Member Article

On April 9, 2020, the Argentine Executive Branch issued and published in the Official Gazette Decree No. 351/2020, whereby it summons the mayors of all the country’s municipalities to control and monitor compliance with National Secretariat of Domestic Commerce’s Resolution No. 100/2020 concurrently with the national government and while health emergency lasts. This measure is limited to those cases involving interstate commerce or occurring in territories under national jurisdiction. Before this regulation, the Nation’s Secretariat of Domestic Commerce — as the federal enforcement authority of the Supply Law, No. 20,680— exclusively held this power. It is noteworthy Decree No. 351/2020 does not vest the municipalities with the authority to adjudicate on cases and that the Secretariat of Domestic Commerce keeps this power.

Moreover, through Decree No. 351/2020 the Executive Power also summons the governors and the Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires to control and adjudicate on compliance with the aforementioned Resolution No. 100/2020 in cases involving intrastate or exclusively local commerce.

We recall that in the aforementioned Resolution No. 100/2020, the Secretariat of Domestic Commerce (as the enforcement authority for Supply Law, No. 20,680) (i) compels distributors, producers and marketers to set as maximum prices for goods included in the so-called “basic basket” those that were charged on March 6, 2020; and (ii) compels such companies to increase its production to the maximum of its installed capacity and to do what is necessary to ensure its transportation and provision. Resolution No. 100/2020 states that both measures last until April 7, 2020, and that they may be extended subsequently.

Through Resolution No. 109/2020, the National Secretariat of Domestic Commerce clarifies that products included in arts. 1 and 2 of Resolution No. 100 – setting maximum prices– must be identified in the Argentine Electronic Price System (SEPA) only by “item”, “category” and “subcategory”. Moreover, it prescribes that to individualize a good or service encompassed by Supply Law No. 20,680’s regulations issued during the health emergency, it must be considered their attributes and essential characteristics established by the Enforcement Authority, disregarding any other identification, denomination and/or superfluous classification used by the economic agents involved in the production, distribution and supply chain.