Category: News

It is undeniable that the increase in virtual transactions in the recent months has triggered multiple violations of consumer’s rights. For this reason, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce published new guidelines for contractual protection of transactions that are executed on digital platforms.

Through a legal opinion, the administrative authority stated that payment reversal is only applicable in particular circumstances. This is a legal institution established in the Consumer Statute, it consists of the right of consumers to request the return of the transaction to its initial state, as if it had never occurred.

Therefore, payment reversal will be only applicable when: (i) the consumer has been a victim of fraud, (ii) the purchased product is not the same as the one received, and (iii) the transaction was not done by the consumer.

BéndiksenLaw makes your life easier: we can provide you with personalized advice on consumer law issues.

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The maximum date to renew commercial registries is on March 31.  This registration is extremely important for merchants and entrepreneurs since, aside from being legally mandated, it has multiple benefits such as commercial visibility, the opening of business opportunities and ease of access to lines of credit.

With the renewal of the registry, the company’s public information, as well as its commercial activities, based on its current line of business and future corporate projections, will be updated. Do you need help? BéndiksenLaw can accompany and advise you in the management of this process.

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Duty free zones are spaces in which the development of commercial, industrial and services activities are performed under special regulations regarding taxation, customs and foreign trade.

With Decree 278 of 2021 certain aspects of the duty-free zones have been modified to generate more competitive spaces with aims of promoting innovative commercial projects that can bring local and regional benefits. The decree aims to: promote e-commerce, boost the export of goods and services, and reduce the requirements and processing times to foster an easier access to these zones by new companies.

Some benefits of Decree 278 are:

• A decrease on the minimum required investment amount for the declaration and prorogation of duty- free zones.
• E-commerce on duty-free zones trough postal traffic and urgent shipments.
• Removes the requirement of a minimum 20-hectare area for new permanent duty-free zones that are dedicated to the rendering of services in municipalities with less than a million habitants.
• Recognition of intangible assets (in accordance with the current intellectual property regime) as part of investment commitments (up to 20%).

If you wish to know more about how to take advantage of these benefits for your company, BéndiksenLaw can provide legal counsel and guidance regarding this matter.

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Economic and commercial transformations over the last year have left great changes in corporate matters. Colombian regulations have not been indifferent to these changes. The Superintendency of Corporations recently stated new rules for annual corporate shareholders’ meetings.

The resolution of the administrative entity, with its legal basis on Decree 176 of 2021, establishes the applicable rules for shareholders’ and partners’ meetings for the current year. These norms determine deadlines for companies to execute said meetings at the closing of the accounting year.

The deadline to hold pending meetings was consolidated. The maximum date for said meetings, for both accounting year 2019 and 2020, is 31^st of March 2021. Do not wait until last minute, BéndiksenLaw can counsel and assist your company in its shareholders’ meeting.

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Due to the current global health crisis, technology use has increased in previously unthinkable ways. A significant part of corporate productivity and business efficiency is now assisted by digital mechanisms. Calling and executing corporate shareholders’ meetings are no exception. . The Superintendency of Finance published a set of guidelines of best practices for virtual shareholders’ meetings.

The guidelines include sections relating to calling and executing the meeting, as well as instructions for after-meeting matters. The purpose of said recommendations by the administrative authority is to ensure that virtual shareholders’ meetings fulfill all legal requirements.

Considering the complexity and technicality required to execute these important events for companies, such as shareholders’ meetings, avoid future complications and penalties: BéndiksenLaw offers you counsel and support under the latest regulatory guidelines issued by the authorities on the matter.

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Public Notaries have assumed the challenge of the digital age, as the traditional way of providing their services comes to an end. The Superintendency of Notaries and Registries issued the administrative acts and technical annexes under which notary services will be provided online from now on.

The administration will enable public notaries who fulfill the technical requirements set forth in the law to execute more than 400 digital procedures. These procedures include marriages, authentications, wills, among others. This represents an important change in day-to-day activities, considering that before users only had one choice: going physically to the notary’s place of business.

Whereas now, there is the possibility to receive notary services online. Procedures will be offered through virtual meetings, technological solutions, and web and mobile access which must provide synchronization, communication and traceability for users.

These three aspects are crucial both physically and digitally and must be applied to all the notary public’s activities. Synchronization between parties refers to electronically signing documents simultaneously. In this way, the will of both parties will coincide with the time during which the process is executed. Also, stable communication must be maintained between the public notary and the interested parties. Finally, traceability refers to keeping an orderly and methodical record that allows reviewing the stored information at a later moment.

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Following a request by a domestic worker whose deceased employer owed her labor obligations, the Ministry of Labor issued a legal opinion touching on several significant issues to consider when an employer dies. This is especially relevant in legal probate processes.

First, the entity declared that the death of an employer is not a valid cause to terminate labor contracts.  Second, labor obligations are liabilities of the estate that is the subject of the probate process. This means that people entitled by law to inherit from a certain person must assume the deceased’s payments.

Thus, if an employer dies, the labor contract is not terminated due to that circumstance. Additionally, all labor obligations, including salary and social security payments are part of the probate processes. Therefore, heirs must assume said amounts.

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Cryptocurrencies transformed the traditional scheme of commerce as a disruptive innovation to economic operators. Faced with this phenomenon, the Colombian Superintendency of Corporations, following the Bank of the Republic’s opinion, has always emphasized the impossibility of executing commercial operations with them.

Previously, in an opinion issued in August 2020 the Colombian administrative authority sustained the illegality of making capital contributions to corporations with cryptocurrencies. The reasonings were the enforced circulation of cash and the Colombian peso as only legal tender in the country.

Nevertheless, this changed. In a legal opinion of December 2020, the Colombian Superintendency of Corporations stated that is indeed possible to make capital contributions to corporations with cryptocurrencies. This taking into account that commercial law allows shareholders to make capital contributions with assets other than cash.

Therefore, cryptocurrencies can now be used to make capital contributions to corporations, as long as, they are understood as assets with an economic value fixed by an appraisal approved by the partners, shareholders or the board of directors.

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E-commerce is growing exponentially and with it infringements on consumers’ rights. Deciding a lawsuit where a retailer refused a customer’s right of withdrawal with no motivation, the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce stated that retailers must legally justify their refusal to a customer’s right of withdrawal.

The right of withdrawal is the possibility that consumers have to back out of a sale contract. It is established in either of the following cases: (i) The sale is made directly with the retailer’s financing systems, (ii) Timeshare sales, (iii) The sale is not made with traditional methods of acquisitions (e.g. sales from home or office); or (iv) In “distance sales” where the consumer does not have prior physical interaction with the product.

Therefore, when consumers decide to back out of a sale contract, retailers must accept it or refuse their request but said reply must be supported by reasoning of legal origin.

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