Affected obligations: National treatment (article 2)
Level of government: central
Measures: Decret 2080 of 2000, art. 26 and 27
Description: A foreign investor may make equity portfolio investments only in Colombia through a foreign capital investment fund.
Sector: All the sectors
Concerned obligations: National Treatment (Article 2)
Level of government: central
Measures: Act 226 of 1995, Art. 3 and 11
Description: If the Colombian State decides to sell all or part of its participation in a company to a different person to another Colombian State Enterprise or to another Colombian government entity it shall first offer such participation, and exclusively under the conditions laid down in article 11 Act 226 of 1995 to:
(a) The workers, pensioners, and former workers (other than the former workers removed with a justified cause) with the enterprise and other businesses owned or controlled by that enterprise;
(b) Employee associations or former employees of the enterprise;
(c) Trade unions;
(d) Federations and trade union federations of workers;
(e) Employemnt funds;
(f) Unemployment and retirement fund; and
(g) Cooperatives entities
Colombia does not reserve the right to control any other subsequent sale or transfer of ownership.
Sector: Fishery and other services related to fishery
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2)
Level of Government: Central
Measures: Decret 2256 of 1991, article 27, 28, and 67. Agreement 005 of 2003, Section II and VII
Description: Only Colombian nationals may execute artisanal fisheries.
A vessel with a foreign flag may engage in fishing activities in Colombian territorial waters through the association with the Colombian enterprise allowed. The value of the authorization and the fishery patent are higher for foreign vessels than for the Colombian vessels.
If the flag of a foreign vessel belongs to a country that is party of another bilateral agreement with Colombia, the terms of that bilateral agreement shall establish if the requirement of association with a Colombian company that holds the authorization applies(17).
(17) The Treaty of Vasquez-Saccio, signed by Colombia and the United States in September 1972, includes related topics with the fishery.
Sector: surveillance and private security services
Affected obligations: National treatment (Article 2)
Level of government: Central
Measures: Decret 356 of 1994, article 8, 12, 23 and 25
Description: only an enterprise organized under the laws of Colombian as a Limited Liability Company or as cooperative of surveillance and private security(18) can provide monitoring and private security services in Colombia. The partners or members of these companies should be nationals from Colombia.
The companies incorporated prior to 11 of February 1994 with partners or foreign capital, cannot increase the participation of the foreign partners. The cooperatives incorporated prior to that date may retain their legal nature.
(18) Article 23 defines a "surveillance cooperative and private security" as a non-profit associative company in which the workers, are simultaneously the contributors and managers of the company, built with the purpose to provide services of surveillance and private security, and related services, in a remunerated form.
Sector: journalism
Affected obligations: Members of the board, board of directors and temporal entry (article 5)
Level of the government: Central
Measures: Act 29 of 1944, Art. 13
Description: The Director General or manager of any newspaper
Published in Colombia in charge of the national policy must be national of Colombia.
Sector:Domicilary public services
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2).
Level of government: Central
Measure: Act 142 of 1994, Art. 1, 17, 18, 19 and 23. Code of commerce, Art 471 and 422
Description:
A public services company with domicile, has to be establish under the procedure or utilities "Public Services Companies" or "E.S.P.", must be resident of Colombia and legally constituted under Colombian law as company by actions. The requirement to be organized as company by actions does not apply in the case of descentralized entities that have the form of industrial and commercial company of the State.
For the purpose of this entry, domiciliary public services includes the provision of the services of aqueduct, sewage and refuse disposal, electricity, gas fuel and basic public switched telephone (BPST) and its complementary activities. The complementary activities to the public telephone services basic commuted are public long-distance telephone and mobile in the rural sector, but not the mobile commercial services.
A company in which a local community organized possesses majority, shall be preferred over any other enterprise fleeing submitted a tender equivalent in the granting of concessions or licenses pure public residential services to the community.
Before a request by a Party after two years (2) of the entry into force of this Agreement, Colombia shall consult with that party to consider whether:
(a) Party of any such measure shall be amended; or
(b) Any sector may be removed from this measure.
If, as a result of the consultations under this paragraph, the parties agree that this Non-Conforming Measure must then be amended, with the approval of the Parties the entry shall be amended.
Sector: Cinematography
Affected obligations: performance requirements (Article: 6)
Level of the Government: Central :
Measures: Act 814 of 2003, Art 5, 14, 15, 18 and 19.
Description: the exhibition or distribution of foreign films is subject to the quota for film development, which is established in a 8.5% (per cent) of the net monthly income derived from the exhibition or distribution.
The rate applied to the exhibited shall be reduced to 2.25 per cent (per cent) where the display of foreign films shall present together with a national short film.
Until 2013, the rate applied to a distributor shall be reduced to 5.5 per cent (per cent) if, during the year immediately preceding, the percentage of Colombian feature-length circulated to cinemas or other broadcasters matched or exceeded the target percentage established by the Government.
Sector: open television audiovisual production services
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2)
Performance requirements (Article 6)
Level of government: central
Measures:
Act 014 of 1991, Art. 37, Act. 680 of 2001, Art. 1 and 4
Act 335 of 1996, Art. 13 and 24, Act 182 of 1995, Art. 37 paragraph 3, Art. 47 and Art. 48
Agreement 002 of 1995 (article 10)
Agreement 023 of 1997 (article 8)
Agreement 024 of 1997 (article 6 and 9)
Agreement 020 of 1997 (article 3 and 4)
Description: Only Colombian nationals or juridical persons legally formed in Colombia may obtain concessions to provide the service of open television.
To obtain a concession for the operation of a private national television channel provides open television services, a legal person must be organized as a company,
The number of concessions for delivery of open television coverage of national and local for-profit is subject to an economic needs test according to the criteria established by law.
The foreign capital in any open television concessionaire is limited to 40 per cent (per cent).
National television
The providers (operators and concessionaires of spaces) of services of national open television services shall be issued in each programming of national production as follows:
(a) At least 70% (per cent); between 19 and 22:30 hours.
(b) A minimum of 50% (per cent) between the 22:30 p.m. and 24:00 hours.
(c) A minimum of 50% (per cent) between 10:00 and 19 hours
(d) A minimum of 50% (per cent) for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the hours described in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 until 31 January 2009, the date from which the minimum for these days and hours shall be reduced to 30% (per cent).
Regional and local television
The regional television may only be provided by entities owned by the State.
Service providers of open regional and local television shall allocate in each broadcast a minimum of 50 (%) of programming of national production.
Sector: Television by subscription audiovisual production services
Obligations concerned: performance requirements (article 6)
Level of government: Central
Measures:
Act No. 680 of 2001 art. 4 and 11
Act No. 182 of 1995 art. 42
Agreement 014 of 1997, art. 14, 16 and 30
Act 335 of 1996, art 8
Agreement 032 of 1998 art. 7 and 9
Description: Only legal persons legally constituted in Colombia may provide television services by subscription. Such entities must make available of suscribers the reception, without additional costs, of the Colombian open television channels of national, regional and municipal available in the area of coverage. The transmission channels of Regional and Municipal shall abide by the technical capacity of television operator by subscription.
Satelital television service providers only have the obligation to include within their basic programme the transmission of channels of public interest of the Colombian Government. When the programming of an open channel subject to a quota of domestic content is re-broadcasted, the service provider shall not modify television the content of the original signal.
Television by subscription not including satellite television
The concessionaire by subscription television service that transmits advertisement other than those of origin must comply with the minimum programming percentages of national production applied to national television service providers as described in the entry of open television and audiovisual production services from page 20 to 21 of this annex. Colombia interpretes article 16 of agreement 014 of 1997 as not requiring providers by subscription television services to comply with minimum percentages of national production programming when advertisement are inserted within the programming outside the territory of Colombia, Colombia continue this interpretation, subject to Article 7.1(c).
There shall be no restrictions on the number of concessions television subscriptions in a zonal level, district and municipal once current concessions in these levels expire and in no case beyond 31 October 2011.
Service providers of cable television should produce and broadcast in Colombia at least one hour of this schedule between 18:00 and 24:00 hours.
Sector: removal scraps services
Obligations affected: National Treatment (article 2)
Level of government: central
Measures: Decrete 2080 of 2000 Art. 6
Description: is not permitted foreign investment in activities in relation to the processing and disposal of hazardous waste, radioactive or toxic waste not produced in the country.
Sector: Financial Services
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2)
Level of government: Central
Measures: Decrete 2419 of 1999 Art. I (consistent with the Act 270 of 1996 article 203 and Decree No. 1065 of 1999 art. 16)
Description: The amounts of money which should be disclosed to the judiciary bodies, police authorities(19), bonds and amounts relating to developing leasing contracts shall be deposited in the Agrarian Bank of Colombia S. A.
(19) A guarantee under Colombian legislation, is an deposit of money that is done under the command of a judge. For example, a guarantee could be done by a respondent with the purpose to eliminate the provisional measures of foreclosure or seizure.
Sector: Financial Services
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2)
Level of government: central
Measures: professional statute of the financial system
Description: Colombia may grant exclusive rights or benefits to the following public entities:
Agriculture financing fund (FINAGRO):
Colombian farming bank;
National Guarantees Fund;
National Electricity financial (FEN);
Financial territorial development (FINDETER);
Fiduciary La Previsora;
The Colombian Institute for Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad (ICETEX).
External commerce bank (BANCOLDEX)
Financial Fund Development Projects (FONADE).
Such advantages or exclusive rights, shall include but are not limited to the following(20):
Tax exemptions.
(20) For more clearance and no matter the Non-Conforming Measures within the Annex A, the Parties understand the advantages or exclusive rights a Party may give to specific entities are not limited to the quoted examples.
Exemptions from the requirements for registration and periodic report in the field of actions.
The purchase by the Colombian Government, throught any of its public entities, of obligations issued by such entities.
Sector: All the sectors
Obligations concerned: National treatment (article 2)
Level of government: Central
Measures: Political Constitution of Peru (1993), art.71
Decreto Legislativo N 757, official journal El Peruano 13 November 1991. Legal Framework for the increase of private investment, article 13
Description:
Within fifty (50) km of borders, foreigners may not acquire or possess by any title mines, land, forests, water, fuel and energy sources, directly or indirectly, individually in society, under penalty of forfeiture to the State, the ISA acquired right. Except for the case of public need expressly declared by the Supreme Decree adopted by the Council of Ministers, according to the law.
For each case of acquisition or possession in the area, the investor shall submit an application to the competent ministry in accordance with the legislation in force.
For example such authorisations have been issued in the mining sector.
Sector: Broadcasting services
Obligations affected: National treatment (article 2)
Level of government: Central
Measures: Act No. 28278 official journal El Peruano July 16th, 2004, Radio and Television Act, art. 24
Description: Natural persons with peruvian nationality or legal entities constituted under Peruvian legislation and domiciled in Peru may only be holders of broadcasting services' authorisations and licences.
Foreign participation in such legal persons may not exceed 40 per cent (per cent) of the total participations or shares of social capital, shall also be or have participation or shares in broadcasting companies in their country of origin.
The foreigner, neither directly or through a single-member company, may hold authorization or licence.
Sector: Audiovisual services
Obligations concerned: Performance requirements (Article 6}
Level of Government: Central
Measures: Act No. 28278 official journal "El Peruano" July 16th, 2004, Radio and Television Act, 8th supplementary and final provision
Description: The holders of broadcasting services (open signal) shall establish a minimum national production of 30% (per cent) of its programming, in the schedule from 5:00 to 24:00, on weekly average.
Sector: Broadcasting services
Obligations concerned: National Treatment (Article 2), Most favoured nation treatment (Article 3)
Level of government: Central