 and/or surgical and/or TRI-CAPA”. This was for the purpose of leaving these goods for the exclusive usage of professionals of the health system and for legal persons that need to acquire them for the protection of their employees and/or dependents.

 

LABOR MEASURES RELATED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOCIAL, PREVENTIVE ANDA MANDATORY ISOLATION

DISMISSAL AND SUSPENSIONS PROHIBITION. AGGRAVATED COMPENSATIONS.

In this area, it is important to point out the validity of Decree N° 34/19 which declared the Occupational Public Emergency for the term of 180 days, establishing -until June 2020- that if a dismissal without fair justification took place, the workers would have the right to perceive a double compensation. Notwithstanding this, the new regulation went even further and stated through Decree N° 329/2020 (published on March 31^st 2020) the prohibition for the period of 60 days of:

1. dismissals without expression of fair cause and dismissals based on lack or reduction of work and force majeure
2. suspensions justified by force majeure and lack or reduction of work, except the ones performed under the terms of Article 223 bis Labor Law.

The abovementioned article describes a particular situation in which, the suspension of the labor provisions takes place, based on lack or reduction of work (non-attributable to the employer) or force majeure (properly verified). The suspensions can be negotiated either individually or collectively between workers and employers and must be approved by the enforcement authorities. In compensation, a non-remunerative contribution will be paid to the workers, meaning that the employer will only credit the social security contributions stated in Law 23.660 and 23.661.

All things considered, if a company decides to fire or suspend workers, they would be breaching the dispositions of this Decree and as a consequence those decisions will have no effect. This means that the labor relationship will be kept intact, and the dismissal/suspension will have no effect. It is important to remark that Decree N° 487/2020 (issued on May 19^th 2020) extended the prohibition of dismissals without proper justification, force majeure and lack or reduction of work, as well as the suspensions based on force majeure, lack or reduction of work, for the term of 60 days from the due date of the period established by Decree N° 329/2020. This means the prohibition is in force until the end of July 2020.

It is important to clarify that on June 10^th 2020, Decree N° 529/2020 was issued in order to determine that the time limits provided for in Articles 220, 221 and 222 of the LCT (that state the maximum time limits for suspensions of 75 or 90 days) shall not apply to suspensions due to lack or reduction of work and force majeure under the terms of Article 223 bis as a result of the health emergency, which may be extended until the end of the SPMI.

Without prejudice to the validity of the prohibition of dismissals currently in force, on June 10^th 2020, Decree N° 528/2020 was published, extending for a period of 180 days, the public emergency in occupational matters declared by Decree No. 34/2019 and consequently extended during the same period the right to receive double compensation in accordance with the terms of Article 3 of Decree N° 34/19 and the legislation in force on the subject. This means the double compensation that takes place in cases of unjustified dismissals.

 

DIFFERENCE FOR HEALTHCARE EMPLOYEES.

Due to the CODIV-19 Pandemic declared by the World Health Organization and given the current situation of our country, considering that the fight against the pandemic compromises the establishments and institutions related to healthcare, Decree Nº 300/2020 was posted on March 20th 2020. The aim of this Decree was to grant for the term of 90 days a special treatment for employees that perform activities related with Health, in everything that implies employers contributions destined to the Argentinian Integrated Social Security System and the Tax over Credits and Debits from Bank accounts and other operations.

 

DUTY OF ASSISTANCE AND SALARIES.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Sanitary Emergency, a series of norms related to the duty of assistance and waivers were issued, considering specially the risk groups and those whose flights arrived from affected areas.

In this sense, the rules have urged employers to provide the necessary measures to reduce the presence of workers in the establishments. Only those considered essential for the proper operation of the company or establishment must access the facility and the employees must adopt the necessary measures for the implementation of the remote working modality. Moreover, employers must at all times take precautions to satisfy the working and environmental conditions in accordance with the recommendations of the health authority, which basically include (i) frequent hand washing with soap and water or gel alcohol, (ii) the appropriate ventilation of work environments, (iii) disinfection of frequently used objects (for example, handrails, latches, railings, etc.), (iv) coughing or sneezing over the elbow crease or using disposable tissues and (v) in case of detecting symptoms contact the health system (107 in CABA, 148 in Buenos Aires Province, 0800-222-1002 nationwide).

It is important to point out that the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security published the Resolution Nº 202/2020, (on March 13th), Resolution Nº 207/2020 (on March 17th) and Resolution 219/2020 (special supplement of March 20th 2020) by which it was intended to dictate the necessary regulatory measures to guarantee the decrease in the influx of people in the public transport and workplaces, without affecting the production and supply of necessary goods and services. The duty for the staff qualified as essential must be kept in force. This norm was repealed later and replaced by the current Resolution 279/2020, which establishes that:

1. workers reached by the “SPMI” are exempted of the duty to assist to the workplace. If their job or similar tasks could be performed from the isolation place, they must establish along with their employers the conditions in which the work will be offered.
2. Workers who provide services for the activities described in Article 6 of Decree N° 297/2020 and its regulations (activities considered essential) will be considered “essential personnel” in the terms of Resolution N° 207/2020 of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, since the continuity of the activities is an exceptional requirement for the national economy (article 203, Labor Law).
3. The concept “workers” also includes those who continuously provide services under the figures of non-dependent employment and cases of multiple employment or multiple service recipients.
4. The reorganization of the work Schedule in order to guarantee the continuity of the production of the activities declared essential in adequate health conditions in accordance with the protocols established by the health authority will be considered a reasonable exercise of the powers of the employer.
5. The need to hire personnel during the period in which the “SPMI” extends, must be considered extraordinary and transitory in terms of Article 99 of the Labor Law.
6. The abstention of attending the workplace (which implies the prohibition to do so unless exceptional cases take place) does not constitute a day off, vacations or holidays,  but rather a decision of Public Health in the Emergency, and may not be applied to the remuneration or income corresponding to the days included in this prohibition, supplements or additional legally or conventionally provided for “holidays”, except in cases where said prohibition coincides with legally or contractually foreseen public holiday(s).

Furthermore, the Decree N° 408/2020 that extended the SPMI until May 10^th, also clarified that (i) workers that are over 60 years old, (ii) pregnant women, (iii) people included in the risk groups according to what the Ministry of Health established (https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/227068/20200320) and (iv) those whose presence at home is indispensable for the care of children and adolescents, are exempted from the duty of assistance to the workplace (res. 207/2020 of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security).

Finally, the Decree N° 459/2020 issued on May 11^th 2020, which extended the SPMI and its complementary regulations until May 24^th 2020, repeated the clarification aforementioned stating that (i) workers over 60 years old, (ii) pregnant women, (iii) people included in the risk groups defined by the Ministry of Health and (iv) those whose presence in home is indispensable for the care of children or adolescents, are exempt from the duty of assistance to the workplace under the terms of Resolution N° 207/20, extended by Resolution No. 296/20 of the National Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

 

UNION ACTIVITY

With Resolution Nº 238/2020 issued on March 18^th 2020, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security decided to suspend for the term of 30 days the celebration of Electoral Processes, Assemblies and/or Congresses, institutional acts that imply mobilization, transfer and/or conglomerations of people, of every union association.

In relation with the assumption of authorities, it was disposed that they must be carried out at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, only with the presence of the Electoral Board and the new authorities. For the rest of the acts that must be performed, they will be analyzed in particular in order to make compatible the public health measures with the maintenance of the institutional regularity of the entities. Subsequently, the Secretariat of Labor published on May 5^th 2020 the Resolution N° 489/2020 which established the suspension of electoral processes, every types of assemblies and/or congresses -both ordinary and extraordinary- as well as any institutional act involving mobilization until September 9^th 2020. Furthermore, it extended the terms of office of the members of the governing, deliberative, auditing and representative bodies of labor unions for 180 days from September 30^th 2020.

 

ARTICLE 223 BIS LABOR LAW AGREEMENT

The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security emitted on April 30th 2020 the Resolution N° 397/2020 which distinguishes different situations related to the homologation of the suspension agreements that are subscripted according to the provisions of article 223 bis of the Labor Law, including the possibility of an abbreviated process. In this context, the norm provides three different situations:

1. Joint presentations between companies and labor unions in accordance with the terms of the attached “Annex I”: The presentations that include suspensions that comply with the agreement attached to the Resolution and a list of the personnel affected, will be submitted to the legality control of the enforcement authority. After this control, the decision regarding the homologation will be made. The same criteria shall be followed in those cases where the agreement is more beneficial to the workers.
2. Presentations made by companies according to the terms of the Annex I: The suspensions must comply with the agreement attached to the Resolution and accompany the list of affected personnel. Once this was done, the companies must send them to the corresponding union entity with guild representation for a period of 3 days, which may be extended to 2 additional days if the union representation requires it. If this period expires and the labor trade does not issue on this regard, its opinion will be considered to be in accordance with the agreement suggested by the employer. However, if the labor union opposes within the time frame indicated above, it will imply the opening of a dialogue and negotiation instance for the parties.
3. Presentations made by companies and unions as a whole that does not comply with the terms of Annex I: if they don´t fully comply with the agreement attached to the Resolution, the presentations shall be subject to prior control by the enforcement authority which shall indicate the considerations that correspond in order to the required procedure. In this case, the origin will be evaluated according to the situation of the sector or the company.

For every case, an affidavit stating the authenticity of the signatures must be attached.

Regarding the main considerations provided by the aforementioned Annex I, they can be summarized as follows:

1. Suspension period: 60 days with effects as of April 1st 2020
2. Amount of the non-remunerative benefits: Not inferior to 75% of the net salary that the worker would have perceived if he had worked. Over this sum, the total of social security’s contributions must be calculated according to Law 23.660 and 23.661. Also, the payment of the labor union dues.
3. Suspension modality: the employers could apply the suspensions simultaneously, alternately, in rotation, totally or partially, according to their productive needs.
4. Excluded employees: Those employees who provide services from the isolation place as agreed or those that are exempted to the duty of assistance to the workplace because they are considered as the risk groups.
5. Complementary Salary: In the event that the Complementary Salary stipulated in Article 8 of Decree N° 376/2020 and supplementary norms is granted to a company, the amount of the benefit paid by the Social Security’s National Administration (which in no case may be less than the value of the minimum living and mobile wage) shall be considered as a part of the payment previously ordered. The amount to be paid by the employer will complement it until the payment reaches the 75%.
6. Non-application: The shortened mechanism will not apply for those who have already agreed on something else or agreed other suspension criteria in the future.
7. Commitment to maintain the personnel: Those who apply must maintain their workers staff without alterations for a period equal to the validity of this regulation.

 

In addition, the Sub-Secretariat for Labor Auditing published the Disposition N° 5/2020 which created the Homologated Agreements Registry in the terms of Article 223 bis of the Labor Law.

 

LABOR RISKS.

Through the Resolution N° 21/2020 (issued on March 17^th 2020), the Superintendence of Occupational Risks established that employers must be prudent and allow the workers to carry out their tasks with the homeworking modality. Therefore, employers that opt for this modality, have the obligation to inform the Labor Risk Insurer, which workers are reached by this modality and the address where they will carry out their activities. The information that has to be provided is:

1. list of affected workers (last name, first name and social security number),
2. address where the task will be carried out and its frequency (number of days and hours per week). This address will be considered as the workplace in terms of Law 24.557 and Resolution N° 1552/2012, related to modalities of homeworking, will not result applicable to the exception cases stated by Resolution N° 21/2020.

The Prevention Management of the Superintendence of Occupational Risks created the Disposition N° 3/2020 on March 23^rd 2020. With this norm, the “Special Recommendations for Telecommunications Jobs” was approved. The mentioned recommendations are attached in the Annex of this Resolution and are directed specifically to the telecommunication staff excepted from isolation.

Furthermore, by means of Disposition 6/2020 of April 5^th 2020, the Management of the Labor Risks Superintendence approved the document “EMERGENCY PANDEMIC COVID-19. SPECIAL RECOMENDATIONS FOR ELECTRIC ENEGRY LABOR.”

Disposition N° 5/2020 from the Superintendence of Occupational Risks, was emitted on March 28^th 2020 and approved a series of special recommendations to consider in the framework of the mandatory isolation and the COVID-19 Pandemic, among which we can name the following:

• “Emergency Pandemic Covid-19. Special Recommendations for Jobs Exempted from The Social Preventive Mandatory Isolation”
• “Emergency Pandemic Covid-19. Recommendations for Commutation to And from The Workplace”,
• “Emergency Pandemic Covid-19. Personal Protection Elements”,
• “Emergency Pandemic Covid-19. Correct Use and Withdrawal of The Breathing Protector”

One of the most important measures taken in connection with labor risks was related to the consideration of the COVID-19 disease as a presumably Occupational Illness- not listed- under the terms of Paragraph 2, Section B, Article 6 of The Labor Risk Law (Law N° 24.557). This was stated by Decree N° 367/2020 (published on April 14^th 2020).

However, it is important to consider that the presumption of the illness as an Occupational disease will take place (i) only regarding dependent workers excluded from compulsory isolation by legal waiver and for the purpose of carrying out the essentially declared activities; (ii) as long as the isolation measure provided by those regulations, or any extension thereof, is in force and (iii) for those contingencies who is first manifestation has occurred after the entry into force of the Isolation Decree N° 297/2020.

On the other hand, the norm indicates that the Occupational Risk Insurer will not be able to reject the coverage of these contingencies, and they will have to adopt all the necessary precautions so that once they become aware of the company report accompanied by the corresponding confirmed diagnosis issued by a duly authorized body, the worker receives the attention immediately. The worker must initially receive treatment in accordance with the Occupational Risks Law, without prejudice to the fact that the definitive determination of the professional nature of the pathology will be made in each case by the Central Medical Commission established in article 51 of Law N° 24.241 (Integrated Retirement and Pension System), which will proceed to establish “the essential and necessary direct and immediate causal relationship of the reported illness with the work performed in the aforementioned context of dispensation from the duty of social, preventive and obligatory isolation”.

At the same time, it should be noted that the decree authorizes the Central Medical Commission to reverse the burden of proof of the causal relationship in favor of the worker whenever it is found “the existence of a relevant number of people infected by the COVID-19 disease in activities carried out in the aforementioned context, and in a given establishment where they have proximity or possible contact, or when other facts revealing the certain probability that the infection has been on the occasion of the fulfillment of the tasks carried out”.

Notwithstanding what the Decree determines for general cases, the health personnel is considered as a particular situation. For those professions, the condition shall be understood to have a direct and immediate causal relationship with the work carried out, unless it is proven in the specific case that the latter is not the case, and the period is extended to 60 days after the declared health emergency.

On the other hand, the Resolution N° 38/2020 of the Superintendence of Occupational Risks (published on April 29^th 2020) approves the special procedure for the declaration of COVID-19 as an unlisted occupational disease under the terms of Decree N° 367/20. In this sense, the regulation basically establishes the following

• Contingency report

When a report informing the COVID-19 illness is rendered under the term of the Decree N° 367/2020, the affected worker or his or her beneficiaries must prove to the Labor Risk Insurer or the Self-insured Employer the following formal requirements:

• • Diagnostic issued by the health entity that is included in the Federal Health Establishments Registry. This diagnosis must show a positive result for COVID-19 and must be signed by an identified and authorized professional properly enrolled.
  • Description of the job position, functions, usual activities/tasks, days worked during the waiver of SPMI ordered.
  • Waiver proof granted by the employer to the effects of the certification of the labor affectation to the performance of activities and services declared essential and: a) Name or denomination of the employer, Taxpayers Identification Number and other data that allow its adequate identification; b) Name and Surname, and D.N.I. of the worker.

 

• Formal Admissibility of the report.

Any disputes that arise regarding compliance with the fulfilment of formal requirements of the report must be resolved with the intervention of the Labor Risk Insurer. The presentations made will be settled within a maximum period of 48 hours, by means of a binding technical opinion issued by the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Management of this Labor Risk Insurer. If they do not express on this matter, then their silence will imply the admissibility of the aforementioned report.

 

• Procedure before the Central Medical Commission for the Definitive Determination of the Professional Character of the Contingency.

• • Presentation: Once the Labor Temporary Incapacity has ceased and the  contingency report has been verified by the PROFESSIONAL ILLNESSES REGISTRY, the procedure for the definitive determination of the professional nature of the COVID-19 illness must be initiated by the worker, his beneficiaries or his representative, through the presentation to the LEGAL MEDICAL COMMISSION corresponding to the worker’s address or by means of the Virtual Entrance Desk that will be set up for this purpose. The presentation document must be presented with the signature of a lawyer.  
  • Transfer of the presentation: This step of the procedure is done through Electronic Portals for the period of 5 working days. For its response, the Labor Risk Insurer or the Self-Insured Employer must accompany the corresponding Case Report, which includes (i) contingency report, (ii) diagnostic study issued by an authorized health entity with a positive COVID-19 result, (iii) proof of express waiver granted by the employer, (iv) Clinical History of the contingency that shows medical care that would have been provided by the Labor Risk Insurer or the Self- Insured Employer, (v) report of the analysis of the job position by the Prevention Area of the Labor Risk Insurer or the Self- Insured Employer where they determine that the professional involved is qualified and registered (a report of a merely facultative nature that must be presented if the statement and the documentation wants to be considered and not taken as  uncontroversial). Silence of the Labor Risk Insurer or the Self- Insured Employer will enable the proceedings to continue.
  • Intervention of the CENTRAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (C.M.C.): once the 5-day period has expired, the actions must be submitted to the C.M.C. to determine the causal relationship invoked between the reported illness and the execution of the work in the context of the waiver of the duty of SPMI. The C.M.C. may order measures to better provide for when the background is not sufficient to issue a resolution and may order the extension of the deadlines to issue an opinion for a period of 15 days.
  • Opinion of the C.M.C.: it must be issued within 30 days from its presentation in order to state the occupational nature of the COVID-19 disease. The Opinion must be based on scientific facts and in accordance with current regulations. It should also count with the prior intervention of the Technical Secretary for Legal Affairs (who will issue a report about the legality of the procedure and the causal relationship).

• Administrative Remedies

Within 3 administrative working days from the notification of the C.M.C.’s Opinion, the parties may request by Electronic Portals:

• • the rectification of material or formal mistakes, provided that the amendment does not alter the substance of the administrative act; or
  • the revocation of the Opinion due to the existence of a substantial contradiction between its basis and the conclusion or omissions to resolve any of the petitions or issues raised.

Remedies must be solved by the C.M.C. within 3 days of their presentation and notification to every party. The interposition does not interrupt the term to Appeal.

• Appeal

The decision of the C.M.C. may be appealed by a direct action of any of the parties before the labor courts of the corresponding jurisdiction. If these does not exist, then the appeal must be presented before the first instance courts which are competent.  The term of the appeal presentation is within 15 administrative working days.

• Other aspects provided by the regulation

• • Mandatory Legal Representation.
  • Notifications through “e-Services Labor Risk Insurer – Electronic Portal System” and constitution of electronic address.
  • Computation of terms in administrative working days

The Labor Risk Insurer issued on April 30^th 2020, the Resolution N° 40/2020 which established that until the VIRTUAL PORTAL of this SUPERINTENDENCE OF OCCUPATIONAL  RISKS (SOR) is definitively implemented, it will be possible to carry out presentations of the procedures before the CENTRAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (C.M.C.) and the JURISDICTIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSIONS (J.M.C.) through the platform “Distance Procedures” (DP) of the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Regarding the medical examination hearings, the regulation provides that when the circumstances justify it, they will be included in the exception to the prohibition of circulation of Section 6, Article 6 of Decree 297/2020. The norm also approves the PROTOCOL FOR THE VIRTUAL CELEBRATION OF AUDIENCES BEFORE THE HOMOLOGATION SERVICE IN THE SCOPE OF THE JURISDICTIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSIONS. Likewise, by Resolution N° 39/2020 -posted on April 30^th 2020- the Superintendence of Occupational Risks creates the COMMISSION OF CONDITIONS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT.

On the other hand, Resolution Nº 44/2020 published on May 18^th 2020 establishes the VIRTUAL PORTAL as a means of interaction with the community in general. This interaction is within the scope of the Superintendence of Occupational Risk and will be performed through the “e-Services S.R.L.” platform, which can be access through “Fiscal Code”. This way, the presentations addressed to the Jurisdictional Medical Commissions (C.M.J.) and the Central Medical Commission (C.M.C.) will be channeled by the VIRTUAL PORTAL.

Finally, Resolution N° 46/2020 emitted on May 21^st 2020 approves the “OCCUPATIONAL RISK SUPERINTENDENCY PROTOCOL FOR THE PREVENTION OF COVID-19 – Recommendations and Suggestions”. This is a document created taking into consideration what was discussed with the Crisis Committee, based on the advice received by the Prevention Management and the intervention of the Medical Service, Hygiene and Security Departments.

The purpose of this is to deliver recommendations and prevention measures designed to address gradually the normalization of duties by the end of the SPMI and seeking the implementation of the recommendations issued by both the health authority and the Occupational Risk Superintendence. Especially regarding travel to and from work, the use of personal protective equipment and special recommendations for jobs exempted from compliance with the SPMI.

This Protocol includes recommendations for the performance of activities for the Occupational Risks Superintendence and details a series of annexes, such as:  (i) Protocol for work in medical commissions; (ii) Protocol for personnel in the infrastructure areas and user support; (iii) Protocol for personnel of the Occupational Risk Superintendence who carry out inspection and control activities in third-party facilities (Prevention Management and Performance Control Management); (iv) Health sworn statement; (v) Recommendations for personal care and hygiene; (vi) Recommendations for social distancing in common spaces; (vii) Recommendations and posters for the entrance of the general public; (viii) Recommendations for the use of official vehicles; (ix) Recommendations in service areas; (x) Recommendations for the correct use of disposable Personal Protection Equipment; (xi) Posters indicating the disposal of Personal Protection Equipment waste; (xii) COVID-19 symptoms and (xiii) Regulatory Reference Framework.

 

MEASURES FROM THE HEALTH MINISTRY

AUTHORIZATION TO COMMERCIALIZE INVASIVE MECHANIC VENTILATORS.

Through Resolution N. º 695/2020, published on April 1st 2020, companies that manufacture, distribute or commercialize invasive mechanical ventilators cannot deliver the units without express authorization from the Ministry of Health. It states that it does not matter whether a purchase order, contract or obligation of any nature exist.

 

EXCEPTIONAL MEDICINE PRESCRIPTION

The Ministry of Health created the Resolution N°. 696/2020 on April 1^st as a means to state that:

1. The prescription of medicine is exceptionally authorized to be performed through text messages, web messages applications, e-mails or faxes. This includes medicine from the Lists III and IV Law N° 19.303, for cancer patients, for non-transferable chronic disease patients or any other medicine that is sold under prescription.
2. These procedures of prescription will exempt the provisions of Law N° 17.132, N° 17.565 and N°19.303 and the Disposition N° 13.831/16 from the National Administration of Medicine, Food and Technology that demand the prescription delivered in person.
3. The requirements to perform the procedure according to the disposition are: (i) photo of the prescription on letterhead and with computer print letter or electronic recipe of the financer that allows to identify the professional prescriber; (ii) comply with the provisions of the Law for the Promotion of the Use of Medicines by its generic name (Law N.º 25.649); (iii) regular or digital signature, letterhead with the professionals or financers details, allowing the prescriber to be identified; (iv) prescription with name, surname and registration number stamp; (v) date after the entry into force o Decree N.º 297/2020; (vi) complete data of the patient to whom the medicine is prescribed (name, surname and id number); (vii) the writing “COVID-19 EMERGENCY RECIPE“; (viii) limit the units to prescribe so as not to exceed the chronic monthly treatment; and (ix) expressly provide in the prescription that it´s temporary validity shall not exceed the 7 calendar days since the day of the prescription for its effective presentation.
4. The authorization for this system is exceptional
5. For the provision of the medicine, the pharmacy must be close enough to the place in which the patient is isolated.
6. The professionals describe must create a book called “Prescribing Book under COVID-19” where they will register the data established in Annex I of this Resolution.
7. If the patient possesses prescriptions in paper modality and has not presented them yet to the dispenser, the same will continue being valid for 90 days from the prescription date.

 

PROCEDURE MEASURES, DEADLINES, MANAGMENT AND CUSTOMS SERVICES

Regarding the mandatory isolation measures, it has been necessary to establish special norms for deadlines in the administrative and judicial procedures, as well as for the different organisms who must elaborate norms for their proper functioning during this period. Hereunder, we will proceed to mention some of the main norms in this sense.

 

SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE

With the Decision CSJN N º 4/2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared the days from March 16^TH till March 31^st as non-working holidays for judicial proceedings before the Tribunals that compose the Judicial Power. During this period, the tribunals must guarantee the minimum provision of the justice service. Therefore, custom services will be suspended, except for procedural actions in which the presence of lawyers and/or the parties is essential. Also, for matters that cannot allow delays, the parties will require the authorization of non-working days and hours. Finally, the norm establishes that from March 18th 2020, every presentation to the national and federal justice system will be delivered completely in digital format through the Electronic Judicial Identification (except for initial presentations that cannot be handled in a digital modality). These presentations must be electronically signed by the presenter, along with the documentation and will be considered as affidavits, so no paper copy is required.

Based on the Health Emergency and the Decree 297/2020, the Supreme Court of Justice dispossess an extraordinary judicial recess, from March 20^th 2020 till March 31^st 2020, for all federal and national tribunals and other dependencies that integrate the Judicial Power. This is established at the Decision Nº 6/2020 and posted at the Official Gazette on March 26^th, 2020.

Subsequently, with the Decision N º 8/2020 from April 1st 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice decided to extend the extraordinary judicial recess related to national and federal tribunals and the dependencies that integrate the Judicial Power from April 1st till April 12^th 2020.

Moreover, the Decision N° 10/2020, of April 26^th 2020, extended the extraordinary judicial recess until April 26^th 2020 and the Decision N° 11/2020 and 12/2020 both dated on April 12^th 2020, allowed the use of electronic and digital signature within the scope of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary Power of the Nation. They also allowed procedures for receiving complaints, filing direct appeals and appeals to the Chamber.

By means of the Decision N° 14/2020, the Supreme Court of Justice has extended the Extraordinary legal recess until May 24^th 2020.

Finally, the Decision N° 15/2020 was published on May 27th 2020 in order to approve the Regulations for the Electronic Delivery of                  Offices with Entities Outside the Judicial Branch -DEOX-.

MEDIATION

By Resolution N° 121/2020 of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, it was established that during the period in which restrictions of movement and social distancing measures are in force, pre-court mediators will be able to conduct hearings by electronic means, by videoconference or by other means, provided that the identity of the participants and respect for the principles governing the procedure of mandatory pre-court mediation are guaranteed. In this regard, the norm has provided that:

• The parties and their lawyers must send to the e-mail address provided by the Mediator: (i) the cell phone number, (ii) the image of the ID card, (iii) a copy of the documents that prove the representation, (iv) the declaration of their e-mails and (v) their cell phone numbers, through which all subsequent communications will be valid.
• Video conferences can be held individually with each party or jointly with both, and can be complemented by the use of e-mails and telephone dialogues, provided that all participants have the necessary technical means and have given their written consent – in any medium – to hold them in this way.
• If an agreement with payment obligations is reached, it must be fulfilled by bank transfers to the accounts declared by the parties.
• If the signature is required, the mediator must send the relevant summons to the e-mails declared by the parties, including the express authorization to travel on a given day and during a given time, which must be shown to the authority that requires it.

After this, by means of the Disposition Nº 7/2020 issued by the Sub secretariat of Justice Access on May 8th 2020, the “Guidelines for the performance of Distance Mediations” was approved.

• CONSUMERS RELATIONSHIPS CONCILIATION SERVICES.

The Resolution Nº 137/2020 of the Productive Development Ministry – Secretariat of Interior Commerce was published on May 20th 2020 in order to state that in the context of the “SPMI” the audiences that must be held within the scope of the Direction of the Services for Conciliations Prior to Consumers Relations (also known as COPREC in Argentina) will be performed only through the Electronic Conciliation System.

The regulation includes the following stipulations:

• Constitution of Electronic Domicile (e-mail address) where the following notifications will be considered as valid:
  • Consumer: informs when the procedure to register in the system is conducted.
  • Supplier: the norm is vague in this matter. One paragraph indicates that it is constituted in the term of 10 working days from the notification and if the presentation is with representatives, then they must attach a copy of the powers in the first submission. However, later on it indicates that they must determine the domicile to the effects of the performance of the electronic audiences, reaching the conciliator within 48 hours of receiving the notifications. They must also inform the conciliator about the contact data of the people authorized to represent them in the complaint, to the effects of celebrating the audience with the Electronic Conciliation System (if the consumer agrees on this). The aforementioned period should be interpreted making express reference to the case of hearings by the Electronic Conciliation System.
• During the SPMI, the consumers must perform claims only through the Electronic Conciliation System, exclusively for complaints against suppliers that:
  • Have subscripted the Electronic Notification Agreement (Article 9 of Resolution N° 48/15 of the former Commerce Secretary).
  • Have been duly notified prior to the publication of the present resolution.
  • Have willingly constitute electronic domicile before the COPREC.
  • Have been notified by the platform “Distance Procedures” (according to Resolution Nº 126/2020 of the Secretary of Interior Commerce from the Ministry of Productive Development).
• Encourages suppliers who have not subscribed to the Electronic Notification Agreement, to constitute an electronic domicile before the COPREC through the “Distance Procedure System”
• Electronic Conciliation System Regulation:
  • Necessary Resources: the parties participate in the conciliation audiences by the electronic means, through the usage of information and communication technologies.
  • Voluntary nature of consumers: when initiating their complaints, they have the option of choosing the usage of electronic means to perform the audiences.
  • Mandatory for suppliers: if there is a complaint from the consumers who opt for the Electronic Conciliation System, they must constitute an electronic domicile.
  • Audiences: (i) they shall be held online using any electronic means that ensures the correct individualization and identification of the parties (ii) the Conciliator shall count with the agreement of the Parties, guaranteeing the accessibility of all Parties to the electronic means that they define.
  • Duration: the maximum term of 15 working days since the acceptance of the claim from the Conciliator.
  • Agreement: they are submitted for approval by the Conciliator who will forward them through the “Distance Procedure System”
  • Non-agreement: it is governed by the usual guidelines (arts. 16 y 17 law 26.993).
  • Non-appearance: they may not terminate due to non-appearance except those cases in which they expressly constitute the electronic domicile.
  • Minutes: they will keep on being registered by the Prejudicial Mediation System.
  • Legal Representative: the documentation must be submitted in copy to the mailbox of the Conciliator.
  • Domiciles: If the parties do not update this information, all the notifications sent to the electronic address provided Will be considered as valid.
  • Notifications: The notifications performed with COPREC and by the Conciliator in the electronic domiciles that the parties constitute are considered valid and effective.

• Terms: The procedural terms will begin to be counted from the day after the notification was performed. The period will be calculated in administrative working days, so that in those cases in which the notifications are sent to non-working days, the period will begin to run from the first following working day.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.

Given the current situation, Decree N° 298/2020 suspended the course of deadlines, within the administrative procedures regulated by (i)the National Law of Administrative Procedures N° 19549, (ii) Regulation of Administrative Procedures, (iii) Decree 1759/72 until March 31, 2020. Only administrative procedures related to the public emergency declared by Law N° 27.541, expanded by Decree No. 260/2020 and its complementary regulations, were exempt from such suspension.

Later on, Decree N.º 327/2020 extended the suspension of the course of the terms provided by Decree N°298/2020, within the administrative procedures regulated by the Administrative Procedures National Law (N° 19.549), the Administrative Procedures Regulation (Decree 1759/72 – T.O. 2017), and special procedures, from April 1^st till April 12^th 2020. Notwithstanding this, the acts fulfilled or to be fulfilled will be considered as valid. The same norm exempted from the mentioned suspension to those administrative procedures related to the emergency declared by Law N° 27.541, expanded by Decree N° 260/2020 and its amending and complementary regulations.

Moreover, the Decree 372/2020 posted on April 13^th 2020 extended the term until April 26^th 2020 and Decree Nº 410/2020, (published on April 26th 2020) prolonged it until May 10th 2020 the suspension of the deadlines established by Decree N° 298/20 and its complementary norms, within the administrative procedures regulated by (i) the National Administrative Procedures Law N° 19.549, (ii) the Administrative Procedures Decree N° 1759/72 – T.O. 2017 and other special proceedings.

On May 11^th 2020, Decree N° 458/2020 was issued in order to extend the suspension of time limits in administrative proceedings established by Decree N° 298/20 and its supplements until May 24^th.

Finally, Decree N° 494/2020 was emitted on May 25th 2020 so as to extend the suspension of the deadlines of the administrative procedures until June 7^th 2020.

 

NATIONAL FISCAL TRIBUNAL

By Resolution N. º 17/2020, the National Fiscal Tribunal extended the Extraordinary Judicial Recess stated by the Agreement Act of March 16th 2020 for the term of the “SPMI” established according to Decree N. º 297/2020.

 

FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC REVENUE

On the Official Gazette´s Special Supplement from March 20th 2020, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue published the General Resolution Nº 4685/2020. The norm establishes that, as an exception, until July 30th 2020 it is compulsory to use the Fiscal Code known as “Digital Presentations” to execute the presentations and communications electronically. Those procedures are detailed at the regulation. A measure like this is taken in order to avoid on-site crowding at the agencies, districts, and costumer services stations, to preserve staff health and the people that receive the services.

On the other hand, the General Resolution N° 4688/2020 modified Resolution N° 4540 and regulated the conditions that the taxpayers must have into consideration for the emission of credit and debit notes. Moreover, it has disposed that dispositions of the General Resolution N° 4540 will start having effects on May 1st 2020 and that when the operations are done by using the “Micro Small, and Medium Companies Regime of Credit Electronic Bills” beforehand the date established, the calculation of the negotiable net amount of the executive title will only consider the credit and debit notes issued by the issuer of the electronic credit bill.

Also, through General Resolution N.º 4691/2020, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue modified the deadlines established by General Resolution N° 4673/2020 for the purposes of the payment of the taxes related to personal property and the requirement of the exemption and adequation of the extension terms of the fiscal period (Decree N° 330/2020).

Likewise, the General Resolution N° 4692/2020 decided to set between April 1st and 12th 2020 a new extraordinary fiscal recess with the reach provided by the General Resolution N° 1.983, its amendments and complementary norms. After this, the General Resolution N° 4695/2020 published on April 13^th 2020 established a new extraordinary fiscal recess period between the days 13^th and 26^th of April.

Subsequently, through the General Resolution Nº 4703/2020 issued on April 28th 2020 a new extraordinary fiscal recess was set between April 27th and May 10th 2020 and  by means of the General Resolution Nº 4713/2020 the same period was extended until May 24^th 2020 and the General Resolution Nº 4722/2020 of the Federal Administration of Public Revenue states the recess until June 7^th 2020.  Finally, the General Resolution N° 4736/2020 established a new extraordinary fiscal recess between June 8^th and June 28^th 2020.

Moreover, the General Resolution Nº 4718/2020  established a payment facility regime within the scope “MY FACILITIES” system, for the cancellation of the tax, customs and social security obligations, included in the aforementioned regime whose expiration has operated until April 30^th 2020.

Finally, the General Resolution N° 4720/2020 was posted on May 21st 2020 in order to adopt measures to facilitate the compliance of the taxpayer’s obligations. The Federal Administration of Public Revenue has modified the terms of the affidavits presentations and payment of fees according to the following details:

• Obligations of affidavit presentations and the income and personal property taxes payment for the fiscal year 2019, of the people and undivided successions RG N° 975 and N° 2.151. The expiration operates during June 2020 until de dates of which, according to the termination of the Taxpayers Identification Number (also known as CUIT in Argentina), as indicated below:

CUIT Termination	Presentation Date	Payment Date
0, 1, 2 y 3	July 24th 2020	July 27th 2020
4, 5 y 6	July 27th 2020	July 28th 2020
7, 8 y 9	July 28th 2020	July 29th 2020

• Subjects reached by the RG N° 4.468: as an exception, they can make the presentation of the cedula tax affidavit and the payment of the resulting balance during the fiscal period 2019 until the following dates:

Termination CUIT	Presentation and payment date
0, 1, 2 y 3	July 27th 2020
4, 5 y 6	July 28th 2020
7, 8 y 9	July 29th 2020

• Beneficiaries of the income included in GR N° 2442 and N° 4003: as an exception may present the informative affidavits provided in articles 8 and 15 of the regulations, corresponding to the 2019 fiscal period, until July 31^st  2020.

Finally, on June 4^th 2020 the Federal Administration of Public Revenue published the General Resolution Nº 4730/2020 that suspended until June 30rd 2020, the initiation of tax execution proceedings and on June 5^th 2020 the General Resolution Nº 4734/2020 determined the  implementation of the benefits of reduction and/or postponement of the expiry of the patronal contributions and the payment facilities regime.

 

GENERAL JUSTICE INSPECTION

The General Justice Inspection, through General Resolution N. º 10/2020 suspended from March 16th 2020 till March 30th 2020 the terms of:

• Replies and transfers.
• Presentations for the fulfilment of the informative regime.

Subsequently, the General Resolution N.º 11/2020 regulated the use of mechanisms to develop distance meetings of the administrative or govern body and disposed that for the term of the circulation restriction extends, the meetings carried out by digital or informative platforms will be considered valid, even if  this is not established in the Statute.

The General Resolution N° 13/2020 of the la General Justice Inspection has resolved to extend until April 12th 2020 the suspension of the terms disposed originally by the General Resolution N° 10/2020.  This term was extended again from April 13^th 2020 till April 26^th 2020, by General Resolution N° 15/2020.

After this, the General Resolution Nº 19/2020, published on April 29th 2020 prolonged it until May 10th 2020 and the General Resolution Nº 24/2020 settled as the new date of the terms suspensions, May 24^th 2020.

By means of the General Resolution N° 28/2020, issued on May 25, 2020, it was established that all deadlines in effect as of March 19^th 2020, will be considered suspended with respect to this Inspectorate General of Justice, starting on March 20^th  2020 and ending on May 24^th  2020.

 

MINISTRY OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY.

The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, by means of Resolution Nº344/2020, published on April 23^rd 2020, established the need to extend the remote activity to avoid or diminish the propagation of COVID-19 virus. That is the reason why, it stated the following measures:

• Holding hearings and administrative actions within the scope of the Ministry Of Labor, Employment and Social Security, which are necessary for the continuity and substantiation of the procedures in progress and/or the ones to be initiated in the future: use of virtual platforms and/or any electronic means that guarantee due process.
• Documentary proof incorporated in the platforms and other enabled electronic means: it will have the character of an affidavit and validity made by the parties and their lawyers.
• Addresses: in all actions in process and/or those to be initiated by the parties and their lawyers, they must provide an address in an e-mail box and report a cell phone number, where all notifications must be validly made.
• Holographic signature: in those cases where exceptional circumstances require it in this way, in the notifications made for these purposes, the summons of the administered party must be included among the exceptions. The organism must extend to the parties the record of the summons, which must be shown to the authority that requires it, transcribing this express authorization to circulate on that day and time.
• Hearings: the hearings, new or pending in the unfinished proceedings, will be held through the virtual platform, after consulting the parties about their technological availability, being recorded by means of minutes drawn up by the agent that must be incorporated and notified to the participants.
• Payment Agreements: the account numbers of the parties must be reported so that they can be fulfilled through the modality of bank transfers, being in the case of the worker the account of his personal ownership.
• Resolution N° 359/2020, published on April 27^th 2020, clarifies that the provisions of the Resolution N° 101/2020 of the MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY, do not inhibit the faculties of the Provincial Labor Authorities for the substantiation and homologation of collective and/or individual agreements under the terms of Article 223 bis of the LCT. In this sense, the agreements homologated by the Provincial Labor Authorities must be communicated to the SUBSECRETARIAT OF LABOR AUDITORSHIP, dependent on the SECRETARIAT OF LABOUR of the MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY.

 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY.

By official notice issued on April 24^th 2020 it has been informed that as of April 22^nd 2020, the National Institute of Industrial Property will be working with a service of minimum guards and shift system. Likewise, the web portal will continue to operate.

 

SUSPENSION OF THE OBLIGATION FROM SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.

With Resolution N° 119/2020, the Secretariat of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Productive Development, decided to suspend the terms of the Surveillance Systems with respect to the surveillance certificates already issued, which expire between March 20^th and May 31^st 2020. In this sense, the application of a series of norms that regulate technical aspects of diverse domestic electrical devices is suspended, in order to subject them to mandatory certification regimes, as well as to certain safety standards, such as: (i) Resolutions Nr. 319/1999 of the former Secretariat Of Industry, Trade And Mining, of the former Ministry Of Economy And Public Works And Services, (ii)  35/2005 of the former Secretariat Of Technical Coordination of the former Ministry Of Economy And Production; (iii) 169/2018 of the former Secretariat Of Trade of the former Ministry Of Production, (iv) Provisions Nr. 86/2007, 859/2008, both from the former National Directorate of Domestic Trade of the former Sub secretariat Of Consumer Defense of the Secretariat Of Internal Trade of the former Ministry Of Economy And Production, (v) 761/2010, 246/2013, 219/2015, 230/2015, all from the ex-National Directorate of Domestic Trade of the former Commerce Secretary of the ex-Ministry of Economy and Public Finances, (vi) 170/2016 and 172/2016, both from the ex-National Directorate of Domestic Trade of the former Interior Commerce Sub-Secretary of the ex-Commerce Secretary of the former Production Ministry.

The suspension of the obligation will be extended until June 15^th 2020, a period that may be extended, if necessary or while the “preventive and obligatory social isolation” subsists.

 

MiPyMES CERTIFICATE.

The Secretary of the Small and Medium Industry with Resolution N° 52/2020, has decided to extend the validity of the MiPyMES Certificate’s whose expiry date takes place the last day of April 2020 or the last day of May 2020. This extension is until the last day of June 2020.

 

NATIONAL AGENCY OF CONTROLED MATERIALS. NATIONAL DIRECTION OF REGISTRY AND NATIONAL DIRECTION OF AUDIT, SAFEGUARD AND DESTRUCTION OF CONTROLED MATERIALS.

The Joined Disposition N° 1/2020 states that the mentioned agency will start its custom services on April 27^th 2020. However, they will adapt the shift system.

 

ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATES AND ANNUAL AFFIDAVIT.

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, through Resolution N° 93/2020, extended until April 30^th 2020 the validity of the Annual Environmental Certificates granted to Carriers and Operators of Dangerous and Pathogenic Residues (National Law N° 24.051) that had operated from March 1^st 2020 and because their activities are reached by Decree N° 297/2020. On the other hand, the same norm established that during the validity of the mandatory isolation, the obtaining of manifests for the transport of hazardous waste must be carried out in person, following the guidelines stated by the Resolution.

Subsequently, on April 24^th 2020, the Resolution N°131/2020 of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, was published. This norm stated an extension on the presentation of the affidavit for the obligated industrial establishments until July 31^st 2020.

 

ABROAD SALES AFFIDAVITS  

Resolution N° 36/2020 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries (posted on the Official Gazette´s special supplement on March 20^th 2020) exceptionally extends for 30 calendar days from March 12^th 2020 the terms of the Affidavits of Abroad Sales (DJVE) that are registered and in force within the regime of Laws N° 21.453 and 26.351, including those that have been registered with a validity period of 30 days. This Extension will not be applicable to those DJVEs that have been registered as of March 12^th, 2020.

 

NATIONAL SERVICE OF HEALTH AND QUALITY FOOD INDUSTRY HABILITATIONS.

Through Resolution Nº 295/2020 of March 28^th, the National Service of Health and Quality of Food Industry extended until July 31^st 2020, the expiration of some allotments and registries. Hereunder we will proceed to mention them as:

• Establishment and signature of animal´s food.
• Wholesales markets, concentrator markets, deposits, re-expeditions centers, commercial operators, operators of logistic places and fruits and vegetables gatherers.
• Establishments for the packaging and refrigeration of fruits and vegetables.
• Places for the cleaning and disinfection of plastic reusable containers destined to the packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Rooms for the transport of animal origin products.

 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY.

By Resolution N° 7/2020, the institute aforementioned has suspended the course of interest accrued and/or payable obligations generated by services rendered by the National Institute of Industrial Technology. It should be highlight that the institute offer more than 1.200 services for all the industry sectors (food, construction and infrastructure, electronics and energy, mechanics and logistic, chemistry and environment, sectorial services and management and knowledge technologies. Therefore, the suspension of the course of interests that have accrued or are accrued for the various obligations generated by such services rendered by the Institute is applicable as of March 20^th 2020 (date of the beginning of the isolation). Considering the extension of the SPMI, the suspension of interest was extended until April 26^th 2020 by Resolution N° 10/2020. Then Resolution N° 13/2020, extended it until May 10^th 2020 and subsequently until May 24^th  2020 by Resolution N° 15/2020 (published on May 20^th 2020) and finally until June 7^th  2020, through Resolution N° 16/2020 issued on June 8^th 2020.

 

AUTONOMOUS CITY OF BUENOS AIRES

As a consequence of the health emergency, modality of distance procedures for costumers’ services had to be implemented. Also, in order to prevent people from commuting and spreading the infection, deadlines have been extended.

The web site (https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/coronavirus/nueva-modalidad-de-atencion-al-publico-ante-la-emergencia-sanitaria detailed everything related to the extensions and  new modalities for each procedure.

 

PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES

Given the current Health Emergency situation, the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, decided to apply the use of virtual and long-distance communication and work channels and to extend some deadlines as well with the purpose of preventing the circulation of people on the streets and governmental headquarters. The details about the measures can be found at the web site: https://www.gba.gob.ar/servicios

 

MEASURES RELATED TO DATA PROTECTION

The Administrative Decision N° 431/2020 was published on March 23^rd 2020 as a way to regulate everything related to data and information. In order to protect public health, the norm provides that data and information registered on the files, registries, bases, data banks or related, can be transmitted, transferred, or exchanged by the competence of the respective organisms or jurisdictions. This will be allowed during the pandemic COVID-19 within the framework of the health emergency and must be supervised by the “General Coordination Unit of the Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention of Internationally Importance Public Health Events”

Of course, the norm adds that provisions for protection of personal and sensitive data must be followed at every moment, not allowing them to be disseminated, transmitted nor transferred outside the jurisdictions, entities and organisms of the National Public Administration, within the framework of the Protection of Personal Data Law and always respecting the principles, rights and actions emerging from it.