Law number 10,113 "Law on Cannabis for Medicinal and Therapeutic Use and on Hemp for Food and Industrial Use" came into effect on March 9^th of this year.

This regulation contemplates an objective that covers three specific scenarios; these being the following:

1. Regulate and allow access to and use of cannabis and its derivatives exclusively for medicinal and therapeutic use, seeking to guarantee the fundamental right to health in the country.

2. Authorize the production, industrialization and marketing of hemp for industrial and food use, as well as psychoactive cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic purposes.

3. Promote economic and social development, and the adequate distribution of wealth in rural areas of the national territory, encouraging their production, industrialization and commercialization for medicinal and therapeutic purposes and promoting productive chains that are capable of benefiting small agricultural producers. .

 

Within the aspects contemplated in this law, article 13 authorizes companies that obtain a license to industrialize or manufacture medicines and other value-added products for medical or therapeutic use; that make use of psychoactive cannabis plants or their by-products and derivatives as raw material for these purposes, to settle and operate under the Free Zone Regime with its incentives, benefits and conditions.

Those activities authorized for cannabis for medical or therapeutic use carried out under this Regime must pay the special tax for carrying out activities authorized for medicinal cannabis created in this law.

Finally, a period of six months is granted, counted from the publication of this law in the Official Gazette to issue its regulations.

However, the Government of the Republic assumed the commitment to have the regulation ready before the end of its term in the current administration.

The General Directorate of Taxation through resolution number DGT-R-06-2022 called "Resolution on the non-compensation of taxes with a specific destination" establishes that in the case of this type of tax, compensation with credits or debits of another different tax.

This provision is still contemplated in cases in which the tax is administered by the General Directorate of Taxation.

This provision came into effect on March 2^nd of the current year.

On February 15^th of the current year, resolution RES-DGA-02-2022 was published in the Official Gazette number 30, through which, based on the powers granted in application of national customs regulations - General Law of Customs -law number 7557- and its reforms, the regulation to the General Customs Law -Decree number 25270-H- and Central American -contemplating the Central American Customs Code IV and its regulations-, the following provisions are exposed:

1.      Inspection Period

It is determined that the customs authorities in the application of the power of permanent control can carry out inspections when they consider it necessary, for facilitating this procedure regarding merchandises that enter to the national customs territory, without interrupting the flow of legitimate trade and without prejudice to other control measures that may be applied by the Customs Service.

 

2.      Inspection Development

It is mentioned that customs officials can open packages for reviewing their content to verify the quantity, nature, weight, and any relevant characteristics of the merchandise.

 

Both the review and its opening must be carried out by the criteria established by the Risk Management Department, to exercise effective and efficient control before the customs clearance of the merchandise.

 

3.      Unloading of the Goods

This procedure can be carried out with or without the intervention of the customs official, purposes for which the customs depositary must consult the corresponding customs office on how it will be carried out.

4.      Proof of Actions

In the inspection procedure, the customs officer can open the packages, review their content and verify the nature of what was declared according to the information contained in the declaration of goods or the consultation of the manifest.

For these purposes, both the depositary, the customs carrier, and the customs officer, will be responsible for recording their actions and records in the computer system, merchandise declaration, or respective document.

These provisions came into force 03 days after their publication.

Through resolution number RES-DGA-042-2022 published in scope number 31 to the Official Gazette number 30 of last February 15^th of the current year; the issuance of the document called "Treatment of the reasonable doubt of the customs value in the verification of the immediate control" is disclosed.

This procedure is established for standardizing the process that must be carried out by the customs authorities for the application of reasonable doubt during the review of the customs returns; in the verification processes when these authorities have reasonable doubts about the declared value.

Additionally, it is stated that the established procedure will apply to Customs -in the exercise of its immediate control functions-; the Customs Technical Departments, senior staff, and those directly involved in the procedure. In addition, specifically, it is determined that its execution falls on the Technical and Regulatory Departments of Customs.

Finally, it is mentioned that the provisions contained in the aforementioned resolution and annex began to govern from the day of its publication.