WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
18 September 2002
(02-4974)
Committee on Subsidies and
Countervailing MeasuresOriginal:  Spanish
SUBSIDIES
Request Under Paragraph 4, Article 27, of the Agreement on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
Responses by COLOMBIA to a request by the UNITED STATES
The following communication dated 4 September 2002 has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Colombia.
_______________
In response to the question posed by the United States in document G/SCM/Q3/COL/15 on the
legislation applicable in Colombia relating to the programmes notified on 21 December 2001, I am
attaching copies of the legislation applicable to each of the notified programmes.
Colombian notification G/SCM/N/48/COL - G/SCM/N/60/COL – G/SCM/N/71/COL included
the legislation in force on the date of the notification for the purposes mentioned in paragraph 4 of
document G/SCM/39.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I. REQUEST IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 27(4) OF THE AGREEMENT
ON SUBSIDIES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION DECISION,PARAGRAPH 10.6 (WT/ MIN/(01)/17) ..................................................................................3
A. FREE Z ONES................................................................................................................... ..........3
1. Law 07 of 1991 (January 16).................................................................................................. ..3
2. Decree No. 2233 of 1996 (7 December)..................................................................................13
3. Decree 918 of 2001 ........................................................................................................... .......32
4. Law 677 of 2001 (3 August)................................................................................................... .41
5. Resolution 1001 of 2002 (11 July)..........................................................................................51
B. V
ALLEJO PLAN (SIEX) ...............................................................................................................53
1. Resolution 1964 .............................................................................................................. .........53
2. Resolution 1860 .............................................................................................................. .........70
3. Resolution 143 ............................................................................................................... ..........96
II. REQUEST EXCLUSIVELY IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 27(4) OF THE
AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES ...........................................................................................99
A. TRANSPORT COMPENSA TION MECHAN ISM..................................................................99
1. Resolution No. 001 (1 April 1993)..........................................................................................99
2. Resolution No. 002 (8 July 1993) .........................................................................................102
3. Resolution No. 003 ........................................................................................................... .....103
4. Circular No. 9265............................................................................................................ ......106
5. Resolution No. 004 (18 November 1993) .............................................................................107
6. External Circular No. 002 (29 December 1993) .................................................................108
7. Circular No. 3884............................................................................................................ ......119G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 3
I. REQUEST IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 27(4) OF THE AGREEMENT ON
SUBSIDIES AND THE IMPLEMENTATION DECISION, PARAGRAPH 10.6
(WT/MIN/(01)/17)
A. FREE ZONES
1. Law 07 of 1991 (January 16)
______ Official Gazette, Year CXXVII, No. 39631, 16 January 1991, Page 13.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade is created
Establishing general rules to be observed by the national government in regulating the
country's foreign trade, creating the Ministry of  Foreign Trade, determining the composition and
functions of the Senior Foreign Trade Council, creating the Foreign Trade Bank and the Economic
Modernization Fund, granting authority and establishing other provisions.
The Colombian Congress DECREES:
CHAPTER I
On the general rules governing foreign trade
ARTICLE 1.  Provisions applicable to foreign trade shall be established by the national
government in accordance with Article 120 (22) of  the National Constitution, in harmony with the
provisions of Article 76 (22) and subject to the general rules established in this law. Such rules shall
grant Colombian foreign trade as much freedom as possible, to the extent permitted by economic
conditions.
ARTICLE 2.  In establishing rules to govern the country's foreign trade, the national
government shall abide by the following principles:
1. To further the internationalization of the Colombian economy to achieve faster paced and
sustained development.
2. To promote and foster foreign trade in goods, technology, services and, in particular, exports.
3. To encourage the processes of integration and bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to
expand and facilitate the country's external transactions.
4. To further the modernization and efficiency of local production to improve its international
competitiveness and adequately meet consumer needs.
5. To make local production lawfully and equitably competitive and grant it adequate protection,
particularly against unfair international trading practices.
6. To support and facilitate private initiative and transactions by different economic agents in
foreign trade operations.
7. To coordinate foreign trade policies and regulations with tariff, monetary, exchange and fiscal
policies.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 4
8. To adopt, only temporarily, mechanisms to permit the Colombian economy to surmount
external or internal circumstances that are adverse to the country's commercial interests.
The foregoing shall be applied in accordance with the principles of economy,
expeditiousness, effectiveness, impartiality, disclosure and the right to challenge that govern
administrative actions.
ARTICLE 3.  Imports and exports of goods, tech nology and services shall be made under the
principle of freedom of international trade, to the extent permitted by economic circumstances.
Without detriment to laws that establish restrictions intended to protect national wealth, the
government shall regulate exports and imports and endeavour to ensure that they are not made
exclusively or permanently by public sector entities. Public sector entities whose income is affected
by the elimination of their exclusive right to import or whose activities are reassigned under theaforementioned measures, shall be compensated with  specifically-allocated income from tariffs and
surcharges on imports of the products concerned for a period of two years, consistent with the
activities they carry out. After two years, that income  shall be paid into the national budget and shall
necessarily be assigned to the same sector and to the same entities, as priorities, maintaining their
share of the product in the national budget.
ARTICLE 4.  Without detriment to the provisions of Chapter X, Section Two, of Decree 444
of 1967 and Article 12 of Law 48 of 1983, or the regulations replacing them, the national government
may establish special import-export regimes authoriz ing exemptions from or repayment of duties on
raw materials, inputs, services, machinery, equipment, spare parts and technology used in theproduction of goods, technology and services that are exported and, at all events, to promote national
value added to goods that are imported with the intention of increasing exports. Also, the national
government may establish special regimes that include deferred payment or even the grant of tax
credits to pay such import duties and other charges.
ARTICLE 5.  The national government shall regulate the international transport and transit of
goods and passengers for the purpose of promoting competition, facilitating foreign trade and
preventing unfair competition against national carriers.
ARTICLE 6.  The national government shall regulate the existence and operation of free
industrial, commercial and services zones, based on the following principles:
1. To ensure that the free zones promote foreign trade, create jobs and generate foreign
exchange and serve as poles of industrial development in the regions where they are
established.
2. To provide industrial, commercial and services free zones with the conditions needed to
enable their users to compete efficiently with international goods.
3. Without detriment to other customs provisions, to establish controls to prevent goods stored
and produced in free zones from entering the country illegally.
4. To establish the conditions under which goods manufactured and stored in free zones may be
introduced into national customs territory and the minimum percentage of production by users
of free zones that shall go to export markets.
5. Taking account of the objectives and characteristics of the free-zone mechanism, to issue
special rules on contracting between free zones and their users.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 5
6. To establish provisions relating to the creation and operation of temporary and permanent free
zones that are joint ventures or privately owned, in accordance with foreign trade
requirements.
7. To establish the rules that regulate the temporary entry into national customs territory of raw
materials and intermediate goods for complementary industrial processing, and of parts,components and equipment of industrial users for repair and maintenance.
8. To establish provisions relating to the establishment and operation of industrial plants inside
free zones.
PARAGRAPH.  Industrial, commercial and se rvices free zones already in existence or
established in future as national public installations may be converted into joint ventures or purchased
in part or in full by duly incorporated commercial companies.
In that event, the free zones shall continue to  enjoy the same legal regime governing taxes,
exchange, customs, foreign trade and capital investment that was in force at the time of the sale.
ARTICLE 7.  The Tax Credit Certificates (C ERTs) created by Law 48 of 1983 shall continue
to be freely negotiable instruments.
The national government shall establish the bases, requisites, conditions and procedures for
the recognition, issue, redemption, negotiation and expiry of the Tax Credit Certificates, and the
entities that are authorized to perform such operations, the beneficiaries and the taxes that can be paid
with them.
Tax Credit Certificates shall be flexible instruments whose levels shall be determined by the
national government, depending on the products and conditions on the markets to which exports are
made, consistent with monetary, fiscal, exchange and tariff policies and regulated on the basis of the
following principles:
1. To encourage exports through the reimbursement of sums equivalent to all or part of the
indirect taxes paid by the exporter.
2. To promote activities intended to increase export volumes.
ARTICLE 8.  The national government may organize stabilization funds for export
commodities to ensure the regularity of foreign trad e and the income stability of domestic producers.
ARTICLE 9.  Without detriment to customs regulations, particularly Law 6 of 1971 and
provisions that expand, amend or develop it, the national government may establish variable tariff
systems and their operating instruments with a view to stabilizing the costs of imports of agricultural
or related agro-industrial products whenever their prices become highly unstable on international
markets.
Where, in developing these powers, the government establishes variable tariff systems, they
shall be established with precision and on the basis of objective criteria for the automatic
determination of the applicable tariff, in accordance with Article 14, paragraph 4, of this law.
PARAGRAPH.  The import surcharges establ ished in Law 75 of 1986 shall not apply to
products subject to variable tariffs.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 6
ARTICLE 10.  The national government shall protect domestic production against unfair and
restrictive international trading practices. To that end, it shall regulate the protection of domestic
production against such practices and determine the entities and procedures for applying the
provisions it issues in this regard.
In those provisions, the national government shall establish the requirements, procedures and
factors for determining the imposition of charges or provisional or final duties that may be imposed
by the competent authority to prevent and counteract such practices.
ARTICLE 11.  The national government shall regulate border zones, on the basis of the
following principles:
1. To promote greater autonomy in border zones.
2. To facilitate free trade in the common free border zone.
3. To develop forms of cooperation and integration in public, financial and social services.
4. To establish payment mechanisms that facilitate  the free and immediate convertibility of the
currencies of bordering countries.
5. To regulate the creation of binational border enterprises through joint agreements with
neighbouring countries.
6. To determine the conditions under which special customs regimes may be established for
border zones.
CHAPTER II
On the Senior Foreign Trade Council
ARTICLE 12.  The Senior Foreign Trade Council is hereby established as an advisory body
to the national government in all matters relating to the country's foreign trade.
The Senior Foreign Trade Council shall be comprised of the following members:
− The President of Colombia, who shall chair it;
− The Minister of Economic Development;
− The Minister of Foreign Trade;
− The Minister of External Affairs;
− The Minister of Finance and Public Credit;
− The Minister of Agriculture;
− The Minister of Mines and Energy;
− The Head of the National Planning Department;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 7
− The General Manager of the Bank of the Republic; and
− The President of the Foreign Trade Bank of Colombia, the Director General of
Customs and Senior Council Advisors, who shall have the right to speak but not to
vote.
PARAGRAPH.  The Minister of Foreign Trade shall chair the Senior Foreign Trade Council
in the absence of the President.
________
The other members of the Senior Council may only be replaced in their absences by a deputy
minister. Public officials invited by the Senior Foreign Trade Council to clarify the different issues on
which it must take decisions and make recommendations may attend meetings, with the right to speak
but not to vote.
The documents used as the basis for the deliberations of the Senior Foreign Trade Council
shall be prepared and presented by council advisors on the request of any of the members, through the
Minister of Foreign Trade.
ARTICLE 13.  The two advisors to the Seni or Foreign Trade Council shall be freely
appointed and removed by national government.
They shall be persons of distinction and experience in economic matters, particularly
international trade and economic integration. Their functions shall be to provide permanent advisory
services to the Senior Foreign Trade Council and they shall receive the necessary support from theMinistry of Foreign Trade.
The secretary of the Senior Foreign Trade Council shall be shall be named by the council, on
the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Trade.
ARTICLE 14.  The Foreign Trade Council shall:
1. Recommend to the national government general and sector foreign trade policy in goods,
technology and services, consistent with the country's development plans and programmes.
2. Set customs tariffs.
3. Advise the national government on the decisions it should adopt in all international bodies
responsible for foreign trade issues.
4. Give its opinion on bilateral or multilateral international trade agreements or conventions and
make a recommendation to the national government as to whether the country should
participate in them.
5. Instruct the delegations representing Colomb ia in international trade negotiations.
6. Propose to the national government the application of preferential treatment agreed upon
bilaterally or multilaterally, particularly when subject to the granting of reciprocity between
the parties.
7. Determine the procedures and requisites to be complied with by imports and exports of goods,
technology and services, without detriment to the functions relating to Colombian
investments abroad and foreign investments in Colombia that are the responsibility of theG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 8
Economic and Social Policy Council (CONPES) and other functions in the same area that are
specifically assigned to other government agencies.
8. Suggest to the national government instruments to promote and develop exports, in
accordance with the policies governing the free zones, special import and export regimes,
stabilization funds for commodities and the focus of trade offices abroad, without detriment toother export promotion mechanisms.
9. Recommend to the national government the levels that should be established for the Tax
Credit Certificates (CERTs), by product and market of destination.
10. Examine and recommend to the national government the adoption of rules to protect domestic
production against unfair and restrictive international trading practices.
11. Study, evaluate and recommend to the national government specific measures and projects to
facilitate domestic and international transport and transit of passengers and the exportationand importation of goods, taking account of the rules on cargo reserves that are applicable to
international freight carriers operating in the country.
12. Issue rules on the organization and management of the registers necessary for foreign trade,
including the requirements to be complied with, the fees to be paid and the penalties for
infringing the rules.
13. Regulate the foreign trade activities engaged in  by the international trading companies dealt
with in Law 67 of 1979 and regulations amending or replacing it.
14. Issue its own regulations.
15. The other functions assigned to the foreign trade board in Decrees 444 and 688 of 1967 or the
regulations replacing them and other provisions in force on this matter and those establishedto develop the foreign trade framework law.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The foregoing functions shall be performed by the Senior Foreign Trade
Council without detriment to the constitutional pow ers granted to the President of Colombia under
Article 120 (20) of the National Constitution.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where decisions are to be taken relating to the functions established in
numerals 3 to 6 of this Article, the opinion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall be heard in
advance.
PARAGRAPH 3.  Whenever customs tariffs are to be changed, the opinion of the Minister of
Finance and the National Fiscal Policy Council shall be head in advance.
PARAGRAPH 4.  Where variable tariff systems are to be applied, the Senior Foreign Trade
Council shall take account of the objective criteria established by the Ministry of Agriculture for their
adequate and automatic operation.
ARTICLE 15.  The Joint Foreign Trade Committee shall be composed of the Senior Foreign
Trade Council and the private sector representatives designated by the council. The committee shall
meet when convened by the Senior Foreign Trade Council or its chair for the purpose of analyzing
foreign trade policy and making recommendations to the national government.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 9
The Senior Foreign Trade Council may establish advisory committees on specific economic
issues or sectors, comprised of government officials and private sector representatives, whose
conclusions shall be presented to the council.
ARTICLE 16.  The Minister of Foreign Trade shall formulate and apply the foreign trade
policies and the plans and programmes adopted by the national government and the Senior Foreign
Trade Council.
CHAPTER III
On the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Colombia
ARTICLE 17.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade is established as the entity responsible for
directing, coordinating, executing and overseeing foreign trade policy, consistent with development
plans and programmes.
ARTICLE 18.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall absorb the Colombian Foreign Trade
Administration (INCOMEX), its functions and personnel, the latter to the extent the President of
Colombia deems advisable.
ARTICLE 19.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade created under the present law shall follow the
Ministry of Mines and Energy in order of precedence.
ARTICLE 20.  The President of Colombia posse sses precise extraordinary powers enabling
him, within 12 months after the present law is passed, to:
(a) Establish the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, by incorporating officials from
the Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX) and officials from the Ministry of
Economic Development engaged in functions related to foreign trade;
(b) determine the structure, managing bodies and functions of the new ministry, create
the positions that are indispensable for its operation and establish the respective
allocations;
(c) transfer to the new ministry all the functions assigned to the Ministry of Economic
Development with respect to foreign trade, free zones and international commerce;
(d) incorporate into the Ministry of Foreign Trade the functions and staff of the
Directorate General of Customs and the Customs Revolving Fund;
(e) create in the Ministry of Finance or in one of its agencies a customs auditing system
to permit that ministry to monitor the process of valuation, appraisal and collection of
customs charges;
(f) transfer to the Ministry of Foreign Trade the functions and staff assigned to the
Directorate General of Maritime Affairs and Ports (DIMAR) related to the
determination of cargo reserves for exported and imported goods. Establish and
regulate flags of convenience for the Archipelago of San Andrés y Providencia;
(g) establish the rate policy for the maritime and air transport of goods for export and
import;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 10
(h) determine the legal nature, purpose, managing bodies and regulations for existing
industrial, commercial and services free zones to enable them to be converted into
national joint ventures, ensuring the continuity of the tax regime in force and with a
regime similar to the regime that applies to industrial users with respect to customs,
exchange, foreign trade and capital investment. To that end, public entities may beauthorized to make capital contributions to  the new companies, jointly with natural or
juridical persons under private law, provided the functions of the companies are
related to the social purpose of the industrial, commercial and services free zones;
(i) establish provisions to enable the free zones to be sold to commercial companies;
(j) define the legal nature, organization and functions of the Foreign Trade Bank created
under this law. In so doing, the government shall convert the Export Promotion Fund
(PROEXPO) into the new financial entity;
(k) define the functions of the commercial attachés abroad, assign them to the pertinent
entity and establish special systems for their remuneration;
(l) assign to the Ministry of Foreign Trade all the functions exercised by other ministries,
administrative departments, superintendencies, public establishments or government-
owned industrial or commercial companies re lated to foreign trade, attaching to it
national entities that carry out similar activities;
(m) abolish or merge entities and agencies and abolish their functions or assign them to
other bodies in the executive branch of government;
(n) change the name, composition and functions of the National Free Zones Council to
enable it to advise the national government  on the formulation of policy for the free
zones, in accordance with the provisions of this law;
(ñ) assign the Ministry of Foreign Trade the function of negotiating trade agreements and
representing the country on international bodies involved in that area, taking account
of the policy positions in that regard adopted by the Ministry of External Affairs;
(o) include the Minister of Foreign Trade on the National Economic and Social Policy
Council, the Monetary Board and the other bodies on which he should sit on account
of the nature of his functions;
(p) amend the border zone regime in accordance with the principles established in
Article 11 of this law; and
(q) establish the date on which the bodies and entities created under this law begin to
function.
PARAGRAPH.  Personnel from the different entiti es transferred to the Ministry of Foreign
Trade shall only be transferred to the extent that the government deems warranted.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 11
CHAPTER IV
On the Foreign Trade Bank of Colombia and the Economic Modernization Fund
ARTICLE 21.  The Foreign Trade Bank is established as a financial institution linked to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and shall be responsible for promoting exports. The commercial attachés
abroad, assigned to the Colombian embassies, shall be one of the instruments for promotion.
ARTICLE 22.  The Foreign Trade Bank shall assume all the rights and obligations of the
Export Promotion Fund as a matter of right, without it being necessary to amend contracts or other
documents subject to Colombian legislation that have been signed by the Export Promotion Fund.
ARTICLE 23.  That part of the revenues from the surcharge on the CIF value of imports
referred to in Law 75 of 1986 that goes to the Export Promotion Fund (PROEXPO) shall be paid into
the national budget and used to establish a special account in the budget known as the Economic
Modernization Fund, which shall continue to exist until such time as the surcharge on imports is fullydismantled. The government shall establish the date on which the transfer shall take effect.
________
A committee, composed of the Minister of Economic Development, who shall chair it, and
the Ministers of Foreign Trade, Agriculture, Mines and Energy, and Public Works and Transport and
the Head of the National Planning Department, shall decide on how the fund shall be distributed.
TRANSITORY PARAGRAPH.  Until such time as the Ministry of Foreign Trade is
organized, the committee shall convene under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economic
Development. The Director of the Colombian Fore ign Trade Administration and the Director of the
Export Promotion Fund (PROEXPO) sh all also attend the meetings.
ARTICLE 24.  The resources of the Economic Modernization Fund referred to in the
preceding article shall be used for the following purposes, in the following order of priorities:
1. To finance the fiscal cost of the Tax Credit Certificates (CERTs) or refunds of indirect taxes.
2. To complement the financing of projects to improve ports and airports and the overland routes
necessary for foreign trade and to finance other general export promotion programmes.
3. To finance technology development programmes to bolster the efficiency and competitiveness
of domestic production.
ARTICLE 25.  The income and supplementary taxes and the revenue stamp tax that are
unpaid at the time PROEXPO is converted into the Foreign Trade Bank shall be capitalized by the
Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.
To that end, the government shall regulate the procedure to permit that operation and shall
ensure that the Ministry of Finance is duly repr esented on that institution's board of directors.
ARTICLE 26.  Emeralds may be freely exported and shall have the same exemptions and
privileges established by the government for Colombian exports.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 12
CHAPTER V
Final Provisions
ARTICLE 27.  The national government is author ized to enter into contracts, make the
appropriations and perform the other budget operations required to comply with this law and the
provisions issued to implement it. The national government is empowered to reach an agreement with
the Bank of the Republic on how the management cont ract of PROEXPO is to be terminated and the
terms in which the government shall pay th e obligations arising from the termination.
Contracts entered into by the national government with public entities to comply with this law
shall only require the signatures of the parties, the budget allocation where necessary, and publication
in the Official Gazette , which requirement shall be deemed to have been discharged upon obtaining a
receipt for publication of the contract.
ARTICLE 28.  The rules established in this law which do not require subsequent development
for their full application shall come into force imme diately and shall apply, in particular, to foreign
trade operations under way at the time it enters into force.
ARTICLE 29.  The provisions of this law and those issued to develop it shall be without
detriment to the content of existing international agreements or conventions.________
ARTICLE 30.  The present law shall come into force on the date it is published in the Official
Gazette and repeals Law 105 of 1958; partially repeals Law 6 of 1967; repeals Articles 71, 73, 80,
169, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, and 211 of Decree-Law 444 of the same year and the provisions
that modify, expand or amend them; the pertinent parts of Decree-Law 151 of 1976; the pertinentparts of Law 48 of 1983; the pertinent parts of Law 109 of 1985; Article 59 and the pertinent parts of
Articles 2, 4, and 58 of Law 81 of 1988 and all other provisions contrary to it. Notwithstanding the
above, the repeals shall only become effective as regulations are issued to replace the general
provisions contained in the legislation revoked, or not more than 12 months after the date on which
this law is published.
Done in Bogota, D.E., Aurelio Iragorri Hormaza, Speaker of the Senate, Hernán Berdugo
Berdugo, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Crispin Villazon De Armas, Clerk of the Senate,
Silverio Salcedo Mosquera, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the Republic of Colombia -
National Government. Publish and execute, Bogota, D.E., January 16, 1991. Cesar Gaviria, Rudolf
Hommes Rodriguez, Minister of Finance and Publ ic Credit, and Ernesto Samper Pizano, Minister of
Economic Development.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 13
2. Decree No. 2233 of 1996 (7 December)
Establishing the regime of export processing zones for goods and services
The President of the Republic of Colombia ,
In use of his constitutional powers, particularly those conferred under Article 189 (25) of the
National Constitution and subject to the general guidelines established in Article 3 of Law 6 of 1971,
Law 109 of 1985 and Article 6 of Law 7 of 1991, and CONSIDERING:
4. That the Government is required to regulate the existence and functioning of export
processing zones for goods and services in order to promote foreign trade, create jobs andgenerate foreign exchange and serve as poles of industrial development in the regions where
they are established;
5. That the free zones should offer their users the necessary conditions to enable them to
compete efficiently on international markets;
6. That, without detriment to other customs provisions, controls need to be established to prevent
goods stored and produced in free zones from entering the rest of the country illegally.
DECREES:
SECTION I
Scope and coverage, definitions and requirements for the declaration of a free zone and
users thereof
ARTICLE 1.  Scope and coverage. This decree applies to export processing zones for goods
and services, to their developers and to three categories of users – operators, industrial andcommercial users – in accordance with the conditions and requirements established in the following
articles.
Export processing free zones for tourist services or tourist free zones shall continue to be
governed by Decree 2131 of 1991 and Decree 971 of 1993 and the other provisions in force in that
regard.
CHAPTER I
Definition and requirements for declaring the existence of a export processing zone for
goods and services and its users
ARTICLE 2.  Definition. Export processing free zones for goods and services are delimited
geographic areas in the country, whose purpose is  to promote and develop the processing of goods
and the provision of services, primarily destined for foreign markets.
ARTICLE 3.  Requirements for free zones. Areas that apply to be declared free zones must
comply with the following requirements:
1. Be continuous and not less than 20 hectares in size.
2. Be suitable for installing basic infrastructure.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 14
3. Not be performing the activities that the proposed project intends to promote and involve new
investments.
ARTICLE 4.  Declaration of existence. The declaration of existence of an export processing
zone for goods and services shall be made by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in a reasoned decision,
setting forth the purpose, duration, which may not exceed 30 years, and the delimited geographicalarea that makes up the zone.
CHAPTER II
Procedure for obtaining a declaration of the existence of an export processing zone for
goods and services and authorization of the user-operator
ARTICLE 5.  Application. To obtain a declaration of the existence of an export processing
zone for goods and services, interested parties may apply in writing to the Ministry of Foreign Trade,
attaching the originals and two copies of the following documents:
1. Technical, economic, financial and market studies demonstrating the feasibility of the purpose
of the free zone for which application is made.
2. Survey, showing the exact location and boundaries of the area for which application is made.
3. Master plan for the general development of the free zone, which should include suitable
premises for personnel from the National Customs and Excise Directorate in the free zone.
4. Programme to systemize operations in the zone for inventory control and a timetable for its
implementation.
5. Certification issued by the municipality or district in whose jurisdiction it is proposed to
construct the free zone, stating that the project is consistent with the municipal or district
development plan.
6. Legal titles substantiating unconditional disposition and use, with no limitation of any kind, of
the land on which the free zone project is to be developed physically.
7. Registry certificates on the legal status of each of the pieces of land that form the area for
which application for a free zone is made.
8. Documents establishing that the area can be equipped with residential public services.
9. Attach the following documents if the user-operator is legally incorporated:
(a) Certificate of establishment and legal representation issued by the chamber of
commerce in its principal domicile and copy of the company's articles ofincorporation;
(b) financial statements for the most recent accounting period and bank and commercial
references.
10. Attach the following documents if the user-operators is not legally incorporated:
(a) Draft incorporation papers of the user-operator; andG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 15
(b) bank and commercial references regarding the applicants.
PARAGRAPH  The Ministry of Foreign Trade sh all issue an instruction establishing the
minimum information to be provided in the documents referred to in 1 and 3 of this article.
ARTICLE 6.  Allowance of the application. Th e Ministry of Foreign Trade shall issue an
administrative decision allowing or denying the application within 30 days after it is submitted.
ARTICLE 7.  Opinion of other entities. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall request the
opinion of the National Customs and Excise Director ate. Where it considers appropriate, it shall also
request the opinion of other entities. The entities shall have 30 days after receipt of the request to give
their opinions.
If the entities have not given an opinion within the time-limit, the Ministry of Foreign Trade
shall continue to process the application.
ARTICLE 8 . Decision regarding the free zone. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall issue a
reasoned decision allowing or denying the application to have a free zone declared within 60 daysafter it has received the application, which may be extended for an equal period.
The decision shall stipulate, in addition to the requirements of Article 4 of this decree, the
obligation of the user-operator to furnish two gu arantees, within two months after the decision
becomes final. They shall be issued by a legally-incorporated insurance company or bank and shallremain in force for the life of the free z one plus three years, made out as follows:
(a) To the Government – Minister of Foreign Trade, to guarantee compliance with the
free zone regime, in the amount of 5,000 minimum monthly wages; and
(b) to the Government – Ministry of Environmental Affairs to guarantee environmental
protection and compliance with the applicable legislation, in the amount of 5,000
minimum monthly wages.
PARAGRAPH 1.  If the user is not legally inco rporated, it shall be allowed 30 days after the
date the decision becomes final to incorporate.
PARAGRAPH 2.  At all events, prior to the installation of industrial or commercial users, the
free zone shall be enclosed with fences, walls, barriers or water channels so that persons, vehicles andgoods must necessarily enter and exit through the gates intended for that purpose.
PARAGRAPH 3.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall remit a copy of its final decision
declaring the existence of a free zone to the corresponding office of the public registrar and the
National Customs and Excise Directorate.
ARTICLE 9.  Environmental permit. Once the decision declaring the free zone is final and
prior to undertaking any work or activity, the applican t is required to obtain the environmental permit
provided for in Decree 1753 of 1994 or regulations amending or replacing it.
ARTICLE 10.  Operating permit. The Ministry of  Foreign Trade shall issue a permit to the
user-operator to begin activities within 10 days after the date on which the applicant shows that it
complies with the requirements established in the decision declaring the free zone.
ARTICLE 11.  Inexpedience. The Ministry of Fo reign Trade may deny an application on the
grounds of technical, financial, economic or market inexpedience.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 16
CHAPTER III
Developers and users of export processing zones for goods and services
ARTICLE 12.  Definition. Developers and users of free zones are domestic or foreign
companies legally incorporated in Colombia, whic h acquire that status in accordance with the
requirements and conditions established in the following articles.
Developers and users may only carry out the activities authorized for their category in this
decree.
ARTICLE 13.  Developer. A developer is a domestic or foreign company legally incorporated
in Colombia, with its own taxpayer identification number, that engages in land development and
constructs utilities and buildings in one or more free zones.
A developer is designated as such in an instrument of admission issued by the user-operator.ARTICLE 14.  User-operator. A user-operator is a domestic or foreign company legally
incorporated in Colombia, with its own taxpayer id entification number, that is established for the
purpose of carrying out activities exclusively in a free zone. The activities shall be:
1. Promoting, directing, administering and operating one or more free zones.
2. Purchasing, leasing or having at its disposition on any tenure, property to be used in free zone
activities.
3. Building directly or under contract with developers, the infrastructure and buildings of the
free zone, in accordance with the master development plan referred to in Article 5(3) of thisdecree.
4. Admitting companies that intend to establish themselves in the free zone and revoking their
status as users in the circumstances established in this decree or in the instrument of
admission.
5. Authorizing and keeping control over operations involving the entry and exit of merchandise
and inventories of users' goods, to which end the user-operator shall establish a computerized
system of inventory control and perform physical inspections of said inventories and reviewsof the production processes of industrial users when it deems warranted or when so requested
by the Ministry of Foreign Trade or the National Customs and Excise Directorate, without
detriment to the legal powers of those entities.
6. Reviewing those aspects of the production processes of industrial users that are necessary for
issuing the certificate referred to in Article 44 (3) of this decree.
7. If it so wishes and in accordance with the pertinent rules, providing users that are not
beneficiaries of the special free zone regime with services including water, electricity,
telecommunications, cleaning, surveillance and maintenance of the zone, nurseries, medical
care, employment agencies, employee transportation, weighing, loading and unloading of
goods, and convention and exhibition centres.
The provision of other services not included in this numeral shall be authorized in advance by
the Ministry of Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 17
8. Overseeing compliance with the free zone regime.
9. Others related to its purpose to develop the activities of the respective free zone.
PARAGRAPH  The status of user-operator is acquired when the Ministry of Foreign Trade
issues the operating permit referred to in Article 10 of this decree.
ARTICLE 15.  Goods user. A domestic or foreign company legally incorporated in Colombia,
with its own taxpayer identification number, that carries out its activities exclusively within the
respective free zone, consisting of manufacturing, producing, processing or assembling of goods
primarily for sale on foreign markets.
Status as a goods user is acquired through an  instrument of admission issued by the user-
operator.
ARTICLE 16.  Services user. A domestic or foreign company legally incorporated in
Colombia, with its own taxpayer identification number, that carries out its activities exclusively
within the respective free zone, consisting of the provision of services, primarily for foreign markets,including science and technology activities.
Status as a services user is acquired through an instrument of admission issued by the user-
operator.
PARAGRAPH  Services users that set up in free zones after this decree comes into force may
not provide services for third parties involving the storage of goods.
ARTICLE 17.  Commercial user. A Colombian or foreign judicial person legally incorporated
in Colombia who sets up in an export processing zone for goods and services, with the purpose ofengaging in storage, preservation, handling, distribution, packing, repacking, sorting or cleaning of
goods, which may be intended for foreign markets or for the domestic market.
The status of commercial user is acquired thr ough an instrument of admission issued by the
user-operator.
CHAPTER IV
Authorizations provided by the operator goods, services or commercial users
ARTICLE 18.  Application for installation. Person s wishing to be admitted as goods, services
or commercial users may submit a written application to the user-operator, containing the following
information:
1. Name and address of the applicant.
2. Description of the project to be carried out.
3. Financial and economic feasibility studies of the project demonstrating its solidity and export
capacity.
4. Composition or probable composition of the capital to be used in the project, indicating
whether it is domestic or foreign in origin.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 18
5. Where pertinent, the favourable opinion of the competent entity regarding the environmental
impact of the project, based on current environmental legislation.
6. If the applicant is legally incorporated, it must meet the requirements established in
Article 5 (9) of this decree.
7. If the applicant is not legally incorporated, it must meet the requirements established in
Article 5 (10) of this decree.
PARAGRAPH  In pursuing its purpose, the us er-operator may require, on a general basis,
additional information for the installation of users in the zone and shall establish the minimum content
of the studies referred to in numeral 3 of this Article.
ARTICLE 19.  Designation as user. The user-operator shall evaluate the application and issue
an instrument of admission to the applicant. The instrument of admission shall contain the following
as a minimum:
1. Designation and determination of the status of the user; or
2. Indication of the period for which it maintains its user status or an indication that the status
shall not exceed the authorized duration of the free zone;
3. Indication and delimitation of the area to be occupied; and
4. The activity or activities to be carried out.
PARAGRAPH  The user-operator shall remit a c opy of the instrument of admission to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National Customs and Excise Directorate within five days after it is
issued.
It shall also send to the Ministry of Foreign Tr ade copies of the information required in the
preceding article and apply to have the user included in the register referred to in Article 20 (11) of
Decree 2350 of 1991.
DEVELOPERS
ARTICLE 20.  Instrument of admission for developers. Before beginning its activities, a
developer shall obtain the corresponding instrument of admission issued by the user-operator, which
shall establish, as a minimum, the period for which it maintains its status as a developer, which may
not exceed the authorized duration of the free zone, and the activity or activities to be carried out.
A copy of the instrument shall be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and National Customs
and Excise Directorate within five days after it is issued.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 19
SECTION II
Expansion and reduction of free zone areas
CHAPTER I
General provisions
ARTICLE 21.  Powers. Based on the principles and requirements established in this Section,
the Ministry of Foreign Trade, after obtaining the opinion of the National Customs and Excise
Directorate, may authorize the expansion or reduction of the geographic areas designated as free
zones, within the limits established in this decr ee. The opinion is to be given within the period
established in Article 7.
ARTICLE 22.  Expansion of areas. The expansion of an area designated as a free zone shall
be subject to the occurrence any of the following circumstances, which shall be demonstrated to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade by the user-operator:
1. Where a case of force majeur occurs that changes the initial conditions that served as the basis
for declaring the existence of the free zone.
2. Where the expansion translates into an increase in the efficiency of the project, expressed in
terms of job and export creation. In this case, the user-operator is required to demonstrate atthe time it makes the application, that the works in cluded in the master plan that served as the
basis for declaring the free zone have been built as scheduled.
3. Where land inside sea ports or international airports is involved, used for the sole purpose of
installing industrial users devoted exclusively to the construction, repair and maintenance of
vessels or aircraft.
4. Said land shall be located within the jurisdiction of the department or district in which the free
zone to be expanded is located.
ARTICLE 23.  Characteristics of the additional area. The additional area should have the
following characteristics:
1. Be suitable for installing basic infrastructure;
2. not be performing industrial activities and involve new investments; and
3. be adjacent, so that it forms a single piece of land with the area initially declared to be a free
zone.
PARAGRAPH  The provisions of numerals 2 and 3 of this article shall not be applicable to
the expansions referred to in numeral 3 of the preceding article.
ARTICLE 24.  Reduction of areas. The reduction of areas declared to be free zones shall be
subject to the occurrence of any of the following ci rcumstances, which shall be demonstrated to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade by the applicant user-operator:
1. Where a case of force majeur occurs that changes the initial conditions that served as the basis
for declaring the existence of the free zone; orG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 20
2. where, within a period exceeding one year, no new industrial or commercial users have
applied to establish themselves.
PARAGRAPH 1.  At all events, the area to be excluded shall not affect the minimum area
established in Article 3 of this decree.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Except as provided in numeral 1 of the preceding article, the area to be
excluded shall not contain any type of development.
CHAPTER II
Procedure for the expansion of areas
ARTICLE 25.  Application. To obtain a declaration of the expansion of a free zone, the user-
operator may present a written application to the Ministry of Foreign Trade together with the
following documents:
1. Survey, showing the exact location and boundaries of the additional area for which
application is made.
2. Technical, economic and financial feasibility studies demonstrating the impact of the
expansion on the project that was initially approved.
3. Project to be added to the master plan for development of the free zone.
4. Certificate issued by the municipality or district in whose jurisdiction the free zone is to be
constructed, showing that the project for the additional area conforms to the municipal or
district development plan.
5. Legal titles substantiating unconditional disposition and use, with no limitation of any kind, of
the land on which the additional project is to be developed physically.
6. Registrar's certificates on the legal status of each of the properties in the additional area where
the free zone is to be expanded.
ARTICLE 26.  Admission of the application. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall admit or
reject the application within 30 days after it is submitted, after having verified the required conditions.
ARTICLE 27.  Decision regarding the expansion. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall
examine the application and issue a reasoned decision granting or denying the expansion of the free
zone within 60 days after it has admitted the appl ication, which may be extended for an equal period.
In the event it grants permission, the decision shall contain the following:
1. Delimitation of the area added to the free zone, including the initial and additional areas,
indicating the land comprising it and its identification in the cadastre.
2. The period for which it is declared, which shall be the same as is established for the free zone
being extended.
3. The guarantees to be furnished by the user-opera tor or the changes to the original guarantees,
in accordance with Article 8 of this decree.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 21
PARAGRAPH 1.  Once an additional area is decl ared a free zone and prior to undertaking
any work or activity, the applicant is required to  obtain the environmental permit provided for in
Decree 1753 of 1994 or regulations amending or replacing it.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Prior to the installation of industrial or commercial users in the additional
area, the free zone shall be enclosed with fences, walls, barriers or water channels so that persons,
vehicles and goods must necessarily enter and exit through the gates intended for that purpose.
PARAGRAPH 3.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall remit a copy of its final decision
granting an addition to the corresponding office of the public registrar and the National Customs and
Excise Directorate.
ARTICLE 28.  Start of operations in the additional area. The Ministry of Foreign Trade,
within 10 days after the requirement established in numeral 3 of the preceding article has been
complied with, shall issue a licence to operate in the additional area.
If any of the preceding requirements is not complied with, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, in a
reasoned decision, shall revoke the decision on expansion of the free zone.
ARTICLE 29.  Inexpedience of the expansion. The Ministry of Foreign Trade may deny an
application to expand a free zone on the grounds of technical, financial, economic or market
inexpedience.
CHAPTER III
Procedure for the reduction of areas
ARTICLE 30. Application. To obtain a reduction in  the area of a free zone, the user-operator
shall present a written application to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, together with the following
documents:
1. Survey, showing the exact area to be excluded and the area that shall continue to be an export
processing zone for goods and services, including a description of the new boundaries.
2. Substantiation of the circumstance that makes the reduction necessary, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 24 of this decree.
ARTICLE 31.  Admission of the application. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall admit the
application within 30 days after it is submitted, after having verified the required conditions.
ARTICLE 32.  Decision regarding the reductio n. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall
examine the application and issue a decision granting or denying it within 60 days after it has received
the application, which may be extended for an equal period.
In the event it grants permission, the decision shall delimit the area to be maintained as an
export processing zone for goods and services, indicating the land comprising the area and itsidentification in the cadastre.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall request the opinion of the National
Customs and Excise Directorate and such entities as it deems appropriate, in the terms and conditions
established in Article 7 of this decree.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 22
PARAGRAPH 2.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall remit a copy of its final decision
declaring a reduction to the corresponding office of the public registrar and the National Customs and
Excise Directorate.
ARTICLE 33.  Inexpedience of the reduction. The Ministry of Foreign Trade may deny an
application to reduce a free zone on the grounds of technical, financial, economic or market
inexpedience.
SECTION III
Foreign trade regime governing export processing zones for goods and services
CHAPTER I
General provisions
NOTE:  Articles 34 to 50 of Decree 2233 of 1996 are only in force with respect to the foreign
trade regime for services, as provided in Articles 571 and 572 of Decree 2685 of 1999. The foreign
trade regime governing goods in free zones is regulated by the provisions established in Section IX of
Decree 2685 of 1999.
ARTICLE 34.  Scope and coverage of the customs regime. Goods brought into export
processing zones for goods and services by users shall be considered outside national territory for the
purposes of the customs tariffs applicable to imports and the taxes applicable to exports.
ARTICLE 35.  Authorization from the National Customs and Excise Directorate. Free zone
user-operators may be authorized by the National Customs and Excise Directorate to perform actionssuch as the receipt of import declarations presented at authorized financial institutions, their
transcription, weighing and numbering of packages, verification of the reasons for the refusal of
release, and release of merchandise, for goods coming from the free zone, intended for elsewhere in
the country.
ARTICLE 36.  Entry and exit of goods. The user-operator shall authorize all temporary and
permanent entries and exits of goods from the export processing zone for goods and services, withoutdetriment to compliance with the other applicable  customs requirements. The authorization shall be
granted by filling in the pertinent form indicating the type of operation to be carried out and the
applicable conditions.
PARAGRAPH  The Ministry of Foreign Trade sh all determine the form and content of the
forms and shall require, where it deems advisable, that the authorizations be granted using
computerized systems.
CHAPTER II
Operations from the rest of the world intended for export processing zones for goods
and services
ARTICLE 37.  Requirements for the introduction of goods from other countries. Introduction
by users into an export processing zone for goods and services of goods from other countries shall notbe considered an import and shall only require that the goods appear in the shipping document
consigned to a user in the zone or for the shipping document to be endorsed in favour of a user.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 23
PARAGRAPH 1.  The National Customs and Excise Directorate shall determine the
conditions and requirements  for transferring goods consigned or endorsed to a user in an export
processing zone for goods and services located in the customs jurisdiction at the place of arrival of the
means of transport and shall authorize customs transit for goods arriving at a customs jurisdiction
different from the one in which the free zone is located.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The tax and customs administ ration in the jurisdiction at the place of
arrival shall inform the corresponding user-operator of the merchandise whose transfer or transit to
the free zone has been authorized.
ARTICLE 38.  Time-limits for the presentation of goods to the user-operator. Goods from
abroad intended for a user shall be presented to the user-operator in the free zone within the time-
limits established in customs legislation, as a requirement for the user-operator to authorize their
entry.
Where inconsistencies exist between the goods w hose transfer or transit was authorized and
the goods actually introduced into the export processing zone for goods and services or if they aredelivered outside the time-limits established in customs legislation, the user-operator shall
immediately notify the tax and customs administration in whose jurisdiction the free zone is located
for its purposes, without detriment to any liabil ity it may incur as a result of such events.
CHAPTER III
Operations from export processing zones for goods and services to the rest of the world
ARTICLE 39.  Definition of exports of goods and services. Exports are defined for the
purposes of rules of origin, international agreements, export credits and for the exemption establishedin Articles 479 and 481 (a) and (e) of the Tax Code, as the sale and exit to foreign markets of goods
produced, processed, prepared or stored by users th at produce goods and commercial users, or the
provision of services to foreign markets, as pe rtinent, in accordance with the terms and conditions
established in the present decree.
This procedure only requires authorization from the user-operator, who is required to notify
the tax and customs administration in whose jurisdiction the shipment is to be made of the goodsleaving the free zone for foreign markets. These operations do not require completion of the export
document (DEX) and shall not confer the right to recognition of Tax Credit Certificates (CERTs).
In all cases, the user-operator is required complete a form reporting the exit of the goods to
foreign markets or indicating registration as a service provider in INCOMEX, where applicable.
CHAPTER IV
Operations from the rest of the country to export processing zones for goods and
services
ARTICLE 40.  Definition of permanent exports. Permanent exports are defined for the
purposes of tax benefits and incentives as shipment from the rest of the country to a user in a free
zone of domestic or customs-cleared raw materials, parts and components, inputs and finished goods,
provided such goods are actually received by the user. For that purpose, it is necessary to complete theexport document (DEX) provided by the National Customs and Excise Directorate.
Export operations of this kind shall confer the right to a Tax Credit Certificate (CERT) once
the final product has been shipped to a third count ry by a user, in accordance with the following:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 24
1. In the case of raw materials, inputs or intermediate goods that form part of an end good
produced or prepared in a free zone, the Tax Credit Certificates (CERTs) shall be settled on
the basis of the value at which the raw materials, inputs or intermediate goods were exported
from the rest of the country to the free zone, and which effectively form part of the finalproduct that was shipped to a third country from the zone, provided the destination of that end
good is a country with respect to which the CE RTs have not been suspended or eliminated.
2. In the case of finished goods stored in a free zone, the Tax Credit Certificates (CERTs) shall
be settled on the basis of the value at which the goods were exported from the rest of the
country to the free zone, provided the final destination of such goods is a country with respect
to which the CERTs have not been suspended or eliminated.
At all events, the CERTs shall be recognized in  the terms and conditions stipulated in the
international agreements on this matter to which Colombia is signatory.
PARAGRAPH 1.  To obtain a Tax Credit Certif icate (CERT), persons exporting goods from
the rest of the country to export processing zones for goods and services shall attach the following
documents, in addition to the documents required by the competent authority:
1. For goods stored in a zone, a certificate issued by the user-operator of the respective free zone
stating that the goods were shipped abroad to a country with respect to which the CERTs have
not been suspended or eliminated.
2. For goods produced or prepared in the zone by a user, a certificate from the user-operator
showing the amount and value of the raw materials, inputs and intermediate goods forming
part of the end good shipped abroad to a country with respect to which the CERTs have not
been suspended or eliminated.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Temporary exports from the rest of the country to a free zone to undergo a
process of finishing by a user are not entitled to the benefits established for permanent exports.
PARAGRAPH 3.  Introduction in the same conditi on into an export processing zone for
goods and services of goods originating abroad that have been customs cleared in the country is not
considered to be an export.
ARTICLE 41.  Suspended duty regimes. Goods in the rest of the country under a regime
suspending payment of customs duties may conclude that regime by being re-exported to a user in afree zone, as follows:
1. For temporary short- or long-term imports of capital goods in the form of machinery,
equipment, transportation materials or accessories, parts or spare parts, for re-export in the
same condition.
2. For temporary imports for active finishing, upon compliance with the rules governing this
matter.
ARTICLE 42.  Introduction of food and other items. The introduction into a free zone from
elsewhere in the country of construction materials, fuel, food, beverages and cleaning products for
consumption or use within the zone, which are necessary for the normal operations of users and whichdo not form part of their corporate purpose, do not constitute exports.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 25
CHAPTER V
Operations in export processing zones for goods  and services intended for the rest of the
country
ARTICLE 43.  Import regime. Introduction into the rest of the country of goods from a user
of a free zone shall be considered an import and sh all be subject to the rules and requirements for
imports under current customs legislation.
ARTICLE 44.  Customs duties. In the event that goods produced, prepared, processed or
stored by a user of a free zone are imported into the country, duties shall be due and payable on theircustoms value, in accordance with the following:
1. For goods prepared or processed in a free zone, the duty shall be determined by applying the
tariff on the end good to the customs value of the foreign raw materials and inputs used in
manufacturing the good.
2. For goods of foreign origin stored in free zones, the tariff applicable to the end good shall be
applied to the customs value of the good.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The sales tax shall be paid, in both cases, on the customs value of the good
plus the duties.
PARAGRAPH 2.  For the purposes of this article, raw materials, inputs and intermediate
goods from third countries, whose duties have been eliminated under a free trade agreement to which
Colombia is a party, shall be considered domestic goods in the event they comply with the rules of
origin.
PARAGRAPH 3.  The user-operator shall issue a certificate on the domestic and foreign raw
materials and inputs used in the manufacture of the good.
ARTICLE 45.  Finishing. The domestic raw materials and inputs or the foreign raw materials
and inputs customs cleared into the rest of the country, temporarily introduced into a free zone to
undergo a finishing process and subsequently re-imported into the rest of the country shall be
accepted as domestic value added.
ARTICLE 46.  Exit of goods to temporary free zones. The exit for the purposes of exhibition
of goods produced by an industrial user of a free zone to a temporary free zone shall require
authorization from the user-operator and the tax and customs administration in the jurisdiction where
the export processing zone for goods and services is located.
Such goods shall be returned to the zone after the event and at all events within the time-
limits established in Article 5 (3) of Decree 1177 of 1996 or regulations amending or replacing it.
ARTICLE 47.  Waste and scrap. The user-operator, under its own responsibility, may
authorize the permanent exit to the rest of the country of waste and scrap from the production
processes of industrial users.
In the event that the waste and scrap has commercial value, it must be imported in accordance
with Decree 1909 of 1992 or regulations amending or replacing it.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 26
The National Customs and Excise Directorate shall determine whether waste and scrap has a
commercial value.
ARTICLE 48.  Partial processing. A user-opera tor may authorize the temporary exit from an
export processing zone for goods and services to the rest of the country of raw materials and inputs tobe used in partial industrial processing in the rest of the country.
PARAGRAPH  The user-operator shall establish the period of time that the good may remain
outside the zone, which is not to exceed six months, and shall inform the tax and customs
administration in whose jurisdiction the zone is located of such authorizations at the time they are
made.
ARTICLE 49.  Other provisions. A user-operator may authorize the temporary exit from the
export processing zone for goods and services to the rest of the country of machinery and equipment
for inspection, maintenance or repair, after posting a guarantee equivalent to 200 per cent of the value
of the customs duties in force at the time the guarantee is posted.
PARAGRAPH  The user-operator shall establish the period of time that the good may remain
outside the zone, which is not to exceed three months, and shall inform the tax and customs
administration in whose jurisdiction the zone is located of such authorizations at the time they are
made.
CHAPTER VI
Operations between users of export processing zones for goods and services
ARTICLE 50.  Purchase and sale of goods. Users of export processing zones for goods and
services may engage in the purchase and sale of goods with each other or transfer such goods to other
users to take charge of all or part of a production, processing or assembly process. Such operations
shall only require completion of a form designed for that purpose and prior authorization from the
user-operator.
Where such operations imply the transfer of goods from one export processing zone for goods
and services to another, authorization shall also be required from the tax and customs administrationwith jurisdiction over the free zone from which the goods are to be sent, under the applicable regime.
SECTION IV
Sales to foreign markets by permanent customs users
CHAPTER I
Sale of goods
ARTICLE 51.  Annual sales of goods to foreign ma rkets. The value of annual sales to foreign
markets made by users that produce goods shall be equivalent to the sum for the calendar year of:
1. Sales abroad;
2. sales to other users;
3. imports into the rest of the country under a special import-export systems approved by the
Colombian Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX); andG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 27
4. imports into the rest of the country made by government agencies pursuant to contracts
awarded under international competitive biddin g, with the exception of energy imports.
PARAGRAPH  For the purposes of this article, calendar year is the period between 1 January
and 31 December of the same year.
CHAPTER II
Sale of services
ARTICLE 52.  Annual sales of services to fo reign markets. The value of annual sales to
foreign markets by industrial users that provide services shall be the equivalent of the sum of the
value of services provided during the calendar year:
1. From the free zone to a country other than Colombia;
2. From the free zone to a consumer domiciled or residing in a country other than Colombia;
3. Within a free zone to another industrial user of the zone; and
4. From the free zone to companies in the rest of the country, under special import-export
systems approved by the Colombian Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX).
PARAGRAPH  For the purposes of this article, calendar year is the period between 1 January
and 31 December of the same year.
CHAPTER III
Sales to foreign markets
ARTICLE 53.  Sales to foreign markets. Users that produce goods or services shall reach
agreement with the Colombian Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX) on annual commitments
for sales to foreign markets, based on their annual production volumes.
PARAGRAPH  The Colombian Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX), through the
Control and Monitoring Division of the Subdirector ate of Trade Practices, shall cooperate with the
Ministry of Foreign Trade in monitoring the export commitments of industrial users and shall report
to the ministry on non-compliance. The ministry sha ll issue instructions how the monitoring is to be
performed.
SECTION V
Tax incentives for users of export processing zones for goods and services
CHAPTER I
Exemption from income and complementary taxes
ARTICLE 54.  Industrial users. In accordance with Article 213 of the Tax Code or the
regulations that replace or amend it, the income earned by industrial users of export processing zones
for goods and services from sales to foreign markets made under the terms and conditions established
in the preceding article is exempt from the income and complementary taxesG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 28
ARTICLE 55.  User-operators. User-operators are exempt from the income and
complementary taxes on the income they obtain from carrying out authorized activities in their zone,
in accordance with Article 212 of the Tax Code or the regulations that replace or amend it.
ARTICLE 56.  Requirements for submitting the income and complementary tax declaration.
User-operators shall submit an income and complementary tax declaration in accordance with the
pertinent provisions of the Tax Code, within the time-limits established by the national government.
Industrial users shall present annually, within  the time-limits established by the national
government, a declaration of income, including the information necessary for normal determination of
the taxable base, in accordance with the applicable rules.
To that end, users shall keep separate accounts , backed by the pertinent internal and external
supporting documents:
1. For income from sales of goods or services abroad and deductible costs; and
2. For income from sales of goods or services to the domestic market and deductible costs.
PARAGRAPH  Where the costs and expenditures incurred affect income from sales on
foreign and domestic markets indistinctly, without its being possible to establish to which they should
be directly charged, such costs and expenditures shall be eligible in determining taxable income in the
same percentage as income from sales on the domestic market out of total income from operations
during the fiscal year.
CHAPTER II
Rules regarding payments, credits to accounts and transfers abroad
ARTICLE 57.  Interest and technical services. In accordance with Articles 54 and 322 (k) of
the Tax Code, payments, credits to accounts and transfers abroad for interest and technical services
paid by industrial users of free zones are not subject to deduction at source or to the taxes on income
and remittances. Such payments and transfers shall be for interest and technical services directly and
exclusively linked to the industrial activities carried out in the zone.
ARTICLE 58.  Remittance tax. In accordance with Article 322 (m) of the Tax Code, the
remittance tax is not applicable to income obtained from industrial activities carried out in free zones
by users.
SECTION VI
Rules on financial institutions in export processing zones for goods and services
SOLE CHAPTER
ARTICLE 59. Installation of financial institutions. Financial institutions supervised by the
Office of the Superintendent of Banks, except for bonded warehouses, may establish links with export
processing zones for goods and services, as branches or agencies of a financial institution not subject
to the free zone regime.
ARTICLE 60.  Credit regime. Developers and users established in free zones may have
access to credit from the country's financial institutions on the same terms as companies established in
the rest of the country.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 29
ARTICLE 61.  Registration of goods given in guarantee. The user-operator of the free zone is
responsible for keeping an up-to-date internal record  of goods given in guarantee to third parties by
users.
Financial institutions making loans to users guaranteed with goods located in the free zone are
required to inform the user-operator abou t the loan for the purpose of registration.
Goods given in guarantee may only may be removed permanently from free zone with
advance authorization from the financial institution that granted the loan.
SECTION VII
Non-compliance
CHAPTER I
User-operator
ARTICLE 62.  Recission of a decision. In the even t that the user-operator of a free zone fails
to comply with the requirements established in Article 8 of this decree or if there is a delay of more
than 12 months in beginning the works to develop the zone, the Ministry of Foreign Trade shallrescind the decision declaring the existence of the export processing zone for goods and services.
To that end, the Ministry of Foreign Trade shall issue the corresponding decision.ARTICLE 63.  Cancellation of the operating permit.  In the event that the user-operator fails to
comply with this decree, the Ministry of Foreign Trade may fine it between 10 and 100 minimum
monthly wages. In the event of a second offence, the guarantee referred to in Article 8 (a) of this
decree shall be cashed and the operating licence may be cancelled.
The penalties shall be imposed in a reasoned decision.ARTICLE 64.  Replacement of the user-operator. In the event that the user-operator's
operating permit is cancelled or if the company is being liquidated or, in general, if the user-operator
is at fault, the Ministry of Foreign Trade sha ll appoint a new user-operator through the following
procedures:
1. Selection through competitive bidding.
2. In the event that a new operator could not be selected through the bid process, the Ministry
shall directly appoint an operator.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall immediately appoint a temporary user-operator while the
above processes are being carried out.
CHAPTER II
Industrial and commercial users
ARTICLE 65.  Missing or excess goods. Where missing or excess goods are found in a user's
inventory, the Ministry of Foreign Trade shall impose a fine to be paid into the National Treasury, in aG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 30
reasoned decision, equivalent to 100 per cent of the CIF value of such goods, without detriment to any
applicable customs penalties.
Second offences shall cause the user to lose its status and it shall not be allowed to operate in
any free zone for a period of five years.
PARAGRAPH  As a consequence of losing the status of user and withdrawing from the free
zone regime, the user in question shall import, reship abroad or sell to another user, the foreign goods
at its installations, within three months following the date on which the decision referred to in this
article becomes final.
SECTION VIIISOLE CHAPTER
Supervision and inspection
ARTICLE 66.  Powers. The National Customs and Excise Directorate shall exercise the
powers assigned to it by law with respect to supervision and inspection. It shall issue a general order
giving the necessary instructions for due application of the customs operations referred to in this
decree.
PARAGRAPH 1.  Without detriment to Articl e 35 of this decree, the tax and customs
administration in the jurisdiction in which the free zone is located shall assign the necessary officials
to perform the functions for which it is responsible. The officials shall set up in the free zone in the
offices provided by the user-operator for their use.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The tax and customs administra tion in the jurisdiction in which the free
zone is located shall review, when it deems warranted, the information in the inventory control system
of the user-operator. It may also conduct physical inspections of the goods on the users' premises.
ARTICLE 67.  Reports on users. The user-operator shall send to the National Customs and
Excise Directorate a list of the users installed in its zone within 10 days after this decree comes into
force.
It shall also report on users authorized in future and users leaving the zone, within five days
after the event occurs.
ARTICLE 68.  Reports on movements of goods. The user-operator shall present to the tax and
customs administration in the jurisdiction in which the free zone is located, reports on magnetic
supports on entries and exits of goods and on the balances held by the users. The frequency of such
reports shall be established by the corresponding tax and customs administration.
SECTION IXSOLE CHAPTER
Other provisions
ARTICLE 69.  Support services companies. Compan ies that provide support services in the
free zones, such as restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, security, cleaning and maintenance, health care,
nursery and transportation services, may set up and operate in the free zones, without the benefits
granted by the regime to users.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 31
ARTICLE 70.  External auditing. The user-operator shall contract a reputable firm of external
auditors to perform an annual audit, as a minimum, using a suitable method, of the inventories of the
users to establish whether they are consistent with the information provided by the user-operator. The
reports shall be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National Customs and ExciseDirectorate.
ARTICLE 71.  Provision of information. The Ministry of Foreign Trade may evaluate the
procedures used to provide and verify the information established by the user-operator and shall order
their revision and modification when necessary.
ARTICLE 72.  Withdrawal of users from a fr ee zone. The user-operator shall inform the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National Customs and Excise Directorate of the withdrawal of any
user from the free zone, at the time it takes place.
ARTICLE 73.  Benefits of international agreements. Goods produced, processed, prepared or
stored by users of free zones shall benefit from international agreements and conventions signed byColombia with other countries provided the conditions and requirements established in those
agreements and conventions are complied with.
PARAGRAPH  The export quotas assigned to Colombia under international agreements may
be used by users of a free zone under the conditions established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
ARTICLE 74.  Prohibited goods. No domestic or foreign goods whose export or import is
prohibited may be introduced into a free zone. No r may weapons, explosives, nuclear or toxic waste,
substances that can be used in the processing or manufacture of narcotics or drugs that cause
psychological or physical dependence be introduced, unless authorized by the competent authorities.
Weapons used by security guards, customs authorities, police and watchmen guarding
installations inside free zones are excepted. The latter require authorization from the pertinent
authority.
The user-operator shall be liable if the goods referred to in this Article are introduced into the
free zone.
ARTICLE 75.  Restrictions on area and retail sales. Commercial users taken together may not
occupy more than 25 per cent of the total area of the respective free zone. In no event may these users
engage in retail sales or distribution of goods.
ARTICLE 76.  Private residences. No private residences may be established in the export
processing zones for goods and services.
ARTICLE 77.  Computerized inventory control system. User-operators of export processing
zones for goods and services that are already in existence are required to establish a computerizedsystem for inventory control within a time-limit established by the National Customs and Excise
Directorate in an instruction.
ARTICLE 78.  Legal regime. In matters not dealt with specifically in this decree, the same
legal regime that applies in the rest of the country shall apply in the export processing zones for goodsand services.
ARTICLE 79.  Entry into force. This decree shall come into force on the date it is published
and revokes all contrary provisions.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 32
3. Decree 918 of 2001
Partly amending the regime governing export processing zones for goods and services and
establishing other provisions.
The President of the Republic of Colombia in use of his constitutional powers, particularly
those conferred under Article 189 (25) of the Political Constitution and subject to the general
guidelines established in Article 3 of Law 6 of 1971 and Article 6 of Law 07 of 1991, upon the
recommendation of the Senior Foreign Trade Council, and CONSIDERING:
That the government is required to regulate the existence and functioning of export processing
zones for goods and services in order to promote foreign trade, create employment and generateforeign exchange and serve as poles of industrial development in the regions where they are
established;
That the free zones should offer their users the necessary conditions to enable them to
compete efficiently on international markets;
That it is advisable to establish facilities to enable the export processing zones for goods and
services to carry out their mission as developers of industrial processes for goods and the provision of
services for export.
DECREES:
SECTION I
Various Provisions
ARTICLE 1.  Competitiveness of the free zones. The free zones should offer optimum
conditions to permit their users to improve their competitiveness on foreign markets, to which end
they require a suitable physical infrastructure that facilitates the processing of goods and the provision
of services for export, an efficient control system that ensures compliance with the customs regime
and suitable application of the free regime, and domestic and international promotion and marketing
programmes.
ARTICLE 2.  Evaluation and follow-up. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall periodically
evaluate compliance with the investment and development plans presented by user-operators together
with the application for the declaration of a free zone, particularly with respect to infrastructure,
control systems and promotion and marketing programmes.
If, as a result of the evaluation established in the preceding paragraph, it is determined that the
initial investment commitments do not reflect the n eeds of the free zones to enable them to comply
with their objectives and commitments, the Ministry of Foreign Trade may revise the investment and
development plans or the leases entered into with the user-operators, as the case may be, and bymutual agreement with them, determine modifica tions to adapt them to needs with respect to
infrastructure, control systems and promotion and marketing programmes.
The reviews shall take into account investments made in the free zones that were not included
in the initial investment and development plans, wi th a view to including them in the plans in the
event they respond to the criteria established for that purpose by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 33
PARAGRAPH.  Recommendations requiring that leases or initial investment and
development plans presented by contractors be modified shall, in all cases, be submitted to the
Committee on Customs, Tariffs and Foreign Trade for consideration and subsequently to the Senior
Foreign Trade Council for its opinion.
Where the opinion is favourable and it is therefore necessary to amend the leases or initial
investment and development plans presented by c ontractors, the size of the investments planned
originally and the contractual equilibrium shall be maintained.
ARTICLE 3.  Extension of leases. Leases between the Ministry of Foreign Trade and user-
operators may be extended by the parties at their pleasure, fully observing the legislation in force.
Extensions are contingent on the user-operator being up to date in its obligations to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and on the free zone having developed its export mission, which shall be
determined through an evaluation to be performed in advance by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
ARTICLE 4.  Lease rental. To contribute to the development of the regime, the Ministry of
Foreign Trade shall provide that the rental charged to industrial and commercial users of free zones is
based on general market criteria and does not contravene the provisions on the promotion of
competition supervised by the Office of the Superintendent of Industry and Trade.
User-operators of free zones shall inform the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the lease rental
rates they charge generally to their users and the basis used to determine them, within three months
after this decree comes into force and each time the rates are changed.
ARTICLE 5.  Updating of information. The user-operator shall maintain up-to-date
information on the users of the respective free zone and shall remit a quarterly report to the Ministryof Foreign Trade.
PARAGRAPH.  The Ministry of Foreign Trad e shall establish the scope in general or
particular terms of the information to be presented in the quarterly reports on users of the free zones.
SECTION II
Amendments to Decree 2233 of 1996
ARTICLE 6.  Article 4 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shal l read as follows: "Article 4. Declaration
of existence. The declaration of existence of a export processing zone for goods and services shall be
made by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in a reasoned decision, setting forth the purpose, duration,which may not exceed 30 years, and the delimited geographical area that comprises the zone.
PARAGRAPH.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall take account in declaring a free zone of
its impact on the region and its contribution to the modernization and reconversion of sectors that
produce goods or services which improve competitiveness on international markets and increase anddiversify the country's exports."
ARTICLE 7.  Article 5 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shal l read as follows: "Article 5. Application.
To obtain a declaration of the existence of an export processing zone for goods and services,
interested parties may apply in writing to the Mini stry of Foreign Trade, attaching the originals and
two copies of the following documents:
1. Technical, economic, financial and market studies demonstrating the feasibility of the purpose
of the free zone for which application is made.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 34
2. Survey, showing the exact location and boundaries of the area for which application is made.
3. Master plan for the general development of the free zone, which should include suitable
premises for personnel from the National Customs and Excise Directorate in the free zone.
4. Programme to systemize operations in the free zone for inventory control that permits
adequate customs control by the user-operator and the competent authorities and a timetablefor its implementation.
5. Certification issued by the municipality or district in whose jurisdiction it is proposed to
construct the free zone, stating that the project is consistent with the municipal or district
development plan.
6. Legal titles substantiating unconditional disposition and use, with no limitation of any kind, of
the land on which the free zone project is to be developed physically.
7. Registry certificates on the legal status of each of the pieces of land that form the area for
which application for a free zone is made.
8. Documents establishing that the area can be equipped with residential public services.
9. Attach the following documents if the user-operator is legally incorporated:
(a) Certificate of establishment and legal representation issued by the chamber of
commerce in its principal domicile and copy of the company's articles ofincorporation;
(b) financial statements for the most recent accounting period and bank and commercial
references.
10. Attach the following documents if the user-operators is not legally incorporated:
(a) Draft incorporation papers of the user-operator; and
(b) bank and commercial references regarding the applicants.
PARAGRAPH.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall issue an instruction determining the
minimum information to be provided in the documents referred to in 1 and 3 of this article."
ARTICLE 8.  Article 7 of Decree 2233 of 1996 sh all read as follows: "Article 7. Opinion of
other entities. The Ministry of Foreign Trade shall request the opinion of the National Customs and
Excise Directorate. Where it considers appropriate, it shall also request the opinion of other entities.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade may request th e opinion of the Regional Advisory Committee on
Foreign Trade (CARCE) in the department, if one exists, although in no event shall said opinion be
binding or give rise to restrictions or barriers to entry that could affect the promotion of competition.
In such cases, the entities shall have 30 days after receipt of the request to give their opinions.
The opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the National Customs and Excise Directorate
and the Regional Advisory Committee on Foreign Trade shall be presented to the Committee on
Customs, Tariffs and Foreign Trade, which shall make recommendations on that basis to the Ministry
of Foreign Trade for the purpose of declaring a new free zone."G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 35
ARTICLE 9. Article 14 of Decree 2233 of 1996 sh all read as follows: "Article 14. User-
operator. A user-operator is a domestic or foreign co mpany legally incorporated in Colombia, with its
own taxpayer identification number, that is established for the purpose of carrying out activities
exclusively in a free zone. Its functions include the following:
1. Promoting, directing, administering and operating one or more free zones.
2. Purchasing, leasing or having at its disposition on any tenure, property to be used in free zone
activities.
3. Building directly or under contract with developers, the infrastructure and buildings of the
free zone, in accordance with the master development plan referred to in Article 5 (3) of
Decree 2233 of 1996.
4. Admitting companies that intend to establish themselves in the free zone and revoking their
status as users in the circumstances established in this decree or in the instrument of
admission.
5. Authorizing and keeping control over operations involving the entry and exit of goods and
inventories of industrial and commercial users, to which end the user-operator shall establish
a computerized system of inventory control and perform physical inspections of saidinventories and reviews of the production processes of industrial users when it deems
warranted or when so requested by the Ministry of Foreign Trade or the National Customs
and Excise Directorate, without detriment to the legal powers of those entities.
6. Issuing the certificate of inclusion referred to in Article 401 of Decree 2685 of 1999.
7. If it so wishes and in accordance with the pertinent rules, providing users that are not
beneficiaries of the special free zone regime with services including water, electricity,
telecommunications, cleaning, surveillance and maintenance of the zone, nurseries, medical
care, employment agencies, employee transportation, weighing, loading and unloading of
goods, and convention and exhibition centres.
The provision of other services not included in this numeral shall be authorized in advance by
the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
PARAGRAPH 1.  In carrying out its functions, the user-operator shall oversee compliance
with the free zone regime and customs requirements.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The status of user-operator is acquired when the Ministry of Foreign Trade
issues the operating permit referred to in Article 10 of Decree 2233 of 1996."
ARTICLE 10.  Article 18 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shall read as follows: "Article 18.
Application for installation. Persons wishing to be admitted as goods, services or commercial users
may submit a written application to the user-operator, containing the following information:
1. Name and address of the applicant.
2. Description of the project to be carried out.
3. Financial and economic feasibility and market studies of the project demonstrating its solidity
and export capacity; industrial users should also include their export projections.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 36
4. Composition or probable composition of the capital to be used in the project, indicating
whether it is domestic or foreign in origin.
5. Where pertinent, the favourable opinion of the competent entity regarding the environmental
impact of the project, based on current environmental legislation.
6. If the applicant is legally incorporated, it must meet the requirements established in Article 5
(9) of Decree 2233 of 1996.
7. If the applicant is not legally incorporated, it must meet the requirements established in
Article 5 (10) of Decree 2233 of 1986.
PARAGRAPH. In pursuing its purpose, the us er-operator may require, on a general basis,
additional information for the installation of users in the zone and shall establish the minimum content
of the studies referred to in numeral 3 of this Article."
ARTICLE 11.  Article 19 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shall read as follows: "Article 19.
Designation as user. The user-operator shall evaluate the application and issue an instrument of
admission to the applicant. The instrument of ad mission shall contain the following as a minimum:
1. Designation and determination of the status of the user;
2. Indication of the period for which it maintains its user status or an indication that the status
shall not exceed the authorized duration of the free zone;
3. Indication and delimitation of the area to be occupied; and
4. The activity or activities to be carried out in the free zone.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The user-operator shall remit a copy of the instrument of admission to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National Customs and Excise Directorate within five days after it is
issued.
It shall also apply for registration of the user in  the register referred to in Article 5, numeral
18, of Decree 2553 of 1999 and shall send the Ministry of Foreign Trade a copy of the informationrequired in the previous article.
PARAGRAPH 2.  he Ministry of Foreign Trade shall have 10 days after the date on which it
received the application for inclusion in the regist er of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade to
evaluate the application. Within that period, if it  is found that the project does not comply with the
legal requirements or the objectives of the free zones,  it may refuse to include the user in the register,
in which case the user-operator shall revoke its user status.
PARAGRAPH 3.  Decisions on applications for admission that are refused by the user-
operator shall also be remitted to the Ministry of Foreign Trade within five days following the
refusal."
ARTICLE 12.  Article 65 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shall read as follows: "Article 65. Penalties
applicable to industrial or commercial users. Where non-observance by an industrial or commercial
user of the obligations established in the free zone regime, different from infractions of the customs,
exchange or tax regimes, or breach of contract with the user-operator is found to exist, after a court
decision finding non-compliance with contractual obligations, the Ministry of Foreign Trade maysuspend or cancel the inscription in the register. When registration is cancelled, the user-operator shallG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 37
withdraw user status, in which event the industria l or commercial user may not operate in any free
zone for a period of five years.
Where missing or excess goods are found in a user's inventory, the Ministry of Foreign Trade,
through the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, shall, in a reasoned decision, impose a fine of 60current minimum wages to be paid into the Natio nal Treasury, without detriment to any applicable
customs sanctions. In the event of a second offence, the Ministry of Foreign Trade shall cancel the
inscription in the register of users and the user-operator shall withdraw user status, in which event the
industrial or commercial user may not operate in any free zone for a period of five years.
PARAGRAPH 1.  As a consequence of losing user  status, the user is to terminate the regime
of foreign goods in the free zone by importing then or shipping them abroad or selling them to anotheruser, within three months after the date on which th e administrative act that cancels inscription in the
register becomes final.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The procedure applicable to the declaration and imposition of penalties
shall be carried out in accordance with the Administrative Law Code."
ARTICLE 13.  Article 66 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shall read as follows: "Article 66. Powers.
The National Customs and Excise Directorate, in exercise of the powers of supervision and inspection
assigned to it by law, shall be the entity compet ent to supervise and inspect the customs, tax and
exchange regime for industrial and commercial users installed in free zones, as established in Article5 (3) of Decree 1071 of 1999, without detriment to the obligations regarding customs control
incumbent in the first instance on the user-operator.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The Tax and Customs Administration in the jurisdiction in which the free
zone is located shall assign the necessary officials to perform the functions for which it is responsible.The officials shall set up in the free zone in the offices provided by the user-operator for their use.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The Tax and Customs Administration in the jurisdiction in which the free
zone is located shall review, when it deems warranted, the information in the inventory control system
of the user-operator. It may also conduct physical inspections of the goods on the users' premises."
ARTICLE 14.  Article 70 of Decree 2233 of 1996 shall read as follows: "Article 70. External
auditing. The user-operator shall contract a reputable firm of external auditors to perform a review,
semi-annually as a minimum, using a suitable method, of the inventories of all industrial and
commercial users to establish whether they are consistent with the information provided by the user-
operator. The reports shall be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National Customs and
Excise Directorate.
The external auditors shall also review the investment plan and report on it annually to the
Ministry of Foreign Trade.
PARAGRAPH.  The Ministry of Foreign Trade may issue an instruction determining the
scope, in general or particular terms, of the external auditors' reports."
SECTION III
Amendments of Decree 2685 of 1999
ARTICLE 15.  Article 272 of Decree 2685 of 1999 shall read as follows: "Article 272.
Blanket and partial shipping permits. Users with large export volumes may present an application for
a blanket shipping permit to cover partial shipments. To that end, the National Customs and ExciseG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 38
Directorate shall issue a general instruction on the information to be provided in the application. At all
events, partial shipments shall be consolidated dur ing the first 10 days of the month following the
month in which they were made, through presentation of the corresponding export declaration.
Exporters of agricultural products authorized by the customs authority by reason of the frequency of
their export operations may also apply for the same treatment.Where partial shipments are made with provisional data, the final export declaration shall be
presented within three months after the expiry of the blanket shipping permit.
Blanket shipping permits shall be valid for the period established in the document referred to
in Article 268 (a) of this decree.
PARAGRAPH.  Exports made to industrial users of free zones shall also be eligible for the
treatment envisaged in this article."
ARTICLE 16.  Article 354 of Decree 2685 of 1999 shall read as follows: "Article 354.
Permitted operations. Customs transit may only be applied for and authorized for goods consigned or
endorsed to the national government, lower levels of government and decentralized agencies, to a userin a free zone, to the owner of a private warehouse, or in the event that the goods are subject to one of
the following types of importation:
(a) Importation for processing or assembly;
(b) temporary importation for the active finishing of capital goods;
(c) temporary importation pursuant to special import-export systems; and
(d) temporary importation for industrial processing.
Customs transit may be authorized for industrial users of free zones for the exit of goods from
their installations intended for a processing or assembly facility.
Customs transit may also be authorized for functional units, goods consigned in a shipping
document to a permanent customs user or a user with large export volumes, for any type of import and
under the export regime, in accordance with Article 279 of this decree.
PARAGRAPH.  For the exit of goods from export processing zones for goods and services to
another country through a customs point different from the customs with jurisdiction over the
respective zone, a customs transit declaration shall be presented in the terms established in thischapter."
ARTICLE 17.  Article 358 (3) of Decree 2685 of 1999 shall read as follows: "Transit from a
zone under a special customs regime to the rest of national customs territory or to a free zone, or from
a free zone to a zone under a special customs regime shall not be authorized, except in the latter casewhere the declarant is an industrial user of a free zone."
ARTICLE 18.  Article 403 of Decree 2685 of 1999 shall read as follows:"ARTICLE 403.  Exit of goods to temporary free zones. The exit of goods from a export
processing zone to a temporary free zone for the purposes of exhibition shall require authorization
from the user-operator and the customs administration in whose jurisdiction the export processing
zone for goods and services is located.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 39
The goods are to be returned to the free zone after the event and, at all events, within the
periods established in Article 5 (3) of Decree 1177 of 1996. For the purposes of this article, industrial
or commercial users of a free zone shall present, through the computerized customs information
system, a customs transit declaration if the temporary free zone is located in a customs jurisdiction
different from the jurisdiction of the export processing zone for goods and services.
Where goods are transferred without a change in jurisdiction, the user-operator shall issue a
shipping schedule using the computerized customs information system."
ARTICLE 19.  Article 488 of Decree 2685 of 1999 shall read as follows: "Article 488.
Customs infractions by user-operators of export processing zones for goods and services and
applicable penalties. Customs infractions committed by user-operators of export processing zones forgoods and services and the applicable penalties are classified as follows.
1. Very serious:
Switching or pilfering goods in its installations. The applicable penalty shall be a fine
equivalent to 70 current minimum monthly wages.
2. Serious:
2.1 Refusing entry into the free zone of goods that are consigned or endorsed in the
shipping document to a user in the zone, without due reason.
2.2 Permitting the entry into the free zone of foreign goods that are not consigned or
endorsed to a user in the zone in the shipping document.
2.3 Permitting the entry into the free zone of customs-cleared goods or goods whose
disposal is restricted, without complying with the requirements established in the
customs regulations.
2.4 Permitting the exit of goods to the rest of national customs territory without
complying with the requirements and formalities established in the customs
regulations.
2.5 Permitting the exit of goods to other countries without complying with the
requirements and formalities established in the customs regulations.
2.6 Failing to report to the customs authority information related to the receipt of goods
delivered by a shipper.
2.7 Failing to prepare, report or remit to the customs authority the record of
inconsistencies between the data given in the shipping list and the goods received, or
failing to report falsification of that document or poor condition or breakage detectedin the packing or customs seals, or deliveries that take place outside the hours
established in Article 113 of this decree.
2.8 Issuing with inaccuracies, errors or omissions the certificate of receipt of raw
materials and domestic and foreign inputs used in the manufacture and processing ofgoods in the free zone, where said errors, inaccuracies or omissions result in a lower
taxable base for the purpose of setting the customs duties referred to in Article 400 of
this decree.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 40
2.9 Giving erroneous or inaccurate information to the customs authority, where such
errors or inaccuracies refer to weight for bulk goods or quantity for other goods.
2.10 Failing to keep records of the entry and exit of goods from the free zone in
accordance with the requirements and conditions established by the National Customsand Excise Directorate.
2.11 Failing to possess the security, computer and communications equipment determined
by the customs authority, for the purposes of connection to the computerized customs
information system.
2.12 Failing to inform the customs authority in  writing no later than three days after the
event or its detection of the theft, loss or pilfering of goods subject to customs control
in the free zone.
2.13 Destroying goods when the customs authority is not present.
2.14 Failing to inform the customs authority of the authorizations granted pursuant to
Articles 406 and 407 of this decree.
The applicable penalty shall be a fine equivalent to 40 current minimum monthly
wages for each infraction.
3. Minor :
3.1 Failing to provide the areas needed to perform the physical inspection of goods and
other customs activities.
3.2 Impeding or preventing the practice of procedures ordered by the National Customs
and Excise Directorate.
The applicable penalty shall be a fine equivalent to 15 current minimum monthly
wages for each infraction.
PARAGRAPH.  The National Customs and Excise  Directorate shall inform the Ministry of
Foreign Trade of the imposition of a penalty on a user-operator, to enable the latter to impose any
applicable penalties within its sphere of competence."
ARTICLE 20.  System of penalties. Without detriment to the provisions of this decree,
administrative and customs infractions incurred by pe rsons answerable for the obligations established
herein shall be subject to the system of penalties established in Section 15 of Decree 2685 of 1999 or
the regulations replacing or amending it.
ARTICLE 21.  Entry into force. This decree shall come into force on the date it is published.
It amends Decrees 2233 of 1996 and 2685 of 1999 and revokes all contrary provisions.
Publish and execute. Done in Bogota, D. C., on 22 May 2001, Andres Pastrana Arango, Juan
Manuel Santos, Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Augusto Ramírez Ocampo, ad hoc Minister of
Foreign Trade for Free Zones.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 41
4. Law 677 of 2001 (3 August)
Official Gazette, year CXXXVII, No. 44509, 4 August 2001, page 11.
Issuing rules on special treatment for local regimes .
The Colombian Congress DECREES:
CHAPTER I
Special Economic Export Zones
ARTICLE l.  Purpose.  The purpose of this chap ter is to establish special legal conditions for
the promotion, development and implementation of processes for the production of goods and
services for export in the Special Economic Export Zones established under this law, within the
boundaries of the following municipalities and their metropolitan areas: Buenaventura in the Valle de
Cauca department, Cúcuta in Norte de Santander de partment, Valledupar in El Cesar department and
Ipiales in Nariño department.
PARAGRAPH.  The National Government may ex tend the benefits of the Special Economic
Export Zones to other border municipalities.
ARTICLE 2.  Definition. Special Economic Export Zones means the territory corresponding
to the four border municipalities established in th e preceding Article, which shall apply a special legal
regime in economic and social matters to new companies to promote their development to the benefit
of the country's progress, through the export of goods and services.
ARTICLE 3.  Geographical area of operation.  The boundaries of each zone shall coincide
with the boundaries of the municipalities named in this law.
ARTICLE 4.  Purpose.  In regulating, interpreting and applying the provisions that comprise
the regime applicable to economic activities in the z ones referred to in Article 1, it shall be kept in
mind that their sole purpose is to attract and generate new investments to boost domestic exports by
creating special conditions to favour the inflow of private capital and promote and facilitate the export
of Colombian goods and services.
ARTICLE 5.  Activities covered.  The special regime shall apply to industrial projects
directly linked to the purpose defined in the preceding Article, whose duration shall not be less than
five years.
However, industrial projects that use raw agricultural materials shall export all of the goods
obtained from those raw materials from the time the respective projects are started up.
ARTICLE 6 .  Users.  Juridical persons who sign a contract of admission to a zone may be
users of a special economic zone, regardless of their nationality.
Domestic and foreign juridical persons legally incorporated in Colombia, with their own
taxpayer number, involved in land development, construction and infrastructure for basic utilities,
technological services and civil works and those devoted to the training of specialized human
resources within the geographical area of operation of the Special Economic Export Zones shall alsobe considered users.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 42
ARTICLE 7.
A. Conditions of access. For an industrial project to  be classified as eligible, it shall comply with
the following requirements:
1. The investment shall be new and therefore shall not consist of the relocation of a domestic or
foreign industry.
2. The investment shall only be developed within the geographical area of the municipalities
declared to be Special Economic Export Zones.
3. The minimum investment shall be US$1,000,000 during the first two years and shall be
increased to US$1,500,000 in the third year and to US$2,000,000 in the fourth year.
4. The investment shall materialize in the firs t years of the project, based on the commitments
made in the admission contract.
5. As a minimum, 80 per cent of company sales shall be intended for foreign markets.
6. The project shall be required to comply w ith quantifiable commitments with respect to
creating a given number and type of jobs, incorporating advanced technologies, establishing linkage
with domestic industry, continued presence in the zone, using clean production techniques, andpreserving, inter alia , the economic, social and cultural aspects of the zone, depending on the nature
of the project.
7. The national government is empowered to review and adjust the access parameters, for the
purpose of ensuring compliance with the objective and purpose of the Special Economic Export
Zones.
8. Juridical persons that wish to carry out projects to train specialized human resources or build
urban infrastructure, road systems, public services networks and,
B. In general, installations for different modes of transport, shall comply with the following
requirements:
1. Description of the project that facilitates the installation of new companies that serve the
purpose of the Special Economic Export Zones established in Article 4 of this law.
2. Technical, financial and economic feasibility study of the project, demonstrating its solidity.
3. Determination of the make up or potential make up of the company.
4. Possession, where necessary and depending on the project, work or activity, of an
environmental permit and/or an environmental admi nistrative instrument, as pertinent, depending on
the environmental regulations in effect.
A committee composed of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the National Planning Department
and the mayor of the corresponding municipality shall decide on the eligibility of the above-
mentioned projects. For products that use raw agricult ural materials, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development shall also be represented on the committee.
ARTICLE 8.  Admission contract. Industrial projects declared eligible by the committee
established by the national government shall enjoy the benefits established in Chapter I of this law,G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 43
once they have signed an admission contract defining the commitments made by the interested party.
To sign the contract, interested parties shall establish a juridical person in the form of any category of
commercial company. The committee shall have 30 days to approve or reject the contract.
Contracts shall be signed by the company's legal representative, the Minister of Foreign
Trade, the Director of Taxes and National Custom s and the mayor of the corresponding municipality.
The national government may also invite other au thorities to sign special provisions annexed
to the contracts, intended to contribute to the development of the corresponding zone.
Application of the special regime shall be  conditional on compliance with the goals
established in the contract to promote the purposes for which the zone was created, in addition tocompliance with the requirements established in Article 2 of this law.
The contract shall establish commitments, terms and indicators to evaluate gradual
compliance with the agreed goals.
The parties shall agree on the life of the contract, although it shall not be less than five years
nor more than 20 years. Extensions of contracts shall be subject to a prior evaluation of compliance
with the agreed objectives. The committee established by the national government shall be
responsible for studying the advisability of extending the regime, based on an evaluation of the results
obtained.
ARTICLE 9.  Performance bond. Once an admission co ntract is signed for an eligible project,
the interested party shall furnish a bond made out to the Nation – Ministry of Foreign Trade – to
assure performance of all the commitments it has made in the admission contract. The bond shall be
in the amount of 10 per cent of the total investment.
Where imports of capital goods, machinery, equipment and parts are required to develop a
project, a guarantee from a bank or insurance company made out to the National Customs and Excise
Directorate shall be required for up to 100 per cent of the value of the customs duties that would be
applicable if the goods were imported through regular channels, to remain valid for the time that the
goods remain in the country. In this case the goods shall be subject to customs restrictions on their
disposal.
The purpose of the guarantee is to ensure payment of the customs duties that would be due if
the goods were imported through regular channels or re-exported within the time-limits set forth in a
decision declaring non-compliance or if the commitments to use the goods exclusively for the
purposes established in the contract were violated.
Introduction into national customs territory of  goods from Special Economic Export Zones
without paying customs duties, their sale to persons other than those authorized in customs legislation
or their use for purposes other than those established in the contract shall lead to seizure of the goods
and application of the penalties established in the customs regulations.
ARTICLE 10.  Operating principles. The followin g operating principles shall be applied in
the zones:
1. The benefits of the special regime shall a pply to users who, in the admission contract,
undertake to achieve specific goals within specific time-limits. The contract shall establish the
terms, technical references and indicators for evaluating gradual compliance with the goals.
Persons unable to comply with them may, on one occasion, apply for an extension, which
may not exceed one third of the original period. The selection committee shall decide whetherG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 44
to grant the extension and under what conditions. If non-compliance continues, the Nation –
Ministry of Foreign Trade – shall declare non-compliance with the commitments in a
reasoned decision, ordering the suspension of all the benefits granted in the respective
contract, payment of a fine of up to the total value of the performance bond, and establishing
a time-limit for the re-export of goods on which customs duties were not paid or for importingthem through regular channels.
2. Enjoyment of the benefits of the special regime may also be made conditional in the
admission contract on compliance with the goals established in the contract to promote the
purposes for which the zone was created. Such goals could refer to export volumes, the
creation of a given number and types of jobs, use of advanced technologies, linkage with
domestic industry, continued presence in the zone, clean production and other economic,social and cultural aspects considered priorities by national or municipal authorities,
consistent with their development plans.
3. The benefits provided under the special regime may be supplemented by other benefits
established in laws, ordinances, decisions, decrees, resolutions or other administrative acts. Atall events, the distribution of powers among the lower levels of government, particularly
municipal autonomy, shall be respected. Notwithstanding the above, in developing the
principle of coordination among the different levels of government, special administrative,
taxation, urban or any other type of conditions may be established to facilitate compliance
with the purposes of each of the zones.
4. Within the zones, control of compliance with the agreements established in the admission
contracts shall be performed ex-post and shall be intended exclusively to periodically evaluate
the results achieved.
Control shall be performed by private external auditors.
5. The rules governing international trade shall be strictly respected in performance of the
admission contracts.
6. All public authorities shall facilitate the development of activities in the special economic
export zones, assume that their users are acting in good faith and not demand additionalrequirements to those established in this law for granting benefits under it, in accordance with
Articles 83 and 84 of the Constitution.
ARTICLE 11.  Linkage of the national, departmental and municipal levels. The nation,
departments and municipalities, through the competent authorities, shall define in inter-agencyagreements the commitments they assume for creatin g the necessary and adequate conditions for the
efficient operation of the Special Economic Export Zones. The agreements may differ in each case on
account of the specific nature of each municipality. The terms of the corresponding institutional
agreements shall be annexed to the admission contract for the respective zone. Each of the lower
levels of government, through the competent aut horities, shall issue unilateral administrative acts
expressing their desire to comply with each of the commitments made, and the means and periods for
doing so.
The competent authorities shall define, in accordance with their public policies, the purpose
of such agreements and shall pay special attention to the support required by users in areas such as theconstruction of physical infrastructure, the development and quality of public utilities, the efficient
operation of information infrastructure, communications, the presence and effective action of security
services. The above does not preclude users from participating in the activities and works, on the
agreed terms.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 45
ARTICLE 12.  External auditing. Industrial and infrastructure projects shall contract external
auditing services with a reputable firm to review, at least once a year, the commitments made in the
admission contract. The reports are to be remitted to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the National
Planning Department.
ARTICLE 13.  Lease of property. Public agencies may enter into leases with industrial users
that have signed an admission contract, for property belonging to them that has not been assigned to
pay their own obligations or their social security obligations, for a period equal to the term of the
contract, whose rental shall be equal to the taxes and other costs associated with the preservation and
improvement of the property. At the end of the lease, the government agency that rented the land shall
not pay any compensation for improvements to land leased under this system.
The leases referred to in this Article may be extended for the full period of the admission
contract.
ARTICLE 14.  Duration. The special regime governing the Special Economic Export Zones
shall last for 50 years, whereafter it may be extended in a decree issued by the national government.
Extension of the regime shall be subject to a prio r evaluation to ensure that the zone is complying
with the objectives for which it was created. The Ministry of Foreign Trade, directly or through a
party contracted for that purpose, shall perform the evaluation and prepare the report for the President
of Colombia.
ARTICLE 15.  Special working conditions:(a) Employment contracts between employees and companies that have signed an
admission contract shall be fundamentally governed by the Labour Code;
(b) companies that have signed an admission contract and operate on two or more shifts
may establish work schedules not to exceed six hours a day and 36 hours a week,
without entitlement to overtime for night work or work on Sundays or holidays.
Notwithstanding, employees shall be paid at least the minimum wage and shall have
the right to one remunerated day of rest a week, which does not necessarily have to
fall on Sunday;
(c) for companies that have signed an admission contract, the contributions on the wages
of their direct employees to the Colombian Family Welfare Administration (ICBF),
the National Apprenticeship Service (SE NA) and the Compensation Funds shall be
50 per cent of the contributions required under labour legislation for five years after
they have set up, without detriment to the right of employees to receive the full
benefits and services provided by the respective entities;
To obtain this reduction, the employer shall apply to the Ministry of Labour and
Social Security and show evidence of compliance with the job-creation commitments
established in the admission contract and evidence that it has not been involved in
collective layoffs for the previous 12 months. The government shall issue the
necessary regulations;
(d) in the employment contracts between companies that have signed an admission
contract and their employees, stipulation of a fixed salary shall be valid, provided the
employee earns more than three minimum monthly wages, and it may be agreed that
the salary can include bonuses or commissions based on the company's operating
results or the employee's productivity;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 46
(e) labour cooperatives established to meet demand by companies that have signed an
admission contract shall have the objective of the production, marketing and
distribution of goods and services and the provision of individual or joint services by
their members;
(f) companies that have signed an admission contract to carry out specific projects in a
zone may enter into special agreements with SENA or other entities to provide
training for human resources in the region, thereby enhancing their eligibility to be
hired for those projects;
(g) companies that have signed an admission contract may offer employment contracts
with a limited work day, which shall be governed by the following provisions:
1. The contracts may be for up to 18 hours of work a week but not in excess of nine hours a day.
2. The parties may agree to an hourly wage. In addition to remunerating ordinary work, the
salary shall also remunerate overtime on holidays and Sundays, contributions and benefits
such as premiums required by law, termination pay and interest, and subsidies, except for
vacations.
The minimum hourly daytime wage shall be one eighth of the daily value of the minimum
wage, increased by 50 per cent as remuneration for the factors mentioned in the precedingnumeral.
3. Work performed during the night shift shall be paid at a rate of 35 per cent above the hourly
wage paid for the day shift.
4. Where the work day is longer than nine hours or the work week is longer than 18 hours, the
additional work shall be paid at a rate of twice the hourly wage paid for the day shift.
5. Employment contracts for limited work days may not coexist with other employment
contracts with the same employer, but the employee may enter into similar contracts with
another employer or employers, provided they are companies that do not have economic or
company ties.
6. Employment contracts may take any of the forms envisaged in the Labour Code and must
always be in writing. Compensation for unilateral termination without cause by the employer
includes loss of income and consequential damages, and shall be as follows:
6.1 For a fixed-term contract or a contract for the duration of a work or contracted
activity, the provisions of Article 64 (3) of the Labour Code, substituted by Article 6
(3) of Law 50 of 1990, shall apply;
6.2 for an indefinite-term contract, compensation shall be calculated by multiplying the
value of the weekly hours worked by three for each year of service and
proportionately per part thereof.
7. Social security for occupational health and risks of employees and their families shall be
covered as regulated in Law 100 of 1993 or by other types of protection, with the prior
approval of the Ministry of  Labour and Social Security.
8. Contributions to the social security system for pensions shall be made on the basis of the
hours actually worked; each 48 hours is the equivalent of one week.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 47
9. Employers are required to keep a roll of employees, including the full name, the number of
hours worked, the wages paid and vacations.
The Government may determine the other information that the employer is to include in the
roll referred to in this numeral.
10. Consecutive work on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays may last for up to 27 hours a
week, without exceeding nine hour s a day, without it being necessary to pay the overtime rate
established in numeral 5 of this Article.
11. Employment contracts based on a limited number of hours a day may only be entered into
directly between the employer and employee.  Temporary employment agencies and labour
cooperatives may not contract workers under this type of contract.
PARAGRAPH.  The entire content of this Article is applicable exclusively to companies that
have signed admission contracts to the Special Economic Export Zones.
ARTICLE 16.  Tax regime.
A. Industrial projects that are eligible for Special Economic Export Zones shall receive treatment
equivalent to the treatment accorded to goods or services users in export processing zones for goodsand services and shall, therefore, enjoy the following incentives:
1. In tax matters, they shall enjoy exemptions from the income and complementary taxes on that
part of their income that is obtained from sales to foreign markets.
Payments, credits to accounts and transfers abro ad for interest and technical services paid by
commercial companies are not subject to deduction at source or to the taxes on income and
remittances, provided they are payments directly and exclusively linked to the industrial activities
performed by companies established to carry out projects.
2. In customs matters, the special rules established for goods and services users in free zones
shall be applied, respecting and complying w ith the commitments made under the Cartagena
Agreement, particularly those intended to appl y the Common Andean Agricultural Policy (PACA).
PARAGRAPH.  Industrial projects mean act ivities to manufacture, produce, process or
assemble goods for sale and to provide services.
B. Infrastructure projects that are eligible in the Special Economic Export Zones shall be exempt
from the income and complementary taxes on the income they obtain from the activities they were
authorized to perform within the zone.
ARTICLE 17.  Promotion companies. Each zone may have one promotion company whose
function is to represent the zone on the selection committee and to promote and facilitate the
operation of the special regime.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 48
CHAPTER II
Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special Customs Zone
ARTICLE 18.  Imports of goods into the Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special Customs Zone,
except as provided in Paragraph 2 of this Article, shall only be subject to an entry tax, which shall be
collected, administered and supervised by the National Customs and Excise Directorate. The revenue
from the tax shall be ceded by the national government to the department of La Guajira and shall be
used exclusively for social investment works in its territory. The rate of the tax referred to in this
Article shall be:
(a) 4 per cent on the customs value of the goods, which shall apply from 1 July 2000 to
30 November 2001;
(b) 7 per cent on the customs value of the goods, which shall apply from 1 December
2001 to 30 November 2002; and
(c) 10 per cent on the customs value of the goods, which shall apply from 1 December
2002.
PARAGRAPH 1.  This tax shall be assessed and paid in the form established by the National
Government.
PARAGRAPH 2.  The tax on the entry of goods refe rred to in this Article shall be incurred
without detriment to the consumption tax referred to in Law 223 of 1995 or regulations adding to oramending it, which shall be paid at the port on taxable products to be introduced into the Maicao,
Uribia and Manaure Special Customs Zone from the rest of the country. The department shall exercise
the necessary controls.
Foreign products to which the consumption tax referred to in Law 223 of 1995 is applicable,
which are introduced into the Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special Customs Zone to be shipped to
third countries, shall not be required to pay the tax.
ARTICLE 19.  The La Guajira Development Fund is hereby established as a special account,
without independent legal status, attached to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, whose
purpose shall be to administer the revenue from the entry tax on goods, through a senior council
composed of a delegate from the Ministry of Finance, a delegate from the Office of the ComptrollerGeneral of the Republic, the governor of La Guajira department, the mayors of the municipalities of
Maicao, Uribia and Manaure, a representative of entrepreneurs in the region and a representative of
indigenous groups.
The national government shall regulate the functions, composition and appointment of its
members, use of the fund's resources and control over the fund.
ARTICLE 20.  Imports of capital goods, machinery, equipment and parts for the construction
of public infrastructure, works for economic and social development, and capital goods intended to
establish new industries or expand existing industries in the zone, to be used exclusively therein, shallbe exempted from the entry tax on goods.
To that end, persons intending to import the goods referred to in this Article shall register
with the customs administration with jurisdiction over the Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special
Customs Zone and furnish a guarantee to ensure that the capital goods, machinery, equipment andG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 49
parts shall be used exclusively for the purposes es tablished in the preceding paragraph, in the terms
and conditions established by the national government for their import.
ARTICLE 21.  Entries and exits of goods from the Special Customs Zone shall be subject to
compliance with the customs formalities and requirements established by the national government.
ARTICLE 22.  The provisions of this law shall not be applicable to imported vehicles, which
shall be subject to the corresponding customs duties and shall be imported through regular channels,
whereupon they shall be freely disposable with no customs restrictions.
ARTICLE 23.  Customs duties shall be payable on goods imported from the Maicao, Uribia
and Manaure Special Customs Zone into the rest of the country. When assessing the duties, thepercentage of the entry tax on goods that was paid when they were imported into the zone shall be
deducted from the sales tax applicable to the operation, unless the sales tax was refunded.
For entrepreneurs domiciled in the rest of the country who have purchased goods under this
law, the discount on the sales tax to which they are entitled under the Tax Code shall be for the entirevalue of the VAT applicable to the operation.
ARTICLE 24.  Travellers coming from the Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special Customs
Zone shall have the personal and non-transferrable right to bring new Articles with them as
accompanied luggage into the rest of the countr y up to the value established by the national
government, by paying the following single ad valorem  tax:
(a) 12 per cent on the customs value of the good, plus the consumption tax that was
waived when the good was imported into the zone. This single ad valorem tax shall
apply from 1 July 2000 to 30 November 2001;
(b) 9 per cent on the customs value of the good, plus the consumption tax that was
waived when the good was imported into the zone. This single ad valorem tax shall
apply from 1 December 2001 to 30 November 2002;  and
(c) 6 per cent on the customs value of the good, plus the consumption tax that was
waived when the good was imported into the zone. This single ad valorem  tax shall
apply from 1 December 2002.
PARAGRAPH.  The tax shall be assessed in the form determined by the National
Government.
ARTICLE 25.  The exit of foreign goods from the Maicao, Uribia and Manaure Special
Customs Zone intended for other countries shall not be eligible for a refund of the entry tax paid whenthey were imported.
CHAPTER III
San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina
ARTICLE 26.  The consumption tax established in Law 223 of 1995 on domestic products
imported into the department of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina shall
be 10 per cent.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 50
ARTICLE 27.  Commercial companies domiciled in the department of the Archipelago of
San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina that comply with the requirements established in Chapter
I, except for Article 7A(1), (3) and (5) of this la w, and that sign the respective admission contract
shall receive treatment equivalent to the treatment af forded to industrial projects classified as eligible
in the Special Economic Export Zones. The Government shall issue the pertinent regulations.
ARTICLE 28.  For the purpose of applying Article 310 of the Constitution, departmental
income is defined as all current income received  by the department, except for funds that are
specifically allocated under the constitution.
ARTICLE 29.  The phrase "Article 27 of Law 191 of 1995" is to be removed from
Article 134 of Law 633 of 2000.
ARTICLE 30.  Entry into force. This law shal l come into force on the day it is published.
Mario Uribe Escobar, Speaker of the Senate, Manuel Enríquez Rosero, Clerk of the Senate,
Basilio Villomizar Trujillo, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Angelino Lizcano Rivera, Clerk
of the House of Representatives.
Republic of Colombia – National Government – Publish and execute. Done in Bogota, D. E.,
on 3 August 2001, Andrés Pastrana Arango, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Minister of Finance and
Public Credit, and Martha Lucía Ramírez de Rincón, Minister of Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 51
5. Resolution 1001 of 2002 (11 July)
The Minister of Foreign Trade
In exercise of her legal powers, particularly those conferred under Decree 918 of 2001 and
CONSIDERING:
That ARTICLE 5(3) of Decree 2233 of 1996 requir es that a development plan for a free zone
be attached to an application to obtain a declaration of the existence of a free zone.
That as established in Article 2 of Decree 918 of 22 May 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Trade
shall periodically evaluate compliance with the investment and development plans presented by user-
operators together with the application for the declaration of a free zone and if, as a result of theevaluation, it is found that the initial investment commitments do not reflect the needs of the free
zones to enable them to comply with their objectives and commitments, the investment and
development plans or the lease contracts entered into with the user-operators, as the case may be, may
be revised and, by mutual agreement with them, modifications may be decided on to adapt them to
needs with respect to infrastructure, control systems and promotion and marketing programmes.
That ARTICLE 2 of Decree 918 of 22 May 2001 also establishes that the reviews shall take
into account investments made in the free zones that were not included in the initial investment and
development plans, with a view to including them in  the plans in the event they respond to the criteria
established for that purpose by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
That it is therefore necessary to establish technical criteria for recognition of the investments
made in free zones that have not been included in the initial investment and development plans.
RESOLVES:ARTICLE 1 – GENERAL PRINCIPLES. For the pu rposes of Article 2 of Decree 918 of 22
May 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Trade may consider investments not included in the initial
investment and development plans to have been ma de in compliance with such plans, provided the
investments are in one of the following areas:
1. Investments in infrastructure. Where the construction, adaptation and repair of fixed assets in
free zones is involved, provided they have help ed to maintain or increase the value of the
fixed assets located in the zone, preventing them from physical or monetary deterioration as a
result of use or time. Direct labour, through wages and out-sourcing contracts, shall not be
included for the purposes of recognition.
2. Security and control systems. Where the purpose of the investment is to implement, improve
or expand security systems or mechanisms to ensure control over the entry and exit of goods
to and from the free zone and, in general, to ensure compliance with the customs regime and
suitable application of the free regime.
3. Investments in promotion and marketing programmes. Where the purpose of the investment is
to maintain and promote exports, with the goal of domestic and international positioning andgreater access and use of free zones for foreign trade activities.
4. Improvement or expansion of services. Where the purpose of the investment is to improve,
expand or create and implement the services referred to in Article 14(7) of Decree 2233 of
1996, amended by Article 9 of Decree 918 of 2001, or of services expressly authorized in
advance by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 52
ARTICLE 2.  ACCOUNTING SUPPORTS FOR INVESTMENTS. For the investments
mentioned in Article One of this Resolution to be recognized, the user-operator shall present a list of
the investments made and recorded, duly certified by a public accountant entitled to act as legal
representative, stating that the investments do not correspond to execution of the original investment
and development plan. The accounting supports, in physical and magnetic form, and other documentsthat the Ministry of Foreign Trade requests in each case, duly certified and approved by the user-
operator's accountant and statutory auditor, shall also be attached.
ARTICLE 3.  TECHNICAL COMMITTEE. The deci sion as to whether the investments can
be recognized in terms of this Resolution shall be made by a technical committee composed of the
Director General of Foreign Trade, the Deputy Dire ctor of Promotion Instruments and the Director of
Export Promotion and Culture.
The principles to be kept in mind in determining recognition include reasonableness,
consistency, continuity and necessity. Where the technical committee deems necessary, it may require
further information, other supports or explanations from the user-operator, relating to the investments
whose recognition in the investment and development plan is being applied for.
ARTICLE 4.  RECOGNITION OF INVESTMENTS: After the analysis has been performed,
the Ministry of Foreign Trade shall personally notify the user-operator of the decision determining
which investments have been recognized and accr edited to compliance with its investment and
development plan, indicating the value determined for each of them.
For free zones that operate on land belonging to the Nation – Ministry of Foreign Trade,
investments recognized under this Resolution shall be taken into account in determining the extent of
compliance with the commitments made by the user-operator under the lease.
ARTICLE 5.  ENTRY INTO FORCE. The Resolution shall come into force on the day it is
published.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 53
B. VALLEJO PLAN (SIEX)
1. Resolution 1964
Official Gazette 44685
Partly amending Resolution 1860 of 1999 of the Colombian Foreign Trade Administration
and adopting other provisions. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade acting for the Minister of
Foreign Trade, in use of her legal powers, particularly those conferred under Decree 2553 of 1999 and
developing the provisions of Articles 172, 17 3, 174 and 179 of Decree-Law 444 of 1967; Article 4 of
Law 7 of 1991; Article 28 of Decree 631 of 1985;  Article 5 of Decree 1208 of 1985; Article 3 of
Decree 697 of 1990; Article 52 of Decree 2233 of 1996; Decrees 2680 of 1999, 2681 of 1999, 2685 of
1999; and Resolutions 003 and 004 of 1991 of the Foreign Trade Directing Council;  and
CONSIDERING:
That the Ministry of Foreign Trade is required to establish the procedures, requirements and
ordinary licences applicable to exports and imports of goods, services and technology; that
INCOMEX Resolution 1860 of 1999 establishes provisions related to the special import-exportsystems, "Vallejo Plan", in accordance with the powers granted to that agency by the National
Economic and Social Policy Council (CONPES); that  as provided in Decree 2553 of 1999, the powers
established in Resolution 1860 of 1999 incumbent on INCOMEX were transferred to the Ministry of
Foreign Trade – Directorate General of Foreign Trade which, for the purposes of the present
Resolution, shall be known as DGCE; that Resolution 526 of 2000 of the Directorate General ofForeign Trade established the functions of the directorate's work groups; that Resolution 552 of 2000
of the Ministry of Foreign Trade established the Special Import-Export Systems "Vallejo Plan"
Evaluation Committee and determined that the functions assigned in INCOMEX Resolution 1860 of
1999 to the Deputy Director of Operations and the Chiefs of the Special Systems and the Control and
Follow-up Divisions of that entity would be exercise d, in order, by the Deputy Director of Promotion
Instruments, the Chief of the Special Systems Group and the Chief of the Control and Follow-up
Group of the Directorate General of Foreign Tr ade; that INCOMEX Resolution 400 of 2000 partly
amended Resolution 1860 of 1999; that there is a need to adapt existing conditions and requirements
for development of special import-export systems, establishing administrative procedures in order to
facilitate access to, use of and control over export promotion mechanisms;
RESOLVES:ARTICLE 1.  Amend Article 13(c) and add Article 13(d) to Resolution 1860 of 1999, which
shall read as follows: "Article 13 (c). Keep registration in the National Register of Exporters of Goods
and Services of the Ministry of Foreign Trade current;" "(d) Not have been the subject of unilateral
termination of a programme during the last five years."
ARTICLE 2.  Add the following Article to Resolution 1860 of 1999: "Article 13-1. Business
association. A business association means a project whereby a group of businesses optimize their
productive and administrative processes for the purpose of establishing strategic partnerships to
increase the production of exports that are competitive on international markets, which may accede tospecial import-export systems by complying with the legislation governing the mechanism and, in
addition, the following conditions:
(a) To maintain the independence of each of the associates with respect to exchange, tax
and customs obligations applicable to imports under the Vallejo Plan programme;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(b) to designate the company in charge of the programme that shall coordinate the
assigned quota and its implementation;
(c) to furnish the guarantee to cover the obligations acquired under the programme by
each of the companies in the business association;
(d) the company purpose of the members of the business association shall include the
processing of imported raw materials to obtain export products or intermediate
products, except in the case of an international marketing company;
(e) non-compliance with the programme by any of the members shall be grounds for
suspending imports under the programme for all the companies."
ARTICLE 3.  Amend Article 14 of Resolution 1860 of 1999, which shall read as follows:
"Article 14. Presentation of applications. Natural or  juridical persons who comply with the conditions
established in the foregoing Articles may apply for authorization for a programme to the SpecialSystems Group, presenting the following documents:
(a) Application form supplied by the Special Systems Group, duly completed and signed
by the legal representative of the company and an economist in possession of a
current professional licence;
(b) a document accrediting the existence of the producer, marketer or exporter, as
follows: – Natural persons shall present the certificate of registration as a commercial
concern issued by the competent authority. – Juridical persons shall present the
certificate of existence and legal representation issued by the competent authority.
The documents mentioned in this subsection shall have been issued within30 calendar days prior to the date on which the application is made;  and
(c) general balance sheet and income statement and explanatory notes at 31 December of
the year immediately prior to the date on which the application is made, signed by the
legal representative, the public accountant and the statutory auditor in the case of
juridical persons, where required by the regulations, and signed by the applicant andthe public accountant in the case of natural persons.
PARAGRAPH 1.  Programmes that intend to ma ke non-reimbursable imports shall justify
that circumstance.
PARAGRAPH 2.  In addition, the following documents shall be attached to applications for
capital goods programmes and spare parts programmes:
(a) Lease contract in effect for a period not less than the export commitment period,
showing that the equipment leased has the st atus of a temporary import, if pertinent;
(b) catalogues of the capital goods to be imported under Article 173(c) and Article 174,
or technical information in lieu of such catalogues where it is impossible to provide
them;
(c) for used equipment, a certificate issued by the producer, manufacturer or vendor in
the country of origin stating the useful life after the date of manufacture or the date of
repair or rebuilding, and a description of the good, year of manufacture, price when
new and import price in United States dollars and the tariff subheading. For capitalG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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goods that are more than 20 years old, written justification by the legal representative
of the company.
PARAGRAPH 3.  For indirect operations unde r programmes for raw materials and inputs,
capital goods or spare parts, a copy of the contract establishing the operation to be carried out and theresponsibilities assumed by each contractor in carrying it out.
PARAGRAPH 4.  The following additional documents shall be attached to applications for
programmes for business associations:
(a) Proxy instrument signed by the members of the association naming the coordinator in
charge of the programme and the operations arising from it;
(b) general balance sheet, income statement and explanatory notes at 31 December of the
year immediately prior to the date on which the application is made, for each and
every one of the members of the business association, signed by the legal
representative, the public accountant and the statutory auditor in the case of juridical
persons, where required by the regulations, and signed by the applicant and the publicaccountant in the case of natural persons."
ARTICLE 4.  Amend Article 15 of Resolution 1860 of 1999, which shall read as follows:
"Article 15. Study. When evaluating applications to have programmes approved, the Special Systems
Group shall verify that the programme applied for contributes to the development of the country'sexport capacity and complies with the conditions es tablished in the regulations governing this matter
and, in particular, it shall verify the applicant's direct or indirect production capacity with respect to
the export plan it proposes to carry out.
PARAGRAPH 1.  For programmes in the agricultural sector, it shall be verified that there is a
change in tariff heading or manufacturing process from the imported product to the exported product.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Visits to the place of produc tion shall be made on the basis of the risk
profile established by the Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee, taking into
consideration the development of the programmes, the extent to which they are used and the history of
the user with inspection and supervision agencies, among other factors.
PARAGRAPH 3.  Should a visit to an industry be required for applications submitted to the
Departmental Directorates or Service Points, the Departmental Director shall have it performed and
remit the application and the report on the visit to the Special Systems Group within five working
days after receiving the application."
ARTICLE 5.  Amend Article 16 of Resolution 1860 of 1999, which shall read as follows:
"Article 16. Decision. Within 15 working days after the date on which a properly completed
application is submitted, the Deputy Director of Pr omotion Instruments and the Chief of the Special
Systems Group shall send a communication to the applicant, allowing or refusing the application. A
copy of the communication approving the application shall be remitted to the Control and Follow-up
Group and the Operations Group, the Departmental Directorate or Service Point authorized for
programme execution."
ARTICLE 6.  Add the following Article to Re solution 1860 of 1999: "Article 16.1. General
principles for evaluating imports of used equipment. The Special Import-Export Systems Group shallG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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evaluate and decide on applications to import capital goods and used parts, on the basis of the
following:
(a) Participation in the process of producing goods for export or use in the provision of
services directly linked to the production or export of such goods;
(b) manufactured 20 years ago or less, unless it is shown that the good has been rebuilt,
by providing the certificate referred to in Article 14(2) of this Resolution;
(c) opinion of Domestic Production, based on the information contained in the catalogues
of capital goods or spare parts to be imported or technical information in lieu of such
catalogues where it is impossible to provide them, description of the good, year of
manufacture, price when new and f.o.b. import price in United States dollars, and
tariff subheading;
(d) in the event that the good to be imported is produced domestically, the user may
produce a certificate from the local manufacturer to the effect that it is unable to
comply with the required technical conditions or delivery dates;
(e) technological progress generated by such goods;
(f) operating conditions of the equipment, based on the certification of its useful life;
(g) the useful life of the equipment should extend, as a minimum, until the end of the
export commitment period;
(h) the equipment should contribute to the production of goods intended to increase
exports, in accordance with the commitments proposed by the company and the
production capacity of the goods, according to the catalogues or technicalinformation;
(i) written justification signed by the company's legal representative of the need to
import the used goods."
ARTICLE 7.  Amend Article 18 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 18.
Return of applications. The Special Systems Group shall return applications that do not comply withthe requisites established in the regulations and, as a result, the term for reaching a decision shall
begin to run on the date that a properly completed application is submitted."
ARTICLE 8.  Amend Article 19 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 19.
Changes to programmes. Programmes authorized under special import-export systems may be
modified, if requested by the user, by the Deput y Director of Promotion and the Special Systems
Group in the following cases:
(a) To extend the period for licensing imports under capital goods programmes;
(b) to increase or reduce the import quota;
(c) class of guarantee;
(d) Company name and address;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(e) Operations Group, Departmental Directorate or Service Point where the authorized
programme is being executed;
(f) mode of operation;
(g) partial transfer of the assigned quota;
(h) programme reactivation;
(i) substitution or total or partial transfer of the programme;
(j) imports under a leasing contract;
(k) restructuring of final commitments in capital goods or spare parts programmes.
PARAGRAPH.  Users who request changes to programmes in any of the circumstances
established herein, apart from complying with the requirements established in Article 14 of this
Resolution, shall meet the following conditions: Not be in non-compliance with obligations acquired
under a programme authorized under a special import-export system. Be current in its registration inthe National Register of Exporters of Goods and Services."
ARTICLE 9.  Amend Article 22 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 22.
Life of the bonds. The bonds for raw materials and inputs programmes shall remain valid for 28
months after the date of acceptance, with the period corresponding to the sum of 18 months formaking and demonstrating the exports, four mont hs for the Control and Follow-up Group to verify
compliance with the export commitments, one month for the user to make any necessary corrections
or clarifications, one month for the Control a nd Follow-up Group to send the communication on the
final outcome and an additional four months. Where the Evaluation Committee approves periods for
demonstration that are different from those established here, the bond shall be based on the periodsapproved and conform to the terms established in this Resolution. Bonds furnished with respect to
programmes for capital goods, intermediate goods and spare parts shall have a life equal to the life of
the programme or subproject, as established in Article 83 of this Resolution. Notwithstanding, where
increases in import quotas are approved in periods following the initial period and independent,
additional commitments are made, an additiona l, independent blanket performance bond shall be
furnished for the new quota that is approved, which shall become a subproject inside the programme."
ARTICLE 10.  Amend Article 28 of Resolution 1 860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Time-limit
for demonstration. Users of special import-export systems programmes shall present to the Control
and Follow-up Division, a study demonstrating compliance with their obligations on the date
established in the blanket performance bond, at the latest. Where the date of presentation of the study
falls on a weekend or holiday, it shall be extended  to the following working day. Paragraph. In capital
goods and spare parts programmes, users may present annual demonstrations of their exports, which
shall be credited by the Control and Follow -up Division to the global export commitment."
ARTICLE 11.  Add the following Articles to  Resolution 1860 of 1999:  "Article 28.1.
Requirements for presenting the demonstration study. Users of special import-export systemsprogrammes shall present to the Control and Follow-up Group the study demonstrating compliance
with their obligations, attaching the following documents:
(a) Communication signed by the legal representative, the public accountant and the
statutory auditor, in the case of juridical persons, where required by the regulations,and by the programme user and its public accountant in the case of natural persons,G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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specifying the extent of compliance for the period to be demonstrated and the number
of documents attached, whose pages are to be duly numbered;
(b) forms established by DGCE, duly completed;
(c) original or photocopy certified by DIAN, of the export declarations (DEX), keeping
in mind that the data declared in the boxes for special systems are to be identical tothe data authorized in the programme and the respective input-product table. In the
event that the commercial unit is not the same, the unit declared should be convertible
into the unit of measure given in the input-product table;
(d) flat file, using the GARAX programme, in accordance with instructions issued by
DGCE, reporting the information contained in the physical export document;
(e) originals of the declarations covering the re-export or import through regular channels
of goods imported under the programme".
"ARTICLE 28.2.  Application for extensions. All applications to have the time-limit extended
for performing and demonstrating compliance with export commitments shall be made to the Ministry
of Foreign Trade, directed to the Control and Follow-up Group. The group shall only evaluate
applications presented within the period established in Clause One of the blanket performance bond
which is the subject of the application, to which the following documents are attached:
(a) Certificate signed by the legal representative, the public accountant and the statutory
auditor, where applicable, stating under oath that the company is not undergoing
voluntary or mandatory liquidation;
(b) certificate issued by the legal representative, public accountant and statutory auditor,
in the case of juridical persons, in accordance with the regulations, and by the user of
the programme and its public accountant in the case of natural persons, on the total
inventory of raw materials imported under the programme, describing their status,
which may either be in storage, production or processed into the end product, and
their location, to allow for verification at any time;
(c) application to restructure the time-limits established in the export commitment, in the
case of applications to extend the period for demonstration of export commitments
under capital goods or spare parts programmes.
PARAGRAPH 1.  Within five working days foll owing the date on which the application was
made, the Control and Follow-up Group or the Deputy  Director of Promotion Instruments, depending
on the length of the extension requested, shall evaluate and decide on the request.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Applications for extensions shall be remitted to the Control and Follow-up
Group by the Files and Correspondence Group in Bogota and the ministry's Regional Directorates or
Service Points elsewhere in the country on same day they are submitted, and shall also transmit them
immediately by Fax."
"ARTICLE 28.3.  Return of applications. The Control and Follow-up Group shall return
applications that do not comply with the requisites established in the preceding Article. Consequently,
the term for reaching a decision shall begin to run on the date that a properly completed application is
submitted, provided the new application is presented within the deadline established in clause one of
the bond whose extension is being sought."G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 59
"ARTICLE 28.4.  Responsibility for granting extensions. The maximum extension that may
be authorized for bonds furnished to develop special import-export systems programmes shall be
12 months. Applications for extensions shall be studied and decided as follows: The Control and
Follow-up Group shall examine the first application for an extension if the term is not for more than
six months. The Deputy Director of Promotion In struments shall examine the other applications.
Paragraph 1. Decisions shall be communicated by th e Deputy Director of Promotion Instruments and
the Chief of the Control and Follow-up Group. Paragraph 2. All authorizations to extend the term for
demonstrating compliance with commitments shall require replacement of the respective bond within
10 working days after the date of the communicat ion informing that the extension was approved.
Failure to comply with this condition automatically  cancels the authorization, which means that the
date established in the bond shall be the expiry date and in consequence it shall be cashed for the
corresponding amount. Paragraph 3. The demonstration of pending balances referred to in Article 35of this Resolution shall not be open to extension."
ARTICLE 12.  Amend Article 31 of Resolution 1 860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 31.
Verification. The DGCE shall verify the study demonstrating export commitments within four months
after it is submitted. To that end, it shall verify that the information provided by the user in the importlicence table corresponds to the information reported in the Ministry of Foreign Trade's database and
that the information on exports provided on magnetic supports is exactly the same as the data declared
in the export declarations (DEX). The verification shall determine the consistency of the study and if
inconsistencies of form and/or content are found, it shall be returned explaining the reasons, so that
the user can make the necessary adjustments."
ARTICLE 13.  Amend Article 33 of Resolution 1 860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 33.
Returned demonstration studies. The user shall have one month after the date on which a
demonstration study was returned to correct and resubmit it."
ARTICLE 14.  Amend Article 34 of Resolution 1 860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 34.
Resubmission, evaluation and penalties. Within one  month following the date of the re-submission,
the DGCE shall verify the demonstration study, issuing a communication within that period on the
extent of compliance. Should it find non-compliance, it shall establish the amount, suspend imports
under the programme and order the Operations Group, Departmental Directorate or Service Point to
cash the bond on 20 per cent of the undemonstrated balance or 50 per cent of that balance in the case
of programmes that simultaneously apply special systems and annual licences.
PARAGRAPH 1.  Should the application not be resubmitted within the deadline, an order
shall be issued in the month referred to in this Article to have the bond cashed.
PARAGRAPH 2.  In the event that the demonstration study is not presented on time, the
following penalties shall apply: 5 per cent of th e value of the bond if it is presented before the
decision ordering the bond to be cashed is issued; 10 per cent of the value of the bond, if it is
presented at the time an appeal is filed to have a decision to cash the bond on the grounds of non-
compliance reversed."
ARTICLE 15.  Add the following Article to  Resolution 1860 of 1999: "Article 39.1.
Summons for notification of administrative acts. The Operations Group or the Regional Directorates
shall personally give notice of decisions ordering that a bond be cashed or deciding on appeals to have
a decision reversed, in accordance with the following procedure: The Files and Correspondence
Group or the person in charge of that function shall send a summons for notification by certified mailon the same day as it is received. After sending the summons to the addressee, on the same day or on
the following day at the latest, the group or person in  charge of the function shall remit a copy of the
summons to the Operations Group or the Departmental Directorate, together with the receipt and aG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 60
copy of list showing that the summons was delivered. The list should give the name of the person who
accepted the communication or the reasons why it could not be delivered."
ARTICLE 16.  Add a paragraph to Article 42 of  Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Paragraph 2. It is the responsibility of the Coordinating Advisor of the Operations Group and theRegional Directors to comply with the regulations  governing the special systems, including matters
relating to acceptance of bonds, controls over the quotas assigned and over the import licences for raw
materials and inputs, capital goods or spare parts, and the corresponding balances."
ARTICLE 17.  Amend Article 45 (d) of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"(d) Description of the goods. In the box for the description of raw materials, inputs, capital goods,
intermediate goods or spare parts, include the words "deadline for demonstratingexports ___________".  The date shall be identical to the date established for that purpose in the
blanket performance bond. In addition, where the impor t is made under a capital goods or spare parts
programme, the date of acceptance of the blanket performance bond covering the operation shall be
included. For imports of spare parts under Articles 173(c) and 174 of Decree-Law 444 of 1967, also
include the words "import of spare parts" and the capital good for which the parts and components tobe imported are intended."
ARTICLE 18.  Amend Article 46 of Resolution 1 860 of 1999 to read as follows: "Article 46.
Cancellation or correction of the import licence. In the event that the import is not made, is made
partially, or where the Special Systems Group or the Control and Follow-up Group, as a result of anevaluation, determines that there are errors in completing the import licence, the user shall apply to
the Operations Group, the Regional Directorate or the Service Point to make the corresponding
changes.
PARAGRAPH 1.  In cases of corrections owing to total or partial renunciation of import
licences, that fact should be stated within the time-limit established in clause one of the bond covering
the imports, for which purpose the customs broker contracted by the user to make its customs
arrangements shall declare, on the reverse of the import licence, the extent to which it has been used
and the balance, which should correspond strictly to the balance that is being renounced.  In the event
of total renunciation, the user shall attach a sworn st atement, signed by its legal representative and
statutory auditor in the case of a juridical person and by the user and the public accountant in the case
of a natural person to the effect that it has not used the import licence, explaining the reason why.
PARAGRAPH 2.  For permanent customs users ( UAP) or large exporters (ALTEX), it shall
only be necessary to present a certificate signed by the legal representative and the statutory auditor
on the extent of use and the balance in the import licence to be changed.
PARAGRAPH 3.  The user of the special syst ems programme shall be responsible for the
accuracy of the information given by the customs broker and the data certified in its own name.
Therefore, any inconsistencies shall be grounds for unilateral termination of the programme.
PARAGRAPH 4.  The Operations Group, the Departmental Directorate or the Service Point
shall review the application, verify the information in the BACEX database and give its opinion
regarding its feasibility no later than the first working day following its receipt."
ARTICLE 19.  Replace paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 48 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 with the
following paragraphs:
"PARAGRAPH 1.  The Operations Group, the Regional Directorates and the Service Points
empowered to administer the programmes may aut horize changes to the boxes corresponding to the
special systems in the export declarations for direct and indirect operations, provided the declarationsG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 61
(DEX) contain a shipping authorization date that is  later than the date of approval of the indirect
operation. In cases of exports originating from indirect operations not approved in advance or
replacement programmes for raw materials and inputs, changes shall not be allowed, since the
application should have been made prior to the date on which the shipment was authorized."
"PARAGRAPH 2.  Where it is necessary to correct an export declaration (DEX) because the
input-product table was not presented on time, the user shall submit the application for correction to
the Special Systems Group, fully justifying the reasons why it was late.  In the event that the
application affects export declarations (DEX) that have been attached to demonstration studies, the
request shall be decided by the Special Import-Export Systems Committee.  Prior to authorizing a late
presentation, the Special Systems Group shall check with the Tax Credit Certificates (CERTs) Group,
to establish whether the change in the input-product table to be applied to a give export declarationaffects the domestic value added on which the credit was paid, in which event the user shall refund a
sum equal to the overpayment to the Bank of the Republic."
ARTICLE 20.  Amend Article 52 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 52.  Termination for lack of use. Capital goods or spare parts programmes that do not report
imports during the established period or raw materials and inputs programmes that do not report
imports in two consecutive periods between 1 January and 31 December of the respective calendar
year, shall be declared terminated, either automatically or at the request of the user, after verification
in the BACEX that no import declarations have b een made under the programme to be terminated."
ARTICLE 21.  Amend Article 64 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 64. Identification codes. The users of special import-export systems programmes under
Articles 172 and 173(b)  shall identify each imported raw material and input with ascending codesstarting from the number 01, which they shall declare in the import licences and the input-product
tables. Each internal code shall identify, during the life of the programme, raw materials and inputs of
the same commercial unit and tariff subheading."
ARTICLE 22.  Amend Article 65 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 65. Corrections to the input-product tables. On the request of a programme user, the Special
Systems Group may correct the input-product tables as a result of a change in any of the tariff
subheadings."
ARTICLE 23.  Amend Article 66 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 66. New input-product tables. New input-product tables shall be presented to the Special
Systems Division in the following cases:
(a) Where the change in the technical and commercial description of the imported raw
materials or inputs entails a change in the consumption factors;
(b) where new raw materials and inputs are included;
(c) where one or more of the declared raw materials is not used;
(d) where there is a change in the technical and commercial description of the product to
be exported;
(e) where there is a change in the consumption factors;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(f) where the commercial unit of the export product shown in the input-product table is
different and cannot be converted into the unit declared in the export declaration;
(g) where the percentage of domestic value added is increased or reduced by more than
15 percentage points."
ARTICLE 24.  Amend Article 67 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 67. Study and approval. The Special Systems Group shall approve or return the input-product
tables and shall inform the user of its decision with 15 working days after it was submitted. In that
communication, the group shall determine whether waste and scrap can be freely disposed of without
customs restrictions."
ARTICLE 25.  Amend Article 77 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 77. Development of capital goods programmes. Operations under Articles 173(c) and 174 of
Decree-Law 444 of 1967 shall take the form of programmes for which a global quota in United States
dollars is approved for a given period, to be used for imports of capital goods that are to be used in
producing export goods or for the provision of services directly linked to the production or export ofsuch goods. Raw materials or intermediate goods to be used in the production or assembly of capital
goods to be used in the production of export goods or for the provision of services directly linked to
the production or export of such goods may also be imported. Persons wishing to obtain authorization
for programmes of this kind shall give a general description of the project in the application,
indicating, inter alia , the economic activity, the main capital goods to be imported for its execution
and the time-limit for making the exports, since compliance shall be verified globally."
ARTICLE 26.  Add the following Article to Resolution 1860 of 1999. "Article 77.1. Spare
parts programmes. In application of Articles 173(c) and 174 of Decree-Law 444 of 1967, operations
may take the form of programmes for which a global quota in United States dollars is approved for agiven period, to be used for imports of spare parts to be incorporated into capital goods. A minimum
of 70 per cent of the resulting increase in production shall be exported. This commitment shall be
additional to and independent of any other export commitment. These programmes shall be
guaranteed in accordance with Articles 20 to 27 of this Resolution.
PARAGRAPH 1.  For the purposes of this Article, spare parts means the spare parts and
components needed for the proper operation of capital goods.
PARAGRAPH 2.  If it is impossible to determine export commitments on the basis of
increases in production, the percentage represented by the value of the imported spare parts out of the
value of the capital goods in which they are to be used shall be calculated and the same percentage
shall be applied to the total production of the respective units, giving the result in physical unitsproduced as the export commitment. At all events, the value of the exports may not be less than the
value of the imported spare parts.
PARAGRAPH 3.  For programmes to import spare parts under Article 174, the export
commitment in United States dollars shall equal a minimum of one and a half times the f.o.b. value ofthe authorized import quota.
PARAGRAPH 4.  Applications for programmes to import spare parts shall list the parts and
quantities to be imported and the equipment in which they are to be used."
ARTICLE 27.  Amend Article 78 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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"ARTICLE 78. Export commitments for programs to import capital goods under
Article 173(c). Goods imported under Article 173(c) shall be used for the declared purposes and the
export commitment shall be equivalent in physical units to at least 70 per cent of the increases in
production that are achieved during the time required for the value of said goods to depreciate by
90 per cent.
PARAGRAPH 1.  For capital goods that are imported for the purposes of equipment
replacements, expansions, environmental protection or quality improvements, the imports shall be
intended to increase the beneficiary's exports and its export commits.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Each increase in a quota shall generate additional export commitments and
constitute a new subproject within the programme, which requires the respective guarantee to befurnished.
PARAGRAPH 3.  A new increase in a quota within a programme that involves the import of
capital goods that form an integral part of a previously-authorized project or subproject for which an
export commitment was made shall be added to the affected import quota. Therefore, it shall benecessary to replace the guarantee.
PARAGRAPH 4.  Imports of all capital goods for the provision of services directly linked to
the production or export of goods creates an export commitment in United States dollars equivalent to
three times the f.o.b. value of the authorized import quota."
ARTICLE 28. Amend Article 79 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 79. Export commitments of programmes for imports of capital goods under Article 174.
Goods imported under Article 174 shall be used for the declared purposes and the export commitmentin United States dollars shall be a minimum of one and a half times the f.o.b. value of the import
quota used."
ARTICLE 29.  Amend Article 80 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 80. Verification of commitments under capital goods programmes and spare parts
programmes. Verification of export commitments in capital goods or spare parts programmes shall bebased on physical units where the obligations are acquired under a programme authorized pursuant to
Article 173 (c) and on value where acquired pursuant to Article 174."
ARTICLE 30.  Amend Article 81 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 81. Restructuring of export commitments under Article 173(c) and 174. The export
commitments established for programmes under Articles 173(c) and 174 may be restructured upon
application by the interested party presented to the Special Systems Group within the period
established for demonstrating compliance set forth in the bond, in the following cases:
(a) Where the import quota has not been fully used;
(b) where the user has imported goods different from those mentioned in its application
or where the imported goods change the production capacity established initially;
(c) where the export product envisaged in the initial commitment has changed;
(d) where the periods initially established in the export commitment have been affected
by foreign market conditions."G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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ARTICLE 31.  Amend Article 82 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 82. Duration of service for goods. Goods imported under the special import-export systems
programmes referred to in Article 173(c) shall remain at the service of the programme for not lessthan the period considered normal for the value of those goods to depreciate by 90 per cent.
ARTICLE 32.  Amend Article 83 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:"ARTICLE 83.  Duration of capital goods and spare parts programmes. Subprojects
authorized under a capital goods programme shall have a duration equal to the sum of the time-limit
for making imports, understood as the time required to present the import licences, make the imports,assemble and start up the goods, plus the period for which the export commitment is established, plus
six months to demonstrate compliance to the Cont rol and Follow-up Group, plus four months for the
corresponding verification, plus one month for corrections or clarifications of the respective
demonstration study, plus one month to communicate the final result of the evaluation, plus three
months to demonstrate that the temporary import programme has been wound up and one additionalmonth."
ARTICLE 33. Amend Article 85 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 85. Mandatory re-export. It shall be mandatory to re-export raw materials and inputs,
intermediate goods, capital goods and spare parts whose authorization was conditional on their re-
export in the event of non-compliance with the programme."
ARTICLE 34.  Amend Article 87 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 87. Temporary exit of goods imported temporarily for inward processing under special
import-export systems, for repair, manufacture, maintenance or processing. The temporary exit of
goods imported temporarily for inward processing under a special import-export system, for repair,
manufacture, maintenance or processing requires ap proval from the Operations Group, Departmental
Directorate or Service Point that administers the programme, prior to applying for authorization to
ship the re-export, to which end the following documents shall be attached:
(a) Justification of the temporary exit;
(b) original of the guarantee issued by the manufacturer or supplier of the good stating
that the operation is to be performed under the guarantee, which shall be in effect on
the date of the re-export, where applicable;
(c) application for a shipping permit or a licence application form giving the number of
the programme, the number and date of the import licence and declaration and the
period for re-importing the goods, which may not exceed the period established in the
programme itself for making and demonstrating compliance with the export
commitments;
(d) copy of the import licence and declaration that covered the temporary import under a
special import-export system."
ARTICLE 35.  Add the following Articles to Resolution 1860 of 1999:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 65
"ARTICLE 87.1.  Permanent exit for replacement purposes of goods temporarily imported for
inward processing under a special import-export system. The permanent exit for replacement purposes
of goods temporarily imported for inward processing under a special import-export system requires
approval from the Operations Group, Departmental Directorate or Service Point that administers the
programme, prior to applying for authorization to  ship the re-export, to which end the following
documents shall be attached:
(a) Justification of the permanent exit;
(b) guarantee covering the import of the good that replaces the good to be re-exported;
(c) certificate from the manufacturer or supplier stating that the replacement is to be
made under the guarantee, where applicable;
(d) application for a shipping permit or a licence application form giving the number of
the programme, the number and date of the import licence and declaration and the
period for re-importing the goods, which may not exceed the period established for
the programme itself for making and demonstrating compliance with the export
commitments;
(e) copy of the import licence and declaration covering the temporary import under a
special import-export system;
(f) the Special Import-Export Systems Eval uation Committee may authorize import of
the good that shall replace the good that was destroyed, damaged, defective or
unsuitable, without requiring it to be exported beforehand."
"ARTICLE 87.2.  Permanent exit of goods temporarily imported for inward processing under
a special import-export system in application of Article 172(c) of Decree 2685 of 1999. The
permanent exit of goods temporarily imported for inward processing under a special import-export
system in application of Article 172(c) of Decree 2685 of 1999 requires approval from the Operations
Group, Departmental Directorate or Service Point th at administers the programme, prior to applying
for authorization to ship the re-export, within the term for demonstrating export commitments, to
which end the following documents shall be attached:
(a) Justification of the permanent exit;
(b) application for a shipping permit or a licence application form stating that the re-
export is being made under Article 172(c) of Decree 2685 of 1999, the number of the
programme, the number and date of the import licence and declaration;
(c) a copy of the import licence and declaration that covered the temporary import under
a special import-export systems programme.
PARAGRAPH. Customized elements with a defini te function that form part of a capital good,
which were imported under a special import-export system programme, are not eligible for permanentre-export."
"ARTICLE 87.3.  Permanent exit of goods imported temporarily under a special import-
export system. The permanent exit of goods imported for inward processing under a special import-
export system as a result of having complied with or  of the impossibility of complying with the exportG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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commitments requires the approval of the Operations Group, Departmental Directorate or Service
Point that administers the programme, prior to appl ying for authorization to ship the re-export, to
which end the following documents shall be attached:
(a) Application for shipping authorization or  a licence application form giving the
number of the programme, the number and date of the import licence and declaration;
(b) the import licence and the import declaration under which the goods were imported
temporarily;
(c) photocopy of the communication in which the Control and Follow-up Group certifies
compliance or the impossibility of co mplying with the export commitments.
PARAGRAPH. Customized elements with a defini te function that form part of a capital good,
which were imported under a special import-export system programme, are not eligible for permanentre-export."
ARTICLE 36.  Replace Articles 103 and 104 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 with the following
Article:
"Article 103.  Recognition of the status of large user of special import-export systems. The Director
General of Foreign Trade shall automatically or at the request of the interested party, through an
administrative act, recognize the status of juridical  persons that comply with the following conditions
as large users of special import-export systems:
(a) Have been a user of raw materials and inputs or capital goods or spare parts
programmes for at least two years, contin uously or discontinuously, within the period
between 1 January 1993 and the date on which the administrative act is issued;
(b) not have had a programme under a special import-export system unilaterally
terminated or have had performance bonds cashed within five years prior to the dateof the administrative act;
(c) have made exports worth US$4,000,000 or more during the period referred to in (a)
of this Article.
PARAGRAPH.  These conditions shall not be applicable for recognition as large users of
international marketing companies that are duly registered with the Ministry of Foreign Trade,
permanent customs users (UAP) or large exporters (ALTEX), duly recognized and registered byDIAN."
ARTICLE 37.  Amend Article 105 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 105. Procedure for obtaining automatic reco gnition as a large user. The Chief of the Special
Import-Export Systems Group, after verifying and evaluating compliance with the conditions
established in the preceding Article, shall issue, after receiving a favourable opinion from the Deputy
Director of Promotion Instruments, the respective administrative act, setting forth the circumstances
of compliance. The act shall be signed by the Director General of Foreign Trade."
ARTICLE 38.  Eliminate Article 106 of Resolution 1860 of 1999.
ARTICLE 39.  Amend Article 107 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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"Article 107. Operators of large users of special import-export systems. The legal representative of a
company recognized as a large user shall designate from among its employees, representatives or
external advisors, a person and an alternate who shall be authorized to act as operator for all
operations related to the special import-export systems programme. The Directorate General ofForeign Trade may organize training courses or seminars for such operators."
ARTICLE 40.  Eliminate Article 108 of Resolution 1860 of 1999.ARTICLE 41.  Amend Article 109 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:"ARTICLE 109.  Prerogatives of large users of special import-export systems. Recognition of
the status of large user of special import-export systems confers the following prerogatives on the
juridical person:
(a) Automatic access to a personal blanket performance bond;
(b) presentation of input-product tables on a magnetic support designed by DGCE, prior
to or simultaneously with presentation of demonstration of compliance with
commitments;
(c) demonstration of compliance with export commitments as late as the deadline
established in the blanket performance bond, through a certificate signed by the legal
representative and an external auditor, whose capacity is duly certified, stating theextent of compliance, for which purpose it is necessary to complete the form and the
magnetic support established by the DGCE.
PARAGRAPH.  Except as otherwise provided in this Article, all the requirements established
in this Resolution shall apply to large users."
ARTICLE 42.  Amend Article 110 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 110. Special obligations of large users. Large users of special import-export systems shall be
subject to the following special obligations: To  present the physical documentation supporting
certification of the extent of compliance with the export commitments when required by the Special
Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee, without detriment to the time-limits established for the
demonstration. To keep export and import documents for the term of the export commitment plus 24months, without prejudice to the term for the mandatory retention of documents established in
customs legislation."
ARTICLE 43.  Amend Article 111 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 111. Loss of status as a large user of special import-export systems. The Special Import-
Export Systems Evaluation Committee shall withdraw status as a large user of special import-export
systems in the following cases:
(a) Where unilateral termination of a large user's programme is declared;
(b) where the large user fails to comply w ith any of the obligations acquired under a
programme or any of the special obligations established in Article 110 of this
Resolution."
ARTICLE 44.  Eliminate Article 112 of Resolution 1860 of 1999.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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ARTICLE 45.  Amend Article 113 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 113. Composition of the Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee. The Special
Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee, which for the purposes of this Resolution shall becalled the Evaluation Committee, shall be composed of the following officials: The Deputy Minister
of Foreign Trade, who shall chair it, one adviso r from the Foreign Trade Directing Council, the
Director General of Foreign Trade, the Chief of the Legal Office, The Director of Export Promotion
and Culture, the Director of Competitiveness and the Deputy Director of Promotion Instruments."
ARTICLE 46.  Amend Article 114 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 114. Organization. The Director General of Foreign Trade shall chair the Evaluation
Committee in the absences of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade. The Deputy Director of
Promotion Instruments shall act as the committee's secretary."
ARTICLE 47.  Amend Article 115 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 115. Functions of the Evaluation Committee. The Evaluation Committee shall have the
following functions:
(a) To adopt, in accordance with general foreign trade and export promotion policies,
general principles to govern operations under special systems programmes;
(b) to periodically evaluate the development, use and performance of this promotion
instrument, based on the information presented by the Director General of Foreign
Trade;
(c) to establish in duly justified cases the mechanisms necessary for demonstrating the
export commitments established in the programmes;
(d) to evaluate and define decision criteria on import applications under capital goods
programmes involving the import of transportation equipment and communications
equipment;
(e) to evaluate and define decision criteria on import applications under capital goods
programmes involving imports of used goods which, despite being produced
domestically, form part of production lines;
(f) to determine the circumstances under which programmes should be terminated
unilaterally;
(g) to define decision criteria for applications for new programmes or any other type of
request related to special systems operations, which for duly justified reasons is
submitted for its consideration, or where so determined by the committee;
(h) to establish risk profiles based on factors that include the development of
programmes, the extent to which they are used and the history of the user with
supervision and inspection entities;
(i) to evaluate and define decision criteria for applications for the import of goods to
replace goods that are destroyed, damaged, defective or unsuitable, without requiringthat they be re-exported beforehand;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(j) to define decision criteria for applications for special import-export system
programmes for the export of services;
(k) to define its operating regulations. The others expressly provided for in this
Resolution."
ARTICLE 48.  Amend Article 116 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 116. Meetings, decisions and minutes. The Evaluation Committee shall meet a minimum of
twice a month and its decisions shall be adopted by the majority of its members and be written down
minutes to be signed by the chair and the secretary. The secretary of the committee shall prepare and
keep the minutes of each meeting of the Evaluation Committee and prepare and submit internal and
external circulars to the Director General of Fo reign Trade for signature in the event that the
definitions adopted affect the functions or performance of the ministry's Operating Group, RegionalDirectorates or Service Points or refer to generally-applicable principles. Paragraph. Where, in the
opinion of the Evaluation Committee, more information is required on a specific subject, it shall
request that the evaluation report be expanded and, where pertinent, invite users or other officials with
an interest in the subject under consideration to its meetings."
ARTICLE 49.  Amend Article 117 of Resolution 1860 of 1999 to read as follows:
"Article 117. Criteria for analysis of matters submitted to the Evaluation Committee. The Deputy
Director of Promotion Instruments shall present to  the Evaluation Committee an analysis of the cases
submitted for its consideration. To that end, he shall give consideration to the definitions adopted bythe Evaluation Committee itself and the implications of the matter under analysis for authorized
programmes, among other aspects."
ARTICLE 50.  Imports of spare parts for capital goods and spare parts programmes made
prior to the present Resolution. During the period between the date of publication of this Resolutionand 3 February 2002, the Operations Group, the Regional Directorates and the Service Points shall
only license imports of spare parts for capital goods and spare parts programmes under way up to a
total equal to the licensed value under the programme, during the month prior to publication. Import
licences for spare parts costing more than is established herein shall require advance approval from
the Special Import-Export Systems Committee, pursuant to a duly justified request by the user. After
4 February 2002, imports of spare parts for capital goods and spare parts programmes under way shall
be made in accordance with the spare parts programmes established in Article 26 of this Resolution,which adds Article 77.1 to Resolution 1860 of 1999.
ARTICLE 51.  Entry into force. Except for Article 50 of this Resolution, which shall come
into effect on the date of publication, this Resolution shall come into force on 4 February 2002 and
applies to all operations after that date. All contrary provisions are revoked. Publish and implement.Done in Bogota, D. C., on 28 December 2001. Claudia María Uribe Pineda, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Trade, acting for the Minister of Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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2. Resolution 1860
ARTICLE 1.  Scope and coverage. This Resolution applies to the special import-export
systems established in Articles 172, 173, 174 and 179 of Decree Law 444 of 1967 and in Decrees 688
of 1967 and 631 of 1985 and complementary regulations.
ARTICLE 2.  Definition. Special import-export systems, which for the purposes of this
Resolution shall be called the Vallejo Plan, mean the regime that permits natural or juridical persons
operating as producers, exporters or marketers, or non-profit entities, to temporarily import into
Colombian customs territory, with total or partial exemptions from customs duties and taxes, inputs,
raw materials, intermediate goods or capital goods and spare parts used in the production of goods for
export or for services directly linked to the production or export of such goods.
ARTICLE 3.  Operations of Article 172. The operations referred to in Article 172 of Decree-
Law 444 of 1967, which for the purposes of this Resolution shall be called Article 172, involve the
temporary import of raw materials and inputs to be used exclusively and fully, subtracting waste and
scrap, in the production of goods for export or of goods which, while not intended directly for foreign
markets, are to be used fully by a third party or parties in the production of export goods.
ARTICLE 4.  Operations of Article 173(b). The operations referred to in Article 173(b) of
Decree Law 444 of 1967, which for the purposes of this Resolution shall be called Article 173(b),
involve the import into the country of raw materials and inputs to be used fully in the production of
goods which may be partially exported, provided the import of the end good, should it be imported, isexempt from customs duties.
ARTICLE 5.  Definition of raw materials and inputs. For the application of special systems,
raw materials and inputs mean:
(a) The series of elements used in a production process from whose mixture,
combination, processing or manufacture, an end product is obtained;
(b) the series of parts and components that undergo assembly during the production
process;
(c) auxiliary materials used in the production cycle which, although capable of being
processed, do not form part of the end product;
(d) the elements used in packaging the end product or in the production of packaging
materials, and
(e) goods to be imported into the country for repair or rebuilding and the spare parts
required for that purpose.
ARTICLE 6.  Operations of Article 173(c) and Article 174. The operations referred to in
Article 173(c) and Article 174 of Decree Law 444 of 1967, which for the purposes of this Resolutionshall be called Article 173(c) and Article 174, involve the import of capital goods and spare parts
intended for the installation, expansion or replacement of the respective productive units, that are to
be used in the process of producing export goods or are intended for the provision of services directly
linked to the production or export of such goods.
PARAGRAPH.  In developing Article 173(c) and Article 174, the import of raw materials or
intermediate goods to be used in the production or assembly of capital goods or spare parts used in the
production of export goods or which are intended for the provision of services directly linked to theG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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production or export of such goods may be authorized. Said raw materials and intermediate goods
shall enjoy the privileges established in Article 173(c) and Article 174 of Decree Law 444 of 1967, as
applicable, and shall be subject to the export commitments governing the respective capital goods.
ARTICLE 7.  Operations of Article 179. In developing Article 179 of Decree Law 444 of
1967, persons who lawfully export domestic goods in whose production imported raw materials or
inputs or replacements were used on which customs duties were paid shall have the right to obtain a
licence to import tax free an identical amount of the raw materials or inputs incorporated into the
exported good.
SECTION II
Modes of operations
ARTICLE 8.  Modes. Operations involving raw materials and inputs, capital goods and spare
parts may be carried out under direct or indirect operations.
ARTICLE 9.  Direct operation. Direct operation means an operation in which the natural or
juridical person who imports the raw materials or inputs, capital goods, intermediate goods or spare
parts is the same person who directly undertakes the production and export of the good, without the
intervention of third parties, or provides services in its own name for the export of the goods produced
by it.
ARTICLE 10.  Indirect operation. Indirect operation means an operation in which the natural
or juridical person who imports the raw materials or inputs, capital goods, intermediate goods or spare
parts is not the person who directly undertakes the production and export of the good or does not
provide services in its own name for the export of the goods produced by it.
ARTICLE 11.  Nature of imports. Direct and indirect operations may include reimbursable or
non-reimbursable imports.
ARTICLE 12.  Non-reimbursable imports. In de veloping a programme of raw materials or
capital goods and spare parts, non-reimbursable imports may be made in the following cases:
(a) Where the goods produced with imported goods are to be exported under a
manufacturing or supply agreement with the foreign supplier;
(b) where shipped goods are missing or where imported goods are flawed or defective or,
because they are under warrantee, the foreign supplier agrees to replace the material
through another shipment;
(c) where the goods are imported into the country under a rental contract, including
leasing contracts;
(d) where the imports are made by a mining or oil company;
(e) where the goods are imported as a foreign capital investment;
(f) where the good to be imported is a donation.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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SECTION III
Requirements for gaining access to the programmes
ARTICLE 13.  Conditions. Natural or juridical persons interested in gaining access to a
Vallejo Plan programme for raw materials, capita l goods and spare parts shall comply with the
following conditions:
(g) Be a producer, exporter or marketer or a non-profit entity;
(h) not be in non-compliance with obligations under a Vallejo Plan programme at the
time the application is made;
(i) be included in the National Register of Exporters.
PARAGRAPH.  Any other form of business association recognized by law may be eligible
for a Vallejo Plan programme and the special conditions thereof shall be established by the Evaluation
Committee.
ARTICLE 14.  Presentation of the application. Na tural or juridical persons who comply with
the conditions established in the preceding Article may apply for authorization of a programme to the
Special Systems Division, presenting the following documents:
(a) Application form supplied by the Special Systems Division, duly completed and
signed by the legal representative of the company and an economist in possession of acurrent professional licence;
(b) a document accrediting the existence of the producer, marketer or exporter, as
follows:
• Natural persons shall present the certif icate of registration as a commercial
concern issued by the competent authority;
• juridical persons shall present the certificate of existence and legal
representation issued by the competent authority;
• international marketing companies, in addition to the certificate of existence
and legal representation, shall present a certificate of registration with theMinistry of Foreign Trade.
The documents mentioned in this subsection shall have been issued within
30 calendar days prior to the date on which the application is made.
(c) General balance sheet and income statement at 31 December of the year immediately
prior to the date on which the application is made, signed by the legal representative
and the statutory auditor or public accountant in the case of juridical persons, and
signed by the applicant and the public accountant in the case of natural persons.
PARAGRAPH 1.  As an additional requirem ent for programmes that include the non-
reimbursable imports referred to in Article 12 of this Resolution, it shall be necessary to clearly justify
that they are non-reimbursable.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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PARAGRAPH 2.  The following documents shall be attached to applications for capital
goods programmes and spare parts programmes, as additional requirements:
• Contract in the case of a good imported under a leasing contract, in effect for a period
not less than the export commitment peri od, showing that the equipment leased has
the status of a temporary import;
• catalogues of the capital goods to be imported under Article 173(c) and Article 174,
or technical information in lieu of such catalogues, where it is impossible to provide
them;
• a certificate issued by the producer, manufacturer or vendor in the country of origin
stating the useful life if the good has been used, repaired or rebuilt.
PARAGRAPH 3.  For indirect operations unde r programmes for raw materials, capital goods
and spare parts, a letter of commitment from the exporter describing the responsibilities it assumes in
demonstrating the respective export commitments.
SECTION IV
Evaluation of programme applications
ARTICLE 15.  Study. When evaluating applicat ions to have programmes approved, the
Special Systems Division shall verify that the Vallejo Plan programme applied for contributes to the
development of the country's export capacity and complies with the conditions established in theregulations governing this matter and, in particular, it shall verify the applicant's direct or indirect
production capacity with respect to the export plan it proposes to carry out.
PARAGRAPH 1.  For programmes in the agricultural sector, it shall verify that there is a
change in tariff heading from the imported product to the exported product.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where INCOMEX deems necessary, it shall pay visits to the applicant's
production site to verify the information presented together with the application for the programme or
any other necessary information. For applications made to sectional or regional offices outside
Cundinamarca, the sectional or regional chief, as pe rtinent, shall have the visit performed within five
days after receiving the application and shall remit the report together with the documentation
presented by the applicant to the Special Systems Division.
SECTION V
Approval
ARTICLE 16.  Decision. Within ten working days after the date on which a properly
completed application is submitted or the visit is completed, as pertinent, the Deputy Director of
Operations and the Chief of the Special Systems Division shall send a communication to the
applicant, allowing or refusing the application. A copy of the communication shall be remitted to the
Control and Follow-up Division and the Regional or Sectional Directorate through which application
for the programme was made.
ARTICLE 17.  Content of the authorization.  The communication approving a Vallejo Plan
programme shall contain the following information, as a minimum:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(a) Identification of the user;
(b) import quota in United States dollars;
(c) operation, mode of operation and nature of the imports;
(d) economic activity;
(e) type of guarantee to be furnished and its percentage, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 21 of this Resolution;
(f) regional or sectional office where the guarantee is to be furnished and the imports are
to be licensed;
(g) express statement to the user of the following aspects:
• The power conferred on INCOMEX to request information of all kinds and to
pay visits to the production site at any time in order to verify proper use ofthe goods imported under a Vallejo Plan programme;
• acceptance of the terms of authorization in the form of a blanket performance
bond and licensing of imports made under the programme;
• the user's obligation to report expeditiously to INCOMEX any events that
affect the development of the Vallejo Plan programme;
• the restriction on the free disposal of capital goods and spare parts, whereby
they cannot be sold or used for purposes other than the authorized purpose
until they are customs cleared, which shall occur once all the obligations have
been fully discharged;
• the condition that certificates of origin shall only be issued for export
products requiring them if the rules of origin in effect at the time of issue are
complied with.
(h) Grounds for the unilateral termination of the programme.
PARAGRAPH.  In the event the user has a leasing contract, INCOMEX, through the Special
Systems Division, shall inform the leasing company about the system to which the good under lease is
subject, making particular mention of the limitation on free disposal until such time as all theobligations under the Vallejo Plan have been discharged.
ARTICLE 18.  Denial of the application. INCOMEX shall deny applications for a Vallejo
Plan programme if they do not meet the requirements set out in the applicable regulations.
Also, INCOMEX may deny applications from persons who have had a programme that was
unilaterally terminated.
ARTICLE 19.  Changes to programmes. Programmes authorized under the Vallejo Plan may
be modified upon application by the user to the Special Systems Division, in the following cases:
(a) Where the assigned quota is affected;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(b) where a change in the participating users is requested as a result of substitution,
transfer of rights and obligations or a change in the company name of the juridical
person. In the case of substitution, the application shall be presented jointly by the
assignor and the assignee, and the latter shall show compliance with the requirements
established in this Resolution for gaining access to a programme;
(c) where circumstances occur that make changes in the export commitments necessary;
(d) where a change in Vallejo Plan mode or operation is required.
PARAGRAPH.  The substitution or transfer of rights and obligations referred to in (b) of this
Article shall not be authorized in the event that the programs to be affected by the substitution have
failed to comply with any of the obligations acquired for their development, unless the assignee
assumes those obligations.
In the substitution or transfer, the same conditions as for the initial programme shall be
maintained, including the time-limit for making and demonstrating the export commitments, and the
guarantees shall be changed to the name of the new owner.
SECTION VI
Performance bonds
ARTICLE 20.  Nature of the bonds. To back compliance with the obligations incurred under a
Vallejo Plan programme, the beneficiary is required to furnish a blanket performance bond toINCOMEX, which may be a personal, bank or insurance company guarantee.
PARAGRAPH.  Where the user of the programme is a natural person and where the user is a
juridical person and the Special Systems Division determines, after an analysis of the financial
statements, that the applicant does not have the financial solidity to cover the amount of the guarantee,the blanket performance bond shall be issued by a bank or an insurance company.
For the purposes of evaluating financial solidity, consideration shall be given to debt levels,
financial solvency and working capital of the applicant company, based on the parameters established
for that purpose by the Evaluation Committee.
ARTICLE 21.  Establishment and amount. The blanket performance bond shall be furnished
in the terms established in the respective programme authorization, based on the following
parameters:
(e) For all modes of programmes, the bond shall be for 20 per cent of the f.o.b. value of
the import quota authorized in the respective programme;
(f) for the simultaneous application of the Vallejo Plan and the annual licence, the bond
shall be 50 per cent of the total value of the import quota authorized in the respective
programme.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The bonds are to be furnished to the Regional or Sectional Directorate for
each import period, prior to or at the time of presentation of the first application for an import licence.In programmes for raw materials, the import period runs from 1 January to 31 December of each year.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Juridical persons shall present a current certificate of existence and legal
representation. Where the legal representative is not authorized to sign documents in excess of theG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 76
amount of the bond, a copy of the act in which the competent company body authorizes him to carry
out the operation shall be attached.
Natural persons are required to present a current certificate of registration as a commercial
concern issued by the competent authority.
ARTICLE 22.  Life of the bonds. The bonds for raw materials and inputs programmes shall
remain valid for 26 months after the date of acceptance, with the period corresponding to the sum of
18 months for making and demonstrating the exports, four months for the Control and Follow-up
Division to verify compliance with the export commitments, and an additional four months. Where
the committee approves periods for demonstration that are different from those established here, the
bond shall be based on the periods approved and conform to the terms established in this Resolution.
Bonds furnished with respect to programmes for capital goods, intermediate goods and spare
parts shall have a life equal to the life of the programme, as established in Article 83 of this
Resolution.
Notwithstanding, where increases in import quotas are approved in periods following the
initial period and independent, additional commitments are made, an additional, independent blanket
performance bond shall be furnished for the new quota that is approved.
ARTICLE 23.  Form. Personal guarantees shall us e the form issued for that purpose by the
Special Systems Division, which shall be attached to the decision authorizing the programme.
Bank or insurance company guarantees, in addition to their general content, are required to
comply with the requisites established in the fo rm to be provided by INCOMEX, that shall be
annexed to the guarantee as an integral part thereof. At all events, the guarantees shall expresslyrenounce the benefit of discussion.
ARTICLE 24.  Acceptance. The Regional or Sectional Directorate shall verify that the
information contained in the bond conforms to the decision authorizing the programme, particularly
with respect to determination of the amount, which shall calculated at the representative market
exchange rate certified by the Office of the Superintendent of Banks for the last working day in the
week prior to the date of the bond. That being done, it shall accept the bond by stamping it with itsseal, including the signature and date on which it was accepted.
The original document shall remain in the safe keeping of the respective directorate, which
shall remit the first copy to the Control and Follow-up Division and the second to the user.
ARTICLE 25.  Modification or replacement of bonds. Bonds furnished under authorized
programmes shall be modified or replaced in the following cases:
(a) Where the quota is increased;
(b) where rights and obligations are substituted or transferred;
(c) where the name of the company operating the programme is changed;
(d) where there are changes in the time-limits established for compliance with the
obligations.
ARTICLE 26.  Cancellation of bonds in raw materials and inputs programmes. Where a bond
has been furnished in application of programmes under Articles 172 or 173(b), and after verifying thatG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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the export obligations have been complied with, the Control and Follow-up Division shall cancel the
bond. This decision shall be communicated to the user in writing, remitting a copy of the notice to the
Regional or Sectional Directorate, which shall return the original bond to the user.
ARTICLE 27.  Cancellation of bonds in capital goods and spare parts programmes. Where a
bond has been furnished in application of programmes under Articles 173(c) or 174, the Control and
Follow-up Division shall remit a copy of the communication declaring compliance with the export
commitments to DIAN. The user shall proceed to wind up the temporary import regime for inward
processing, by re-exporting the goods or importing them through regular channels so they can be
freely disposed of in the country, in accordance wi th the regulations govern ing this matter and, that
being done, it shall remit to the Control and Fo llow-up Division documentary evidence for the
purposes of cancelling the blanket performance bond.
SECTION VII
Demonstration and verification of export commitments
ARTICLE 28.  Time-limit for demonstration. Users of Vallejo Plan programmes shall present
to the Control and Follow-up Division, a study demonstrating compliance with their obligations on
the date established in the blanket performance bond, at the latest.
PARAGRAPH.  In capital goods and spare pa rts programmes, users may present annual
demonstrations of their exports, which shall be credited by the Control and Follow-up Division to the
global export commitment. This demonstration does not imply any change in the obligation for a full
demonstration at the end of the period, based on the term established in the blanket performance bond.
ARTICLE 29.  Simultaneous accreditation. In direct operations, where the export
commitments made under a raw materials and inputs programme are demonstrated and the export
document simultaneously accredits raw materials and inputs and capital goods and spare parts, the
Control and Follow-up Division shall credit the exports to both programmes.
ARTICLE 30.  Oil sector. Where the demonstration of export obligations refers to obligations
established in authorized programmes in the oil and petroleum byproducts sector, the contract signed
with ECOPETROL, an associated company or representative of the oil field shall be considered validas part of the study to demonstrate exports, in the event it covers the provision of a service directly
linked to exploration, operation, production, transportation or refining of crude for the foreign market.
In addition, a certificate issued by the contractin g company shall be attached, showing the extent of
compliance with the contracted service.
ARTICLE 31.  Responsibility. The Control and Follow-up Division shall verify the studies
demonstrating compliance with export commitments within four months after the respective studies
are submitted.
ARTICLE 32.  Quota used. For the purposes of es tablishing the quota that has been used in
developing a programme, the Control and Follow-up Division shall take account of the import
licences, including any changes made to them.
SECTION VIII
Cashing guarantees in the event of  non-compliance with commitments
ARTICLE 33.  Non-compliance with commitments. Where the demonstration study indicates
non-compliance, the Control and Follow-up Division shall send the user a communication informingG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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it about the status of compliance with its export commitments, granting it 30 calendar days to
complete the demonstration of its commitments or  terminate the regime. In the event that the
demonstration study is not presented to the Control and Follow-up Division within the deadlines
established in the guarantee, it shall be cashed in the amount equivalent to 20 per cent or 50 per cent
of the quota used, as applicable.
ARTICLE 34.  Determination of non-compliance. Upon expiry of the term mentioned in the
preceding Article, the Control and Follow-up Division shall determine the extent of non-compliance.
Where non-compliance exists, it shall determine the amount, suspend imports under the programme
and order the Regional or Sectional Directorate to cash the bond for 20 per cent or 50 per cent of the
non-complying balance, as applicable.
ARTICLE 35.  Verification of raw materials. If the export commitments acquired under a raw
materials programme are demonstrated at 70 per cent or more, non-compliance shall not be declared
and the user shall be required to make up the balance, completely, independently and simultaneously
on the last demonstration date for the following period.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The bond that covers the period in which the undemonstrated balance
referred to in this Article occurred shall be considered extended, with respect to the term for making
and demonstrating exports and with respect to its validity, for a term equal to the term established in
the blanket performance bond for the following import period.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where no imports are made in th e following period, the balance referred to
in this Article shall be totally demonstrated within six months following the date of the demonstration
in which the balance originated and the initial bond shall be considered extended for six months with
regard to its validity and the term for making and demonstrating exports.
PARAGRAPH 3.  Where the balance originates in a period covered by a bank or insurance
company bond, the certificate extending the period of the bond in the terms established in paragraphs
1 and 2 of this Article shall be presented.
ARTICLE 36.  Non-compliance in raw materials and inputs. Where non-compliance of more
than 30 per cent of the export commitment is determin ed or the balance referred to in Article 35 is not
demonstrated in the period established, the bond shall be ordered cashed for that amount, inaccordance with Articles 33 and 34 of this Resolution.
ARTICLE 37.  Verification and non-compliance in capital goods and spare parts. Export
commitments for capital goods and spare parts programmes shall be demonstrated 100 per cent within
the six months following expiry of the authorized export period. Otherwise, in the event that non-
compliance is determined, 20 per cent or 50 per cent of the bond shall be ordered cashed, equivalent
to the undemonstrated balance, as applicable.
ARTICLE 38.  Other non-compliance. The Control and Follow-up Division may declare non-
compliance with obligations other than export commitments that do not constitute grounds forunilateral termination and, in such cases, shall rem it the charges to the user to enable it to respond
within 10 working days after the date of the co mmunication. Upon expiry of that period and after
evaluation of the responses, if non-compliance is confirmed, Articles 39 and 40 of this Resolution
shall be applied. In that event, the bond shall be cashed for 20 per cent or 50 per cent of the quota
used, as applicable.
ARTICLE 39.  Declaration of non-compliance. Where the Control and Follow-up Division
determines that there is non-compliance with the obligations acquired by a user under a Vallejo Plan
programme, it shall remit the documentation to the Regional or Sectional Directorate, which shallG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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issue the respective declaration of non-compliance and cash the bond within 15 calendar days of
receipt of the communication.
ARTICLE 40.  Distribution of copies. Once the administrative act declaring non-compliance
is final and the bond is cashed, the Regional or Sectional Directorate that issued the act shall remit acopy to the National Customs and Excise Direct orate, the Control and Follow-up Division and the
Enforced Collections Group of INCOMEX.
ARTICLE 41.  Collection. The user may demonstrate to the Regional or Sectional Directorate
or the Enforced Collections Group that it has paid its obligation within ten working days after the act
ordering payment becomes final. Otherwise collection procedures shall be initiated.
SECTION IX
Imports and exports
ARTICLE 42.  Import licence. The Regional or Sectional Directorate shall license imports
under programmes up to the amount of the authorized quota. On occasion, imports may be licensed
and charged against the quota in the name of a natural or juridical person different from the
programme beneficiary. The Special Systems Divisi on shall decide on such requests, which must be
justified in a written communication signed by the interested parties. In the event the operation is
authorized, the names of the authorized party and the programme beneficiary on whose behalf theimports are made shall be declared in the import licence.
PARAGRAPH.  Notwithstanding this Article, the Regional or Sectional Directorate shall
refrain from licensing imports until it obtains the opinion of the Evaluation Committee, through the
Special Systems Division, where used goods, transportation equipment (air, ground, maritime andriver), communications equipment or equipment for the provision of services directly linked to the
production, transportation, shipment or export of the goods are involved.
ARTICLE 43.  Time-limit for presentation and validity of licences in raw materials
programmes. The import licences covering raw materials and inputs programmes shall be presented
and used within the same year in which the guarantee was furnished and therefore they shall remain
valid until 31 December of the year in which they are issued.
Notwithstanding, import licences authorized during the last quarter of each year shall remain
valid until 31 March of the following year. The term does not modify the period agreed in the blanket
performance bond for the purposes of demonstrating export commitments and, therefore, shall affect
the quota in dollars approved for the calendar year during which the operation was licensed.
ARTICLE 44.  Time-limit for presentation and validity of licences in capital goods
programmes. The term for presentation and validity of import licences in capital goods programmes
shall be established by the Special Systems Division, on the basis of a user application.
PARAGRAPH.  Import licences covering imports of spare parts shall remain valid for one
year and may never expire after the end of the period established for making the exports in the final
period of the commitment.
ARTICLE 45.  Completion of import licences. In application forms for imports under
authorized programmes, users are required to fill in the spaces shown below in the manner indicated:
(a) TYPE OF APPLICATION: Write an "x" in the box marked "Vallejo Plan";G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(b) REGIME: Special Systems "P.V.", giving the code and number of the programme;
(c) REIMBURSEMENT CLASS AND CONDITIONS: Where the import is
reimbursable, give the periods established in the foreign remittance document, in
accordance with the rules governing this matter; where the import is non-
reimbursable, made a statement to that effect;
(d) DESCRIPTION OF THE GOODS: In the box for the description of raw materials,
inputs, capital goods, intermediate goods or spare parts, include the words:
"DEADLINE FOR DEMONSTRATING EXPORTS ___________". The date shall
be identical to the date established in the blanket performance bond;
(e) BOX E: For raw materials and inputs, write the internal code that shall identify the
good until termination of the respective programme opposite the tariff subheading for
each item.
The codes shall be assigned in consecutive ascending numbers starting from 01.
In the operations referred to in Article 173(c), where the import to be made affects the quota
of spare parts, after the description write the words "SPARE PARTS QUOTA".
ARTICLE 46.  Cancellation or correction of the im port licence. In the event that the import is
not made, is made partially, or where the Special Systems Division or the Control Division, as a result
of an evaluation, determines that there are errors in completing the import licence, the user shall apply
to the Regional or Sectional Directorate to make the corresponding changes.
ARTICLE 47.  Export documents. For an export to be valid under a Vallejo Plan programme,
each of the boxes mentioned below should be completed in the export document, in accordance with
customs regulations:
(a) INCOMEX OFFICE box: Name and code of the Regional or Sectional Directorate
acting as the office;
(b) SPECIAL SYSTEMS box: Mark the "YES" box wi th an "x" and fill in one or more
of the fields with the numbers of the programmes used by the exporter and/or the
pertinent number where the operation involves the replacement of raw materials;
(c) remember that the same export document may not be used simultaneously to cover
exports under special systems and exports that are not made under special systems;
(d) DESCRIPTION OF THE GOODS box: Identify the products to be exported under
each of the declared programmes. If several programmes are involved in the same
export shipment and/or the replacement of raw materials is being declared
simultaneously, the value of the foreign inputs in each raw materials programme and
the quantity and value of the replacement raw materials should be given. In the event
that the commercial unit given in the input-product table differs from the commercialunit declared in the DEX, the total corresponding to commercial unit given in the
input-product table should be declared;
(e) DOMESTIC VALUE ADDED box: The calculation for each item is obtained by
taking the total f.o.b. value of the export and subtracting the sum of the values
corresponding to foreign inputs imported under each programme reported in theG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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special systems box. Where the replacement system is used, the value of foreign
inputs in the raw materials being replaced is to be subtracted;
(f) where the export document is exclusively for a capital goods or spare parts
programme, the domestic value added should be equal to the total exported value;
(g) INPUT-PRODUCT TABLE box: Declare the numbers of the tables. Where several
tables are declared for the same item, the correlation between each table and the
number of the programme reported in the special systems box should be given after
the description of the merchandise;
(h) APPLICATION OF SPECIAL SYSTEMS box: For each export item, state how each
of the programmes declared in the special systems box is to be applied;
(i) VALUE TO BE REPAID box: Should only be filled in when the amount to be repaid
under current regulations is different from the total value of the export and domesticvalue added.
ARTICLE 48.  Procedure for correcting export documents. Where, on the basis of
information in the possession of the Regional or Sectional Directorates relating to the boxes for
operations under the Vallejo Plan, errors or omissions are detected in the export document, the
directorates may make the necessary corrections.
PARAGRAPH 1.  In direct programmes and in cases where INCOMEX has authorized
indirect programmes, changes to the export documents may be allowed, provided that in the second
case, the documents are dated after the date on which the indirect Vallejo Plan was approved.
In other cases of indirect operations, changes to apply Vallejo Plan and replacement
programmes shall not be permitted, since they should have been applied prior to approval of the
export document.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where it is necessary to correct an export document because the input-
product table was presented after the date of the exports, the user shall submit the application for
correction to the Evaluation Committee, fully justifyi ng the reasons why it failed to present the input-
product table on time.
PARAGRAPH 3.  If the Control and Follow-up Di vision detects inconsistencies with respect
to the input-product table declared in the export document, it may, when it evaluates the
demonstration study, automatically change it for another input-product table, provided the descriptionof the goods and the declared domestic value added agree with the data given in the input-product
table to be changed.
ARTICLE 49.  Termination of the regime. The Vallejo Plan regime shall terminate in
accordance with the applicable customs regulations.
SECTION X
Termination of programmes
ARTICLE 50.  Responsibility. The Special Systems Division is responsible for terminating
authorized programmes, to which end it shall obtain a report from the Control and Follow-up Division
on the status of the guarantees furnished.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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ARTICLE 51.  Termination upon compliance. Wh ere the obligations have been complied
with, the respective programme shall be terminated automatically or at the request of the user.
ARTICLE 52.  Termination for lack of use. Programmes that do not report imports during the
period stipulated for operations involving capital goods or during two consecutive extensions for raw
materials shall be declared terminated, either automatically or at the request of the user.
ARTICLE 53.  Unilateral termination. A programme  may be terminated unilaterally in the
following cases, in accordance with the provisions of this Resolution:
(a) For inconsistencies in the information presented by the user;
(b) for falsification of the documents presented;
(c) for failure by the user to meet the requirements established by INCOMEX relating to
programme development at the appropriate time;
(d) for using capital goods and spare parts or raw materials and inputs imported under a
Vallejo Plan programme for a purpose other than the purpose for which they wereimported;
(e) for failure by the user to demonstrate to the satisfaction of INCOMEX, the place
where the capital goods and spare parts or raw materials and inputs imported under a
Vallejo Plan programme are located.
ARTICLE 54.  Request for explanations. If th e Control and Follow-up Division detects the
existence of any of the events referred to in th e preceding Article, it shall temporarily suspend the
licensing of imports under the programme and ask the user allegedly in non-compliance to give such
explanations as it deems pertinent within 10 working days after the date of the communication.
Within five working days after the end of that period, the Control and Follow-up Division
shall present a report on its proceedings to the Evaluation Committee for a decision on unilateral
termination of the programme.
If the Special Systems Committee considers that unilateral termination of a programme is
called for, the Deputy Director of Operations shall issue the respective decision on unilateral
termination of the programme and shall order the performance bonds to be cashed, when warranted, in
an amount equivalent to 20 per cent or 50 per cent of the quota used, as applicable.
ARTICLE 55.  Cancellation of licences. Once a decision declaring unilateral termination of a
programme becomes final, the user may not use the import licences that were authorized for its use
under the programme and shall cancel all or part of the import licences that were not used.
ARTICLE 56.  Communication to customs. Once the decision declaring unilateral termination
of a programme becomes final, the authority issuin g the decision shall inform customs, attaching a
copy of the decision.
CHAPTER II
Vallejo Plan operations
SECTION I. Operations involving raw materials and inputsG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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ARTICLE 57.  Development of the objective. Operations carried out under Articles 172 and
173(b) shall be developed through the approval of a global quota for the calendar year between 1
January and 31 December of each year, in United States dollars, which may be used to import raw
materials and inputs needed for the production of an export good.
PARAGRAPH.  The annual global quota shall be automatically renewed for an equal period,
provided that it was fully or partially used during the previous period.
ARTICLE 58.  Export commitment under Article 172.  In developing a Vallejo Plan
programme under Article 172, raw materials and inpu ts imported temporarily are to be used 100 per
cent, discounting waste and scrap, in the production of goods for export.
ARTICLE 59.  Export commitments under Article 173(b).  With respect to the imports
referred to in Article 173(b), the export commitment shall be a minimum of 60 per cent of the
products manufactured using imported raw materials and in no event may the exported f.o.b. value be
less that the imported f.o.b. value of imported raw materials and inputs.
ARTICLE 60.  Time-limit for making and demonstrating exports. Exports of products
manufactured using raw materials and inputs shall be made and demonstrated within 18 months after
the date of the initial acceptance of the blanket performance bond.
PARAGRAPH.  The Evaluation Committee may establish different time-limits, depending on
the production process.
ARTICLE 61.  Definition of the input-product table.  The input-product table is a document
demonstrating the percentage of imported raw materials and inputs used in exported goods and thedomestic value added.
ARTICLE 62.  Term for the presentation of the input-product table.  Input-product tables
shall be presented to the Special Systems Division after the raw materials and inputs are imported and
before the good produced using those raw materials and inputs is exported, using the form provided
for that purpose by INCOMEX.
ARTICLE 63.  Content of the input-product tabl es. Input-product tables shall contain the
following information:
(a) The technical and commercial name, tariff subheading, commercial unit, net weight
and f.o.b. unit value of the product to be exported;
(b) the technical and commercial description of the raw materials and inputs to be
imported, tariff heading or subheading and unit values;
(c) the percentage of waste and scrap resulting from the production process for each raw
material or input;
(d) the total consumption factor for each raw material used to manufacture the
commercial unit of the export product declared in the table, including waste. The
ranges established by the Special Systems Division shall be taken into account for
this factor;
(e) the domestic value added equivalent to the difference in the f.o.b. value of the unit to
be exported and the f.o.b. value of the foreign inputs used;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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(f) any additional information required by INCOMEX.
ARTICLE 64.  Identification codes. The beneficiaries of Vallejo Plan programmes under
Articles 172 and 173(b) shall use ascending identification codes starting from 01 to identify imported
raw materials and inputs, which they shall declare in the import licences and the input-product tables.
Each internal code shall identify, during the time the programme remains in effect, the raw
materials and inputs in identical commercial units whose nature and tariff classification are similar,
which means that the first four digits of the tariff classification for each of these raw materials and
inputs is identical.
In the event that the imported raw materials and inputs cannot be grouped into the first four
digits of the tariff classification owing to their nature, or if the characteristics of the productionprocess itself require a different treatment, the Special Systems Division shall determine the
procedure to be applied in particular cases.
ARTICLE 65.  Corrections to the input-product tables.  The input-product tables shall be
corrected in the following cases:
(a) Owing to a change in any of the tariff subheadings declared other than changes
caused by updating tariff nomenclature;
(b) owing to a change in the technical and commercial description of the product to be
exported.
ARTICLE 66.  New input-product ta bles.  New input-product tables shall be presented to the
Systems Division in the following cases:
(a) Where the change in the technical and commercial description of the imported raw
materials or inputs entails a change in the consumption factors;
(b) where new raw materials and inputs are included;
(c) where one or more of the declared raw materials is not used;
(d) where the percentage of domestic value added is increased or reduced by more than
15 percentage points;
(e) where there is a change in the consumption factors.
ARTICLE 67.  Study and approval. The Special Sy stems Division shall approve or reject the
input-product tables within 10 days after they are presented and shall inform the user of its decision.In that communication, the Special Systems Divisi on shall determine whether waste and scrap can be
freely disposed of without customs restrictions or whether a different procedure is necessary.
ARTICLE 68.  Waste, scrap and byproducts. In the event that the Special Systems Division
determines that waste, scrap or byproducts originating from the production process is to be importedthrough regular channels or re-exported, the user may not sell or consume those items in the country
until it has complied with the applicable procedure and paid the corresponding taxes.
ARTICLE 69.  Study of raw materials and inputs. Once the export commitment has been
established, using an internal code to identify imports made during the calendar year, the Control andFollow-up Division shall, in the course of its study of the demonstration of export commitments,G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 85
credit the physical units of exports made against the total consumption factors authorized in the
declared input-product tables, chronologically after the first import is licensed.
In application of Article 173(b), users shall add to the study, sales invoices on the local
market or any other documentary evidence that accredits the final destination of the goods produced.Invoices can be used to accredit up to 40 per cent of the amounts demonstrated with exports.
ARTICLE 70.  Surplus. Where accredited exports exceed the commitment, it shall be verified
that the surplus has been generated from imports under the programme, in which event they shall be
accredited to the following period.
SECTION II
In-bond processing operations
ARTICLE 71.  Purpose. In-bond processing operations ( maquila ) means the operations
carried out under Article 172 that use non-reimbursable imports, where the foreign contractor suppliesthe domestic producer, directly or indirectly, with 100 per cent of the foreign raw materials or inputs
necessary to manufacture the export good, without detriment to the domestic raw materials or inputs
that may be incorporated.
ARTICLE 72.  Access to the programme. Anyone who complies with the preceding
Article may gain access to a Vallejo Plan programme for in-bond processing operations, to which end
they must comply with the other requirements establ ished in Section III, Chapter I, of this Resolution.
In addition to the above and in the event there is a relationship between the foreign contractor
and the domestic producer whereby one of the parties directly or indirectly controls the other, for thepurposes of approving the programme, it shall be necessary to demonstrate that each of the parties has
a statutory or external auditor who is different from that of the other party.
ARTICLE 73.  Special obligations of in-bond processors. Once the programme is approved,
in-bond processors shall adopt systematized control of inventories of raw materials and finished
products. The information shall be kept current and made available for verification by INCOMEX at
any time.
In-bond processors shall remit semiannual reports to INCOMEX on their operations, using
the form provided for that purpose by the Control and Follow-up Division.
ARTICLE 74.  Demonstration and verification of commitments. Presentation of input-product
tables shall not be necessary to demonstrate export commitments. The commitments shall be
demonstrated to the Control and Follow-up Divisi on by presenting the inventories of imported raw
materials and inputs and of exported end products, certified by the foreign contractor and the domestic
producer's legal representative and statutory auditor, showing compliance for each export period.
ARTICLE 75.  Type of performance guarantee. The performance guarantees furnished for in-
bond processing programmes may be personal or issued by a bank or insurance company, as preferred
by the user.
ARTICLE 76.  Referral. With respect to import quotas, time-limits for demonstrating export
commitments and the life and amount of the guarantee, in-bond processing programmes shall be
governed by the general rules established in this  Resolution for operations involving raw materials.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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SECTION III
Capital goods and spare parts operations
ARTICLE 77.  Development of exports of goods . Operations under Articles 173(c) and 174
shall take the form of programmes for which a global quota in United States dollars is approved for a
given period, to be used for imports of capital goods and spare parts that are to be used in the process
of producing goods for export or for the provision of services directly linked to the production or
export of such goods. Raw materials or intermediate goods to be used in the production or assembly
of capital goods or spare parts that are to be used in the production of export goods or for the
provision of services directly linked to the production or export of such goods may also be imported.
Persons wishing to obtain authorization for programmes to develop Articles 173(c) and 174
shall give a general description of the project in their application, indicating, inter alia , the economic
activity, the main capital goods to be imported for its execution and the time-limit for making exports,
since compliance shall be verified globally for the entire period.
PARAGRAPH 1.  In addition to the quota established for imports of capital goods, in
developing Article 173(c) and during the export commitment period, users shall have a quota of up to
30 per cent of the total value authorized under the respective programme for importing spare parts to
be used in those goods, without this generating additional export commitments. The quota may only
be used after the respective capital goods have been imported.
PARAGRAPH 2.  For the purposes of this Article, spare parts means the parts and
replacements needed for the proper operation of the capital goods imported under a given programme
pursuant to Article 173(c).
ARTICLE 78.  Export commitments under Article 173(c) for exports of goods. Goods
imported under Article 173(c) for exports of goods shall be used for the declared purposes and the
export commitment shall be equivalent in physical units to at least 70 per cent of the increases in
production that are achieved during the time required for the value of said goods to depreciate by
90 per cent.
PARAGRAPH.  For capital goods that ar e imported for the purposes of equipment
replacements, expansions, environmental protection or quality improvements, the imports shall be
intended to increase the beneficiary's exports and the export commitments shall be established by the
Special Systems Division.
ARTICLE 79.  Export commitments under Article 174 for exports of goods. Capital goods
and spare parts imported under Article 174 for exports of goods shall be used for the declared
purposes and the export commitment in United States dollars shall be a minimum of one and a
half times the f.o.b. value of the authorized import quota.
ARTICLE 80.  Verification of capital goods, intermediate goods and spare parts for the
export of goods. Verification of export commitments for goods shall be based on physical units where
the obligations are acquired under a programme authorized pursuant to Article 173(c) and on value
where acquired pursuant to Article 174.
ARTICLE 81.  Changes in export commitments under Articles 173(c) and 174. The export
commitments established for programmes under Articles 173(c) and 174 may be changed upon
application by the interested party to the Special Systems Division in the event that the import quota
has not been fully used. Changes of this kind shall be requested prior to the deadline established in the
guarantee for demonstrating export commitments.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 87
PARAGRAPH.  The Special Systems Division may change the export commitments,
increasing or reducing them, in the event that the user has imported goods that are different from the
goods stated in its application and they change the production capacity initially established, or when
warranted on account of higher production.
ARTICLE 82.  Duration of service for goods. Capital goods and spare parts imported to
develop the Vallejo Plan programmes referred to in Articles 173(c) and 174 shall remain at the service
of the programme for not less than three years, unless the programme is terminated early.
ARTICLE 83.  Duration of capital goods and spare parts programmes. Programmes
authorized to import capital goods, intermediate goods and spare parts shall have a duration equal tothe sum of the time-limit for licensing imports, making the imports, assembling and starting up the
goods, the period for which the export commitment is established, six months to demonstrate
compliance to the Control and Follow-up Division, four months for the corresponding verification,
three months to demonstrate to INCOMEX that the temporary import programme has been wound up
and one additional month.
ARTICLE 84.  Exports during demonstration. Exports made during the six months
established as the time-limit for demonstration may be counted toward compliance with the
obligations.
SECTION IV
Re-export and re-import
ARTICLE 85.  Mandatory re-export. It shall be mandatory to re-export raw materials and
inputs, intermediate goods, capital goods and spare parts in the event that import licences are not
approved for the option of importing them through regular channels.
ARTICLE 86.  Permanent re-export. If the raw materials, inputs, intermediate goods, capital
goods and spare parts are re-exported by the user, it shall remit the respective documents to the
Control and Follow-up Division for the purposes of adjusting the use of the authorized quota in the
appropriate percentage.
ARTICLE 87.  Temporary export for outward processing. Where a temporary re-export for
the repair or maintenance of goods or partial processing of imported raw materials is involved, the
user shall declare in the respective document the number of the programme and the time-limit for re-
importing the item, which may not exceed the time-limit established in the programme for makingand demonstrating exports.
ARTICLE 88.  Temporary import of similar goods. In the event that for the normal
development of its productive process, the user requires goods that are technically similar or in similar
amounts to goods that have been temporarily re-exported, it may apply to the Regional or SectionalDirectorate for an import licence, chargeable to the programme, for which purpose it shall attach a
copy of the re-export document on which its application is based.
PARAGRAPH 1.  Should the nature of the pr ogramme so require, the Special Systems
Division may authorize the temporary import of similar goods prior to the re-export, in which event itshall establish the time-limit within which the re-export shall take place.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where the f.o.b. of the similar goods to be imported is higher than the
f.o.b. value of the re-exported goods and, as a consequence, the global quota assigned to theG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 88
programme would be exceeded, prior to obtaining a licence for the operation, the user shall obtain
authorization to increase the import quota.
ARTICLE 89.  Final determination. The user may freely choose the goods it intends to use
permanently in executing the authorized programme. In the event it intends to use goods that have
been temporarily re-exported, the user shall demonstrate to the Control and Follow-up Division that it
has re-shipped abroad the similar goods that were imported, as a prior condition to obtaining
authorization to re-import the original goods.
In the event it decides to retain the similar goods that were imported, it shall follow the
procedure for declaring the temporary re-export to be a final re-export before expiry of the term
established for its re-import and demonstrate that it has done so to the Control and Follow-upDivision.
PARAGRAPH.  Where the nature of the programme so requires, the Special Systems
Division may permit the re-import to be made prior to the re-shipment abroad of the similar goods
that were temporarily imported.
ARTICLE 90.  Re-import. Goods exported to develop the special systems may be re-imported
in accordance with customs regulations, for which purpose the user shall consult the Control and
Follow-up Division in advance, in a written communi cation to which it attaches the export documents
covering the goods to be re-imported and states whether they have been counted toward itscommitments and whether it is a matter of temporary or permanent re-import.
ARTICLE 91.  Temporary re-import. Where a temporary re-import is involved and the
exported goods have been counted toward its commitments, the user shall furnish a re-export
guarantee to the Regional or Sectional Directorate in the equivalent of 20 per cent of the fo.b. valuedeclared for the foreign component in the original export document, valid for one year, to make the
re-export and accredit the final re-export.
ARTICUL0 92.  Permanent re-import. If the re-i mport is permanent, the user is required to
obtain its release from customs in accordance with the customs regulations.
PARAGRAPH.  Where the goods have been ex ported under programmes for raw materials or
inputs, after obtaining an opinion on their re-import from the Control and Follow-up Division, users
shall make arrangements to obtain an import licence.
SECTION V
Replacement of raw materials and inputs
ARTICLE 93.  Definition. Anyone who lawfully exports domestic goods in whose production
raw materials or inputs imported through regular channels or as replacements were used, shall have
the right to obtain an import licence, with the benefits established in Article 179 of Decree-Law 444of 1967, which for the purposes of this Resolution shall be called Article 179, to import an identical
quantity of such raw materials or inputs.
PARAGRAPH.  Right. The right conferred under Article 179 shall be exercised within
12 months after the date on which the respective export was shipped.
ARTICLE 94.  Transfer of the right. The right may be transferred by the exporter to the
producer of the goods or to the person who imported the raw materials and inputs or to third parties so
that they can import, with the same benefits, the foreign raw materials and inputs used exclusively inG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 89
the production of goods which, without having been directly intended for foreign markets, were used
in the production of export goods.
ARTICLE 95.  Access requirement. Anyone wishing to make use of the system of
replacement of raw materials shall state in the export document that a special systems operation isinvolved, the corresponding percentage of domestic value added, mention the replacement mechanism
provided for in Article 179 in the same document a nd complete the document in general according to
the procedure established for special systems.
PARAGRAPH.  The study on the replacement shal l be based on the current export documents
and export declarations attached to the application.
ARTICLE 96.  Processing the application. Any one who is interested in applying the
mechanisms established in Article 179 shall rem it the following documents to the Special Systems
Division or the Regional or Sectional Directorate:
(a) Duly completed application, using the form provided by the Special Systems
Division;
(b) input-product table;
(c) originals of the export documents declaring use of the replacement mechanism;
(d) originals of the customs import declarations;
(e) contract signed by the users involved in the operation demonstrating the transfer of
the right, where applicable;
(f) endorsement of the application signed by an economist in possession of a current
professional licence, as established in Law 37 of 1990;
(g) a flat file, duly completed, giving information on the export documents, in accordance
with the specifications established by INCOMEX;
(h) the other documentary evidence required by the Division or the Regional or Sectional
Directorate.
PARAGRAPH.  Non-compliance with the requiremen ts established in this Article shall result
in the immediate return of the application. The application shall also be returned if it is incomplete or
improperly completed.
ARTICLE 97.  Status of imports. The import release used to back the application for
replacement shall have been authorized within tw o years prior to presentation of the replacement
study. At all events, the imports shall have been made prior to the date on which the exports
conferring the right were shipped and the raw materials covered in the imports were used in the
process of producing the exported goods.
ARTICLE 98.  Input-product tables. The input-product tables used as the basis for the studies
to replace raw materials shall fall within the ranges established by the Special Systems Division for
levels of consumption and waste. In the event that the exported product does not fall within those
ranges, the special characteristics of the good shall be described in the application for the purposes of
permitting the division to carry out the respective verification.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 90
ARTICLE 99.  Competent entities. Apart from the Special Systems Division, the Regional
Directorate authorized by the Deputy Director of Operations shall be competent to approve
replacement studies.
The import declarations and export documents shall be stamped by the INCOMEX agency
that performs the study, indicating total or partial use thereof.
ARTICLE 100.  Approval of the input-product ta bles. The input-product tables that serve as
the basis for the studies to replace raw materials shall be remitted by the Regional or Sectional
Directorate to the Special Systems Division for approval as a pre-requisite for conducting the
corresponding replacement study. The Division shall have 10 days to approve or deny the application,
which decision shall be communicated to the user and the respective Regional or SectionalDirectorate.
ARTICLE 101.  Communication of authorizat ion. Once the input-product tables are
approved, the Chief of the Special Systems Division or the Regional Director shall inform the
applicant in writing within the following 30 days of the quantities of imports that have beenauthorized and the time-limit for presenting the import licences, which shall not exceed 120 calendar
days after the date of the notification.
ARTICLE 102.  Special requirements for comple ting the forms. Users shall complete the
forms applying for imports under an authorized replacement by filling in the following boxes asindicated below:
• TYPE OF APPLICATION:  Write an "x" in the box marked Vallejo Plan;
• REGIME:  Replacement P.V., giving the number of the study;
• REIMBURSEMENT CLASS AND CONDITIONS:  Give the terms of the remittance
abroad, in accordance with the requirements issued by the Board of Directors of the
Bank of the Republic.
CHAPTER III
Large users of the Vallejo Plan
ARTICLE 103.  Large users of Vallejo Plan. Large users of the Vallejo Plan are juridical
persons who comply with all the requirements established in this chapter and who therefore have been
recognized and registered as such in the Colombian Foreign Trade Administration (INCOMEX).
ARTICLE 104.  Conditions to be met by a juridical person to apply for registration as a large
user of the Vallejo Plan. Juridical persons wishing to apply for registration with INCOMEX as largeusers of the Vallejo Plan shall comply with the following conditions:
(a) Be legally required to have a statutory auditor, except for publicly-owned industries
and commercial companies;
(b) have been a user of Vallejo Plan programmes for raw materials or capital goods for at
least two years, continuously or discontin uously, within the period between 1 January
1993 and the date on which the application is made;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 91
(c) not have had a Vallejo Plan programme unilaterally terminated or have had
performance bonds cashed within the four years prior to the date on which the
application is made;
(d) have made exports in the amount of US$4,000,000 or more in the last two years.
PARAGRAPH.  For new users, the requirements established in this Article may be waived if
the programme is applied for by an international marketing company or by a person recognized as a
permanent user-exporter by DIAN.
ARTICLE 105.  Requirements for obtaining registration as a large user of the Vallejo Plan.
Juridical persons who comply with the conditions established in the preceding Article and who wish
to obtain registration as a large user of the Vallejo Plan shall make application to the Special Import-Export Systems Division, accompanied by the documents referred to in the following Article,
participate in a training course for large users of  the Vallejo Plan to be offered by INCOMEX and
furnish a performance bond made out to INCOMEX.
ARTICLE 106.  Documents to be attached to the application for registration as a large user of
the Vallejo Plan. The company shall make application for registration as a large user of the Vallejo
Plan through its legal representative to the Special Import-Export Systems Division, accompanied by
the following documents:
(a) Application for registration as a large user of the Vallejo Plan, duly completed, using
the form provided by the Special Systems Division;
(b) certificate of existence and legal representation issued by the competent entity, not
more than 30 calendar days earlier;
(c) financial statements for the last two years signed by the legal representative and the
statutory auditor of the company, where applicable;
(d) report on exports made during the last two years.
ARTICLE 107.  Operator of the large user of the Vallejo Plan. Each company shall appoint a
person and an alternate in its organization, informing INCOMEX of their names, who shall be
authorized to conduct all operations relating to th e Vallejo Plan programme in the company's capacity
as large user.
PARAGRAPH.  Where there is a change in the person or alternate, they shall be required to
take the course referred to in this Article.
ARTICLE 108.  Registration as a large user. Once the requirements established in the
preceding Articles are complied with, INCOMEX sh all issue a decision granting the applicant the
status of large user of the Vallejo Plan.
ARTICLE 109.  Prerogatives of large users of the Vallejo Plan. Once they are recognized by
INCOMEX, large users of the Vallejo Plan shall have the following prerogatives:
(a) When applying for the programme, they may complete the simplified form for large
users to be provided by the Special Systems Division;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 92
(b) the import quota for raw materials shall be the quota applied for by the user;
(c) the guarantee furnished for a programme carried out by a large user may be personal
or issued by a bank or an insurance company, as chosen by the user, subject to the
other provisions of this Resolution;
(d) once the input-product tables are approved, large users of the Vallejo Plan shall
demonstrate compliance with the export commitments to INCOMEX through a
certificate issued by the legal representative and statutory auditor of the company,
stating the extent of compliance, for whic h purpose it shall complete the form and
provide the information on magnetic supports required for that purpose by the
Control and Follow-up Division. For pub licly-owned industries and commercial
companies, the certificate shall be issued by the legal representative and the entity's
secretary general.
ARTICLE 110.  Special obligations of large users of the Vallejo Plan. Within 30 days of
being recognized as such, large users of the Vall ejo Plan shall comply with the following special
obligations:
(a) Adopt a control system for programme management that permits the input of data on
import licences, import declarations and export documents. The information shall be
kept current and made available to INCOMEX for verification at any time;
(b) present, when required by the Control and Follow-up Division, on a magnetic
support, information on the volume of imports actually made to develop the Vallejo
Plan programme and exports made under the programme, without detriment to thetime-limits established for demonstrating their export commitments;
(c) keep export and import documents for a period of not less than one year after the date
on which the export commitments established in the guarantee were demonstrated.
ARTICLE 111.  Withdrawal of large user stat us. INCOMEX may withdraw its recognition of
large user status in the following cases:
(a) Where a programme is unilaterally terminated;
(b) where a bond is cashed for non-compliance with obligations;
(c) for non-compliance with any of the obligations acquired as a large user.
ARTICLE 112.  Referral. Except as otherwise prov ided in this chapter, all the requirements
established in this Resolution shall apply to large users.
CHAPTER IV
Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee – Vallejo Plan
ARTICLE 113.  Composition. The Special Systems Evaluation Committee, which for the
purposes of this Resolution shall be called the Evaluation Committee, shall include the Director
General of INCOMEX as a permanent guest and be  composed of the following INCOMEX officials:
• The Deputy Director of Operations;G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
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• the Deputy Director of Commercial Practices;
• the Chief of the Legal Office;
• the Chief of the Special Systems Division;  and
• the Chief of the Control and Follow-up Division.
PARAGRAPH 1.  The Chiefs of the Special Systems and Control and Follow-up Divisions
shall have the right to speak but not to vote.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Where, in the opinion of the Evaluation Committee, more information is
required for the evaluation of a specific aspect of a user of the Vallejo Plan, the committee may invite
such persons as it deems necessary.
ARTICLE 114.  Organization. The Evaluation Committee shall be chaired by the Deputy
Director of Operations and the Chief of the Special Systems Division shall act as secretary.
ARTICLE 115.  Principal function. The principal function of the Evaluation Committee shall
be to define general rules governing operations carried out under Vallejo Plan programmes.
In addition to the above, it shall also have the following functions:
(a) To periodically evaluate compliance with the terms, through the Special Systems and
Control and Follow-up Divisions, and repo rt to the Director of INCOMEX on the
results of its evaluation;
(b) to establish the mechanisms necessary for demonstrating the export obligations
established in authorized programmes, where their nature so warrants;
(c) to evaluate and decide on applications for quotas to import spare parts, where the cost
exceeds 30 per cent of the value of the equipment authorized for a programme;
(d) to evaluate and decide on applications for imports under capital goods programmes
involving the import of used goods, transportation equipment, communications
equipment or equipment for the provision of services directly linked to production,
transportation, shipment or export of such goods. The opinion of Domestic
Production shall be required for used goods;
(e) to decide on unilateral termination of a programme, for which purpose it shall
evaluate reports on the grounds for proceeding presented by the Control and Follow-
up Division;
(f) to establish the conditions under which a Vallejo Plan programme may be authorized
for different types of business associations, in accordance with Article 13 of this
Resolution;
(g) to decide, when circumstances so require, on applications for new programmes and
any other type of request relating to Vallejo Plan operations;
(h) the other functions expressly provided for in this Resolution.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 94
ARTICLE 116.  Meetings, decisions and minutes. The Evaluation Committee shall meet a
minimum of twice a month and its decisions shall be adopted by the majority of its members and be
written down minutes to be signed by the chair and the secretary.
The secretary of the committee shall prepare and keep the minutes of each meeting of the
Evaluation Committee and remit copies of them to INCOMEX's Regional Directorates in the event
that the decisions affect the functions or performance of those offices. The secretary shall also divulge
the decisions adopted in the event they refer to generally-applicable principles, for which purpose he
shall prepare and submit circulars to the Deputy Director of Operations for signature.
Interested parties shall be informed of the co mmittee's decisions in an official communication
signed by the chief of the division responsible for the matter under consideration.
ARTICLE 117. Evaluation criteria. The Chiefs of the Special Systems and Control and
Follow-up Divisions shall ensure that the evaluations of the different cases submitted for
consideration are not limited to a general examination of the matter but also consider the implications
for authorized programmes and conduct any other type of study that the Evaluation Committeeconsiders pertinent, at the intervals determined by it.
CHAPTER V
Transitory regime
ARTICLE 118.  Change to in-bond processing pr ogrammes. Users of existing raw materials
programmes may apply to change totally or partly to in-bond processing programmes by complying
with the requirements established in this Resolutio n, in which event the demonstration obligations that
fall due after the in-bond processing programme has been authorized shall be covered under theprovisions of this Resolution.
ARTICLE 119.  Outstanding commitments of large users. Users of existing Vallejo Plan
programmes who apply for and obtain registration as large users of the Vallejo Plan may accredit
under this Resolution outstanding demonstration obligations, if the time-limit for demonstration
expires after the date on which they are registered as large users.
ARTICLE 120.  Preparation of new input-product tables. Raw materials programmes in effect
after the date on which this Resolution comes into force may prepare and present new input-product
tables with four-digit internal c odes. They shall be declared in the new import licences consecutively,
in ascending order, after the final number included in the input-product tables approved prior to the
date on which this Resolution comes into force.
Commitments made under programmes in execution may be demonstrated using the input-
output tables approved prior to the date on which this Resolution comes into force.
ARTICLE 121.  Preliminary capital goods commitments. The preliminary commitments
established in capital goods programmes approved prior to the date on which this Resolution comes
into force shall be understood as final programme commitments, unless the user or the Control and
Follow-up Division decides to apply Article 81 of this Resolution and its paragraph.
ARTICLE 122.  Services programmes. Existing programmes for the export of services shall
continue to be governed by INCOMEX Resolution 0682 of 1995.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 95
CHAPTER VI
Entry into force and revocations
ARTICLE 123.  Entry into force. This Resoluti on shall come into force on the day it is
published in the Official Gazette and revokes all contrary provisions, particularly Resolutions 0682 of
1995 and 1018 of 1996, except as provided in the preceding Article.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 96
3. Resolution 143
The Minister of Foreign Trade
Partly amending Ministry of Foreign Trade Resolution 1964 of 2001 and adopting other
provisions.
In use of her legal powers, particularly those conferred under Decree 2553 of 1999 and
developing the provisions of Articles 172, 17 3, 174 and 179 of Decree-Law 444 of 1967; Article 4 of
Law 7 of 1991; Article 28 of Decree 631 of 1985;  Article 5 of Decree 1208 of 1985; Article 3 of
Decree 697 of 1990; Article 52 of Decree 2233 of 1996; Decrees 2680 of 1999, 2681 of 1999, 2685 of
1999; and Resolutions 003 and 004 of 1991 of the Foreign Trade Directing Council; and
CONSIDERING:That it is necessary to specify the scope of certain provisions contained in Resolution 1964 of
28 December 2001.
RESOLVES:ARTICLE 1.  Amend Article 26 of Resolution 1964 of 2001, which shall read as follows:
"ARTICLE 26.  Add the following article to Resolution 1860 of 1999:
"ARTICLE 77.1.  SPARE PARTS PROGRAMMES. In  application of Articles 173(c) and
174 of Decree-Law 444 of 1967, a global quota in United States dollars for a given period to be used
to import spare parts to be incorporated into capital goods may only be authorized by the SpecialImport-Export Systems Evaluation Committee under spare parts programmes.
In such cases, the export commitment acquired as a result of spare parts imports shall be at
least 70 per cent of the increases in production achieved as a result of their incorporation.
This export commitment shall be additional to and independent of any other existing export
commitment with respec t to the capital goods into which the spare part is incorporated and to exports
of goods produced using the capital good during a previous period that is identical to the period for
which the programme is requested, counted from the date of the application.
PARAGRAPH 1.  For the purposes of this article, spare part means the spare parts and
components needed for the proper operation of capital goods.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Spare parts programmes may not be changed on the grounds established in
Article 19(g) of this Resolution.
PARAGRAPH 3.  If it is impossible to determin e the increases in production, the percentage
represented by the value of the spare parts to be imported out of the value of the capital goods into
which they are to be incorporated shall be calculated and the same percentage shall be applied to the
production of the respective productive units exported during a previous period that is identical to the
period for which the programme is requested, counted from the date of the application.
This result in physical units is the export commitment and is additional to and independent of
any other existing export commitment with respect to the capital goods into which the spare part is
incorporated and to exports of goods produced using the capital good during a previous period that isG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 97
identical to the period for which the programme is requested, counted from the date of the application.
In no event may the export commitment be less than the value of the imported spare parts.
PARAGRAPH 4.  For programmes to import spare parts under Article 174, the export
commitment in United States dollars shall equal a minimum of 1.5 times the f.o.b. value of theauthorized import quota.
PARAGRAPH 5.  Applications for spare pa rts programmes shall be made on the form
provided by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade of this ministry, which shall include the tariff
subheadings and descriptions of the spare parts to be imported, quantities, the equipment into which
they are to be incorporated, stating whether they are capital goods imported under a special import-
export system and the amounts produced using those capital goods that were exported during anidentical period prior to the period for which the programme is requested, counted from the date of the
application."
ARTICLE 2.  Amend Article 17 of Resolution 1964 of 2001, which shall read as follows:
"ARTICLE 17.  Amend ARTICLE 45(d) of Reso lution 1860 of 1999 and add a paragraph, to
read as follows:
"(d) DESCRIPTION OF THE GOODS: In the box for the description of raw materials,
inputs, capital goods, intermediate goods or spare parts, include the words:"DEADLINE FOR DEMONSTRATING EXPORTS ___________". The date shall
be identical to the date established in the blanket performance bond.
In addition, where the exports are made under a capital goods or spare parts programme, the
date of acceptance of the blanket performance bond covering the operation shall be included.
For imports of spare parts under Articles 173(c) and 174 of Decree Law 444 of 1967, also
include the words "EXPORT OF SPARE PARTS" a nd the capital good in which the spare parts and
components to be imported are to be incorporated."
"PARAGRAPH.  A copy of the commercial invoice, export declaration or document issued
by customs in the country of provenance or an equivalent document shall be attached to importlicences for capital goods, showing the price of the good to be imported."
ARTICLE 3.  TRANSITORY PROVISION. In the year following the date on which
Resolution 1964 of 2001 comes into force, the Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee
may, in duly justified cases, for the purpose of maintaining the production of export goods, authorizecontinuation of the use of the balance of the spare parts import quota assigned under the respective
capital goods programme in effect on the date mentioned.
To that end, users shall make application, showing the reasons why it is impossible to
immediately obtain approval of a spare parts programme and give a detailed account of the use andbalances of the capital goods quota and its corresponding spare parts quota, by subproject and by
transfer of authorized quotas during the life of the respective programme.
The detailed account, to be provided on a form established by the Directorate General of
Foreign Trade, shall include the number and date of the import licence and declaration, the quantities,the technical description and the cost of the imports, and be signed by the legal representative and the
statutory auditor or, otherwise, by a duly-certified firm of external auditors.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 98
PARAGRAPH 1.  Where the Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee
authorizes continued use of the balances referred to in this article, the direct programme beneficiary
shall furnish, within 30 calendar days after the date of the communication, a blanket performance
bond, which may be a personal, bank or insurance company guarantee, in accordance with
Resolution 1860 of 1999, for the unused balance in each authorized subproject or quota transfer. Thebonds shall remain in effect for the life of the programme or subproject.
The bonds shall back accurate calculation of the unused balance that has been reported by the
applicant to the Special Import-Export Systems Evaluation Committee, the intended use of the spare
parts in capital goods imported under the programme or subproject and demonstration, to the
satisfaction of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, of the place at which the imported spare parts
are located.
PARAGRAPH 2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of  this article, within 45 calendar days after
the date on which this Resolution is published, the Director General of Foreign Trade and the Deputy
Director of Promotion Instruments may jointly authorize the Operations Group, the Regional
Directorates and the Service Points to licence imports of spare parts for capital goods and spare partsprogrammes under way, against the available balance of 30 per cent of the quota of capital goods used
by the subproject, that the coordinating advisor or the regional directors certify, up to an amount equal
to the value licensed for the respective programme or  subproject, during the 45 days prior to the date
of publication.
ARTICLE 4.  ENTRY INTO FORCE. This Resoluti on shall come into force on the day it is
published and revokes all contrary provisions.
Publish and implement. Done in Bogota, D.C.  Marta Lucia Ramirez de Rincon, Minister of
Foreign Trade.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 99
II. REQUEST EXCLUSIVELY IN APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 27(4) OF THE
AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES
A. TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
1. Resolution No. 001 (1 April 1993)
Fiducoldex Fiduciaria de Comercio Exterior S.A.
Adopting the transitory compensation mechanism to  facilitate the sale of Colombian exports
established in Resolution No. 006 of 18 March 199 2 of the Board of Directors of BANCOLDEX.
The Advisory Board of the Export Promotion Trust, in use of its legal powers,RESOLVES:ARTICLE ONE.  To adopt the transitory compen sation mechanism to facilitate the sale of
Colombian exports by promoting international transportation systems established in
Resolution No. 006 18 March 1992 of the Board of Directors of BANCOLDEX.
ARTICLE TWO.  Exports made using the modes of transportation covered in this Resolution
that comply with all the conditions and requiremen ts established herein and those stipulated in the
respective regulations may avail themselves of the benefits of the compensation mechanism.
CHAPTER 1
Transport with transhipment to countries to which there is no direct service from
Colombia
ARTICLE THREE.  Exporters of Colombian pr oducts who ship goods to foreign markets to
which there are no direct, regular and suitable transport services from Colombia may apply for the
transitory compensation mechanism whereby they ar e compensated for the costs of transhipment and
the second freight charge to the port of final destination, in the percentages established in Article 4(d)
of this Resolution.
PARAGRAPH.  The compensation mechanism shall not be applicable to the following
exports:
(a) To the Central American countries;
(b) by sea for general dry cargo to Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican
Republic;
(c) by sea in containers to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan;  and
(d) to the countries of the Andes Group.
ARTICLE FOUR.  The following general conditions apply to the compensation mechanism
referred to in this Resolution:
(a) ObjectiveG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 100
To facilitate the sale of Colombian products through regular, suitable transportation
systems to markets to which there are no direct international transport services from
Colombia.
(b) Coverage
The mechanism may be applied for by exporters of Colombian goods for shipments
made to foreign markets to which products must be transhipped at an appropriately-
chosen foreign port of connection since there is no direct, regular and suitable
transport from Colombia.
(c) Modes of transport
The mechanism may be granted when the following modes and combinations of
modes of international transport that require transhipment at a suitable port are used:
Maritime-maritime; maritime-air; maritime-ground; air-maritime; air-air; air-ground;
ground-maritime and ground-air.
Under exceptional conditions, evaluated and accepted in advance by the Board of
Directors of the Export Promotion Trust, related to the location of the market or the
specialized service required by the product, the mechanism may be applied bycombining the first segment of interna tional transport with a second segment
involving cabotage in the country of destination.
(d) Amount
The mechanism covers the following percentages of recognition of transhipment and
second segment freight costs.
For the purposes of calculating the impact of the cost of transhipment and second
freight on the f.o.b. value, the figures may be worked out up to two decimal points.
Impact of transhipment and second freight
on f.o.b. valuePercentages of recognition of transhipment
and second freight costs
Less than 2% impact 0
From 2% to 7.5% impact 30
From 7.5% to 10% impact 60
Over 10% 90
Recognition of the cost of transhipment and second freight shall not exceed 10 percent of the f.o.b. value, Colombian port of shipment of the exported product.
The shipping company or the multimodal transport operator that provides the services
shall break down the cost of the first frei ght, transhipment and the second freight in
the shipping document.
(e) Service providers
To obtain access to the compensation mechanism, the exporter shall contract shipping
companies or multimodal transport operato rs who comply with the following
requirements:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 101
Be duly incorporated in Colombia; have registered their service with FIDUCOLDEX,
Export Promotion Trust; and assume contractual liability to the exporter to ship the
goods to the port in the country of destination.
(f) Time-limits for presenting invoices for payment
Exporters who intend to use the compensation mechanism established in this
Resolution shall present their invoices to FIDUCOLDEX, Export Promotion Trust,
120 calendar days after the date on which the respective export was shipped.
(g) Exchange rate
The exchange rate for paying the compensation mechanism shall be the market rate
established by the Office of the Superintendent of Banks in effect on the date of
shipment.
CHAPTER II
Regulations
ARTICLE FIVE.  The Board of Directors of the Export Promotion Trust is empowered to
regulate the compensation mechanism established in this Resolution.
ARTICLE SIX.  Without detriment to the exceptio ns established in this Resolution, the Board
of Directors of the Export Promotion Trust may determine cases in which the compensation
mechanism shall not be granted.
CHAPTER III
Entry into effect
ARTICLE SEVEN.  The compensation mechanism established in this Resolution shall apply
to shipments made from 1 April 1993 to 30 June of the same year.
ARTICLE EIGHT.  This Resolution shall come into effect on the day it is published.Publish and implement. Done in Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., on 1 April 1993. Juan Manuel
Santos Calderon, Chairman of the Board, and Maria Fernada Carvajal Navia, Secretary.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 102
2. Resolution No. 002 (8 July 1993)
Proexport Colombia Export Promotion Trust
Extending Resolution No. 001 of 1 April 1993 issued by the Export Promotion Trust
Advisory Board.
The Advisory Board of the Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia, in use of its legal
powers,
RESOLVES:ARTICLE ONE.  To extend the transport compensation mechanism established in Resolution
No. 001 of 1 April 1993 of the Advisory Board of the Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia,
until 30 September 1993.
ARTICLE TWO.  This Resolution shall apply to shipments made between 1 July 1993 and
30 September 1993.
Publish and implement. Done in Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., on 8 July 1993. Juan Manuel
Santos, Chairman of the Board, and Jose Abril Escobar, Secretary (E).G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 103
3. Resolution No. 003
Proexport Colombia Export Promotion Trust
Amending and extending the transport compensation mechanism established in Resolution
No. 002 of 8 July 1993 of the Advisory Board of the Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia.
The Advisory Board of the Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia, in use of its legal
powers,
RESOLVES:
ARTICLE ONE.  To maintain the export pr omotion system through the compensation
mechanism for international transport to countries to which there is no direct, regular and suitable
service.
ARTICLE TWO.  Exports that comply with all the conditions and requirements established
herein and those stipulated in the respective regula tions may avail themselves of the benefits of the
compensation mechanism.
ARTICLE THREE.  Exporters of Colombian pr oducts who ship goods to foreign markets to
which there are no direct, regular and suitable transport services from Colombia may apply for thetransitory compensation mechanism whereby they are compensated for a percentage of the freight
charges to the port of final destination.
ARTICLE FOUR.  The following general conditions apply to the compensation mechanism
referred to in this Resolution:
(a) Objective
To stimulate exports to countries to which there are no direct, regular and suitable
transport services.
To facilitate market penetration for three consecutive years.
(b) Coverage
The temporary compensation mechanism may be applied for by:Exporters of Colombian goods for shipments to foreign markets to which there is no
direct, regular and suitable means of transport, who are therefore required to ship
their products through a connection at a foreign port.
For products and countries of destination that have not obtained the benefit for more
than three consecutive years.
For exports made under commercial terms wh ereby the exporter assumes liability for
shipping the goods to their final destination.
(c) Exceptions
The following are excepted from compensation mechanism:G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 104
1. Exports whose terms of sale are ex-works , f.o.b, FAS or others that do not include
international freight paid by the exporter.
2. Exports without credits, re-exports a nd samples with no commercial value.
3. Cabotage operations.
4. Exports of coffee beans, raw hides, oil an d petroleum byproducts, precious and semiprecious
gems, gold, coal, nickel, cement, flowers, bananas, sugar and goods whose export is
suspended by the Foreign Trade Directing Council or which the Advisory Board of Proexport
Colombia determines are not eligible for the compensation mechanism.
5. Exports of textiles and clothing to the American Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. John,
St. Croix).
6. Exports to markets with a special air transport commodity rate.
7. In cases in which it is found that exports were being made without the compensation
mechanism. Shipments which, owing to their vo lume or tonnage on their exit from Colombia,
justify hiring a charter, in the opinion of Proexport Colombia.
8. For shipments of goods shipped after the date on which Proexport Colombia confirms that
direct services have been established.
(d) Amount
The compensation mechanism, shall be the equivalent of 26 per cent of total freight
costs to each country of destination. The basis for payment shall be the freight rates
established in advance and/or authorized by Proexport Colombia. For products and
countries to which the compensation mechanism has been granted for three
consecutive years after 1 January 1991, the benefit shall be 13 per cent of the totalfreight cost and for two additional years after 1 January 1994.
(e) Service companies
To obtain access to the compensation mechanism, exporters shall contract shippers or
multimodal transport operators authorized by Proexport Colombia.
(f) Time-limits for presenting invoices for payment
Exporters who intend to use the compensation mechanism established in this
Resolution shall present their duly completed invoices for payment to
FIDUCOLDEX, Proexport Colombia, within 120 calendar days after the date on
which the product was shipped.
(g) Exchange rate
In paying the compensation mechanism, the representative market rate certified by
the Office of the Superintendent of Banks on the date that the shipment appearing inthe DEX was made shall be used.
Entry into force.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 105
ARTICLE FIVE.  The compensation mechanism es tablished in this Resolution shall apply to
export shipments as of 1 January 1994.
RegulationsARTICLE SIX.  The Advisory Board of Proexport Colombia is empowered to regulate the
compensation mechanism established in this Resolution.
Transitory articleARTICLE SEVEN.  The compensation mechanism established in Resolution No. 002 of
8 July 1993, issued by the Advisory Board of Proexport Colombia, shall apply to export shipments
made until 31 December 1993.
ARTICLE EIGHT.  This Resolution shall come into force on 1 October 1993. Publish and
implement. Done in Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., on 8 September 1993. (Signed) Juan Manuel SantosCalderon, Chairman of the Board, and Maria Fernanda Carvajal Navia, Secretary.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 106
4. Circular No. 9265
1 November 1996
Subject: Regulation of the transport compensation mechanism
To ensure that the transport compensation mechanism offered by Proexport Colombia
contributes effectively to the growth and competitiveness of Colombian exports to countries to which
there is no direct, regular and suitable transport service, the administration has considered it important
to regulate the exception established in Article 3(c) numeral 7 of Resolution No. 003 of 8 September
1993.
(c) Exceptions:
7. In cases in which it is found that exports were being made without the compensation
mechanism.
PARAGRAPH.  Where exports have been made without the compensation mechanism,
Proexport, on the request of the exporter, may grant the benefit for the period of one year, at the end
of which it shall examine whether it has led to an increase in exports of the product to the respective
market (country).
In the event there is no increase compared to  exports made without the benefit, it shall be
suspended.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 107
5. Resolution No. 004 (18 November 1993)
Proexport Colombia
Amending Resolution No. 003 of 8 September 1993.
The Advisory Board of Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia, in use of its powers,RESOLVES:ARTICLE ONE.  To amend Article 4(a) and (b) of Resolution No. 003 of 8 September 1993
of the Advisory Board of Export Promotion Trust, Proexport Colombia, which shall read as follows:
(a) Objectives.  To stimulate exports to countries to which there is no direct, regular and
suitable transport service and facilitate market penetration for a period of five years.
(b) Application.  The transport compensation mechanism shall apply to each product and
country of destination for five consecutive calendar years counted from the date on
which it was first utilized. In addition, the following conditions shall also exist
simultaneously:
(i) They must be shipments to foreign markets to which there is no direct,
regular and suitable means of transport and which, therefore, require a
connection in a foreign port for shipment of the product.
(ii) The exporter assumes liability for transporting the goods to their final
destination.
PARAGRAPH.  This Resolution refers to ship ments made as of 1 January 1991. The term for
application of the compensation mechanism shall begin in the calendar year in which it was first
utilized and it shall not be suspended on account of failure to use the mechanism."
ARTICLE TWO.  Amend Article 4(d) of Resolution No. 003 of 8 September 1993 of the
Advisory Board of Export Promotion Trust, Pr oexport Colombia, which shall read as follows:
(c) The transport mechanism shall pay 26 per cent of the total cost of freight to the
country of destination during the first three years it is applied. For the last two years
in which the mechanism is applied it shall pay for 13 per cent of that cost.
The basis for payment shall be the freight rates established in advance or authorized by
Proexport Colombia.
ARTICLE THREE.  The other articles of Re solution No. 003 of 8 September 1993 are
maintained without change.
ARTICLE FOUR.  This Resolution shall come  into force on the day it is published.
Publish and implement. (Signed) Juan Manuel  Santos Calderon, Chairman of the Board, and
Maria Fernanda Carvajal Navia, Secretary. Done in Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C., on 18 November 1993.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 108
6. External Circular No. 002 (29 December 1993)
Regulating Resolution No. 004 of 18 November 1993 on the transport compensation mechanism
1. Introduction
This regulation establishes the operating system for the transport compensation mechanism
established by the Proexport Colombia Advisory Board in Resolution No. 04 of 18 November
1993.
2. Objective
To stimulate and support exports of Colombian products to markets to which there is no
direct, regular and suitable transport service and facilitate market penetration for a period of
five years.
3. Application
The transport compensation mechanism shall apply to each product and country of destination
for five consecutive calendar years, counted from the date on which it was first utilized, after
1 January 1991. In addition, the following conditions must also exist simultaneously:
(i) Shipments must be intended for foreign markets to which there is no direct,
regular and suitable means of transport and which, therefore, require a
connection in a foreign port for shipment of the product;
(ii) the exporter assumes liability for tr ansporting the goods to their final
destination.
3.1. For the purposes of this regulation, regular shipping service means routes that have at
least one monthly sailing and, for air transport, one flight a week.
3.2. Direct transport means the service offered to a country and not to a port or airport.
3.3. Suitability shall be fully justified by the exporter and Proexport Colombia shall
decide whether to grant the mechanism. For the purposes of determining suitability,
Proexport Colombia shall take following into account, among other factors:
insufficiency of direct transport owing to lack of capacity, infrastructure for the mode
of transport and timeliness of transport.
3.4. Exporters must show that they have paid the freight to the final destination. For that
purpose, the shipping documents shall specify that the freight has been prepaid and
the final export declaration shall state in Box 50 that the freight charged to the buyer
is the equivalent of the total freight paid, subtracting the compensation mechanism
recognized by Proexport Colombia.
4. Amount
The transport mechanism shall pay 26 per cent of the cost of freight to the country of
destination for the first three years it is applied. For the next three years it shall pay 13 per
cent of that cost.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 109
4.1. The products and destinations established in Annex 1.xls shall be used as the basis for
computing the time and amount to be recognized.
4.2. Freight rates. To pay the mechanism, Proexport Colombia shall establish basic rates
for the mechanism in accordance with the following conditions:
4.2.1. It shall apply the lowest freight rate that has been obtained on a given route
from different authorized shipping lines, airlines or multimodal transport
companies, without considering classification by product, the connection
point, transit time or whether they are preferential arrangements for
shipments that users of the mechanism have obtained.
4.2.2. Proexport Colombia reserves the right to report the source of the rates quoted.
4.2.3. Where maritime-maritime or air-air modes are combined, the mechanism
shall be based on the levels of freight rates per country of destination
established in Annex 2.1.xls and Annex 2.2.xls of this regulation.
4.2.4. In cases in which the country of destination is not included in Annex 2.1.xls
or Annex 2.2.xls but the country complies with the conditions established in
Resolution No. 004 of 18 November 1993 or there is a need to combine other
modes of transport, the freight rates shall be applied in accordance withnumeral 5.2.
4.3. Based on the international behaviour of freight rates and/or as changes in the rates
occur or new rates are reported for destinations not included in Annex 2.1.xls or
Annex 2.2.xls, Proexport Colombia shall change the established levels and informexporters of the rate and the period during which it shall be used in applying the
compensation mechanism.
4.4. The shipping documents, bill of lading, air waybill, consignment note or multimodal
transport document must show that the freight has been paid.
4.4.1. Where the freight rate shown in the shipping documents is lower than the
rates established in Annex 2.1.xls or Annex 2.2.xls of this provision, the
lower figure shall be used in settling the mechanism.
5. Register and shipping authorization
5.1. Register
Where shipments are intended for the countries and modes of transport stipulated in
Annex 2.1.xls and Annex 2.2.xls, prior to the scheduled shipping date, the exporter
shall inform Proexport Colombia of the rate registration number he intends to use, the
f.o.b. value, the weight in kg, the number of containers, the date of shipment, thename of the shipping company or authorized operator and the tariff heading(s) of the
product(s).
5.2. Authorization
Where the destination of the exports is a country for which Proexport Colombia has
not established a rate level and/or the exporter needs to use different modes of
transport from those stipulated in the prec eding numeral, the exporter shall apply forG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 110
authorization in the terms established in Annex 3.doc of this circular at least five days
in advance of shipping.
5.2.1. After examining the application, Proexport Colombia shall inform the
exporter in writing of the terms of acceptance and the registration number ofthe corresponding rate.
6. Service providers
6.1. To obtain access to the compensation mechanism, the exporter shall contract with
shippers or multimodal transport operators that comply with the following
requirements: Be duly incorporated in Colo mbia; be liable to the exporter for moving
goods to the port in the country of final destination; and renew the registration of theirservices with Proexport Colombia.
6.2. For renewal of their registration, companies are required to update the information on
the services they offer, the airlines they represent, as applicable, and the name of the
persons to be contacted to obtain the service covered in this regulation.
6.3. The term for renewing registration is 31 January 1994. If registration has not been
renewed by that date, the compensation mechanism shall not be granted for shipments
made with those companies.
6.4. International shipping companies or multimodal transport operators who wish to
register as providers of the services covered  in this circular are required to submit an
application to Proexport Colombia accompanied by information on the company,
using the form established for that purpose (Annex 5).
6.5. Cancellation of registration. Where circumstances arise that make cancellation
necessary in the opinion of Proexport Colombia, the registration of shipping
companies or multimodal operators shall be cancelled.
7. Payment of the compensation mechanism
To obtain recognition and payment of the compensation mechanism, exporters are required to
present the following documents to Proexport Colombia:
7.1. Original and copy of the invoice, using the form established in Annex 4.xls of this
regulation.
7.2. Second copy of the export document – final declaration and legible legalized
photocopy. For declarations made after shipping, also present the second copy of theshipping certificate, with a certified photocopy. The copies shall be returned to the
exporter after the application is examined. No changes may be made in the f.o.b.
value or the freight rate shown after the final export declaration has been presented,
unless a legible copy of the letter of credit or a letter endorsed by a first category bank
covering payment of the goods and clearly showing that the amount to be paid by theimporter includes freight charges, which has been legalized or certified at a consulate,
is presented. First category banks are the banks rated as such in Regulatory Circular
DFR 111 of 4 July 1991 of the Bank of the Republic. The value of the mechanism
granted by Proexport Colombia shall be reflected in the value of the freight rate
charged to the buyer, as stipulated in the final declaration.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 111
7.3. In the event that the final declaration or the shipping certificate is lost or misplaced
the exporter may sent a communication to Proexport Colombia, explaining the
circumstances and attaching a copy of the DEX certificate issued by customs and a
legalized photocopy of the report of loss.
7.4. Master shipping document issued by a maritime shipping line whose services are duly
registered with Proexport Colombia, indicating that the freight was pre-paid.
7.4.1. Where the goods are transported by a multimodal transport operator
registered with Proexport Colombia, include a carbon copy of the shipping
documents for the first and second legs of the trip, showing the rate charged
for each of them and the freight that was pre-paid.
7.5. Freight invoice marked paid.7.6. Copy of the fax applying to register the shipment or for authorization of the rate, as
applicable.
7.7. Any other document that Proexport Colombia considers necessary to show
compliance with the conditions established in Resolution No. 004 of 18 November
1993 and in this regulation.
7.8 Any corrections or inconsistencies in the documents to be presented together with the
invoice for payment must be certified by  the entity that issued the respective
document.
8. Time-limits for presenting the invoices for payment
8.1. Exporters wishing to obtain the compensation mechanism are required to present their
duly-completed invoices for payment to Proexport Colombia within 120 calendar
days after the date of shipment shown in the export document (currently box No. 61).
The date of presentation shall be the date on which the application was delivered to
the offices of Proexport Colombia or the date on which it was mailed.
8.2. An invoice is duly completed when it comp lies with all the requirements established
in Resolution No. 004/93 and in the present regulation, to which the required
documentation is attached. The return of invoices for failure to comply with the
requirements or to attach documentation does not interrupt the deadline for their
presentation in due form.
9. Exchange rate
The representative market rate certified by the Office of the Superintendent of Banks on the
date of shipment shown in the DEX (Box 61) shall be used for paying the compensation
mechanism.
9.1 If the shipment is made on a day that is not a working day, the representative market
rate shall be the rate for the working day immediately preceding that day.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 112
10. Liability
By virtue of paying the compensation mechanism to the exporter, Proexport Colombia does
not assume any liability for the results of the export or the service contracted or for damage to
the product. Therefore, the exporter shall assume full liability in contra cting the transport and
paying for the corresponding services, with there being no linkage of any kind between
Proexport Colombia and the service providers as a result of their registration.
(Signed) Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, Director General, and Maria Fernanda Carvajal Navia,
Secretary.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 113
ANNEX 2.1
MARITIME BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular No. 002 of 1993
 44th EDITION DATE:  AUGUST 20/2002
Registration
No.Country of
DestinationPort of
Destination20 ft. Cont. US$ 40 ft.  Cont. US$Loose up to
6 m3Loose up to
10 m3
PXT-001 ANTIGUA ST. JOHNS 1,800.00 2,875.00
PXT-073 NETHERLANDS
ANTILLESBONAIRE ( I ) 2,500.00 ( R ) 3,100.00
PXT-002 SAUDI ARABIA JEDDAH-DAMMAN ( R ) 1,650.00 ( R ) 2,300.00
PXT-057 ARUBA ORANJESTAD ( R ) 1,425.00 ( R ) 1,800.00
PXT-003 AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA ( R ) 1,800.00 ( R ) 2,350.00
PXT-056 BAHAMAS NASSAU
PXT-002A BAHRAIN BAHRAIN ( R ) 1,650.00 ( R ) 2,300.00
PXT-074 BANGLADESH CHITTAGONG 1,500.00
PXT-004 BARBADOS BRIDGETOWN ( R ) 1,425.00 ( R ) 2,200.00
PXT-061 BELIZE BELIZE 1,400.00 2,100.00
PXT-005 BENIN COTONOU 2,300.00 3,700.00
PXT-043 BULGARIA VARNA-BURGAS 1,850.00 3,000.00
PXT-006 CAMEROON DOUALA 2,400.00 3,900.00
PXT-053 CHINA SHANGHAI ( R ) 1,300.00 ( R ) 1,800.00 (N) 243.00 (3) 243.00 (3)
PXT-053A CHINA SHENZHEN 1,100.00 1,500.00
PXT-060 CYPRUS LIMASSOL ( R ) 1,600.00 ( R ) 2,350.00
PXT-008 CONGO POINTE NOIRE ( I ) 2,800.00 ( I ) 4,700.00
PXT-009 COTE D'IVOIRE ABIDJAN 2,100.00 3,350.00
PXT-055 CUBA       SUSPENDED AFTER 1 DEC. 1998 BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PXT-010 DOMINICA ROSSEAU 1,850.00 3,350.00
PXT-045 EGYPT ALEXANDRIA-
PORT SAID( R ) 1,550.00 ( R ) 2,350.00
PXT-069 EL SALVADOR SAN SALVADOR
(2)( R ) 1,500.00 ( R ) 1,600.00 110.00 90.00
PXT-011 ARAB EMIRATES UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES( R ) 1,650.00 ( R ) 2,300.00
PXT-077 ETHIOPIA DJIBOUTI 2,350.00 3,500.00
PXT-012 PHILIPPINES MANILA ( R ) 1,500.00 ( R ) 2,150.00
PXT-013 GABON LIBREVILLE-PORT-
GENTIL( I ) 2,800.00 ( I ) 4,650.00
PXT-014 GAMBIA BANJUL 2,500.00 4,100.00
PXT-015 GHANA THEMA-
TAKORADI-ACCRA2,300.00 3,750.00
PXT-065 GRAND CAYMAN GRAND CAYMAN ( R ) 1,500.00 2,500.00
PXT-046 GREECE       SUSPENDED AS OF 1 DEC. 1998 BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PXT-016 GRENADA ST. GEORGE'S 2,025.00 3,125.00 (N) 244.00 239.00
PXT-050 GUADELOUPE BASSE-TERRE-
POINTE A PITRE( I ) 2,250.00 ( I ) 3,400.00
PXT-044 GUINEA CONAKRY 2,600.00 4,300.00
PXT-042 GUYANA GEORGETOWN (R) 1,400.00 1,800.00
PXT-051 HAITI PORT-AU-PRINCE 1,400.00 ( I ) 1,800.00
PXT-071 HONDURAS      SUSPENDED AS OF 30 JULY 2000 BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PXT-017 INDIA BOMBAY ( R ) 1,650.00 ( I ) 2,780.00
PXT-017A INDIA MADRAS ( R ) 1,750.00 ( R ) 2,900.00
PXT-018 INDONESIA JAKARTA-
SURABAJA( R ) 1,450.00 ( R ) 2,100.00
PXT-070 IRAN BANDAR ABBAS ( R ) 1,750.00 ( R ) 2,600.00G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 114
MARITIME BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular No. 002 of 1993
 44th EDITION DATE:  AUGUST 20/2002
Registration
No.Country of
DestinationPort of
Destination20 ft. Cont. US$ 40 ft.  Cont. US$Loose up to
6 m3Loose up to
10 m3
PXT-026A FIJI ISLANDS FIJI ISLANDS 3,300.00 N.D.
PXT-064 MARIANA
ISLANDSSAIPAN 4,600.00
PXT-040 BRITISH VIRGIN
ISLANDSTORTOLA 2,085.00 3,215.00
PXT-080 US VIRGIN
ISLANDSST. THOMAS 2,150.00 3,500.00
PXT-019 ISRAEL HAIFA-ASHDOD 1,900.00 2,800.00
PXT-020 JORDAN AQABA ( R ) 1,750.00 ( R ) 2,700.00
PXT-021 KENYA MOMBASSA ( R ) 2,100.00 ( R ) 3,450.00
PXT-022 KUWAIT KUWAIT ( R ) 1,800.00 ( R ) 2,400.00
PXT-058 LEBANON BEIRUT ( R ) 1,550.00 ( R ) 2,350.00
PXT-066 LIBERIA MONROVIA 2,600.00 4,300.00
PXT-048 MADAGASCAR TOAMASINA-
TAMATAVE( R ) 2,100.00 ( R ) 3,450.00
PXT-023 MALAYSIA PENANG ( R ) 1,450.00 ( R ) 2,050.00
PXT-023A MALAYSIA PORT KELANG ( R ) 1,400.00 ( R ) 2,200.00
PXT-062 MOROCCO CASABLANCA ( R ) 1,550.00 ( R ) 2,200.00
PXT-054 MARTINIQUE FORT-DE-FRANCE ( R ) 1,350.00 ( R ) 2,125.00
PXT-024 MOZAMBIQUE MAPUTO-BEIRA 2,500.00 3,900.00
PXT-072 NEVIS CHARLESTON ( R ) 2,950.00 3,920.00
PXT-026 NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND ( I ) 2,600.00 ( I ) 3,900.00
PXT-068 NICARAGUA MANAGUA 1,700.00 2,000.00 150.00 140.00
PXT-025 NIGERIA LAGOS-APAPA 2,500.00 4,050.00
PXT-067 NEW
CALEDONIANOUMEA ( R ) 1,750.00 ( R ) 4,500.00
PXT-079 OMAN SALALAH 1,900.00 2,300.00
PXT-027 PAKISTAN KARACHI ( I ) 2,100.00 ( I ) 3,200.00
PXT-028 PARAGUAY ASUNCION 1,675.00 2,350.00 220.00
PXT-029A PORTUGAL LISBON SUSPENDED AS OF 15 AUGUST  1996 BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE HAS BEEN
ESTABLISHED
PXT-029 PORTUGAL FUNCHAL ( R ) 2,050.00 ( R ) 3,000.00
PXT-049 ROMANIA CONSTAN ŢA ( R ) 1,750.00 ( R ) 2,850.00
PXT-030 SANTA LUCIA CASTRIES ( R ) 1,450.00 ( R ) 2,250.00
PXT-031 SENEGAL DAKAR 2,150.00 3,500.00
PXT-052 SYRIA LATAKIA-TART ŪS ( R ) 1,600.00 ( R ) 2,350.00
PXT-007 SRI-LANKA COLOMBO 1,650.00 2,200.00
PXT-032 ST. KITTS BASSE-TERRE –
CHARLESTON2,600.00 3,900.00
PXT-033 ST. MAARTEN PHILIPSBURG ( R ) 1,450.00 ( R ) 2,150.00
PXT-034 ST. VINCENT KINGSTOWN 1,750.00 2,800.00
PXT-035 SOUTH AFRICA CAPE TOWN-
OTHERS2,100.00 3,300.00
PXT-035A SOUTH AFRICA DURBAN 2,100.00 3,000.00
PXT-036 SURINAME PARAMARIBO (R) 1,400.00 1,800.00
PXT-076 TAIWAN KAO-HSIUNG 1,350.00 1,950.00 285.00
PXT-037 TANZANIA DAR ES SALAAM ( R ) 2,350.00 ( R ) 3,500.00
PXT-038 THAILAND BANGKOK ( R ) 1,450.00 ( R ) 2,160.00
PXT-039 TOGO LOME 2,350.00 3,900.00
PXT-041 TRINIDAD      SUSPENDED AS OF 15 AUGUST 1996 BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHEDG/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 115
MARITIME BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular No. 002 of 1993
 44th EDITION DATE:  AUGUST 20/2002
Registration
No.Country of
DestinationPort of
Destination20 ft. Cont. US$ 40 ft.  Cont. US$Loose up to
6 m3Loose up to
10 m3
PXT-075 TUNISIA TUNIS ( R ) 1,850.00 ( I ) 3,150.00
PXT-063 TURKS AND
CAICOSPROVIDENCIALES 2,400.00 3,100.00
PXT-047 TURKEY ISTANBUL (N) 1,300.00 (N) 2,080.00
PXT-078 URUGUAY MONTEVIDEO 1,200.00 1,500.00
PXT-059 ZIMBABWE HARARE 3,250.00 5,650.00
Rates subject to change without notice. Please confirm with us before shipping.
A fuel surcharge may be added to these rates.(1)  Suspended from 1 January 1998 to 26 February 1998 since direct service was offered.
(2)  Rates to El Salvador include BAF; in this case the BAF cannot be added for payment.
(3)  Port of Guangzhou.(R)  Rate reduced compared to 15/0 2/02. (N) New rate. (I) Rate increase.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 116
ANNEX 2.2
AIR BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular 002 of 1993
34TH EDITION DATE:  FEBRUARY 15/2002
No. Country Mode PortUS$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.
Registration Destination M -45 +45 100 200 300 500 1000
PXA-001 SAUDI ARABIA A-A DHAHRAN 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-001A SAUDI ARABIA A-A JEDDAH 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-001B SAUDI ARABIA A-A RIYADH 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-002 AUSTRALIA A-A MELBOURNE ( R )
6.00( R )
5.003.06 3.06 2.95 2.74 ( R )
2.22
PXA-002A AUSTRALIA A-A SIDNEY ( R )
7.487.48 3.06 3.06 2.95 2.74 ( R )
2.22
PXA-003 UNITED ARAB
EMIRATESA-A SHARJAH 10.99 7.49 5.99 5.99 4.69
PXA-003A UNITED ARAB
EMIRATESA-A DUBAI 6.00 5.00 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.15 2.00
PXA-004 HONG KONG A-A HONG KONG 6.00 5.00 2.40 2.40 2.40 2.35 2.22
PXA-005 IRAN A-A TEHERAN 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-006 ISRAEL A-A TEL AVIV 6.00 5.00 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.40 2.00
PXA-007 JORDAN A-A AMMAN ( R )
7.48( R )
7.482.85 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-008 LITHUANIA A-A VILNIUS ( R )
2.25( R )
2.25( R )
2.25( R )
2.20( R )
2.25
PXA-009 MALAYSIA A-A KUALA LUMPUR 6.00 5.00 ( R )
2.40( R )
2.40( R )
2.40( I )
2.35( R )
2.22
PXA-009A MALAYSIA A-A PENANG ( I )
7.48( I )
7.48( I )
3.06( I )
3.06( I )
2.95( I )
2.74( I )
2.22
PXA-009B MALAYSIA A-A IPOH PERAK
PXA-010 NEW ZEALAND A-A CHRISTCHURCH-
AUCKLAND6.00 5.00 ( R )
3.55( R )
3.55( R )
3.55( R )
3.55( R )
3.55
PXA-011 NIGERIA A-A LAGOS 7.48 7.48 ( I )
2.85( I )
2.85( I )
2.79( I )
2.53( R )
2.11
PXA-012 PARAGUAY A-A ASUNCION ( R )
5.00( I )
4.70( R )
3.37( R )
3.37( R )
2.20( R )
2.15( R )
2.15
PXA-013 FRENCH
POLYNESIAA-A PAPETTE
PXA-014 SYRIA A-A DAMASCUS 6.00 5.00 2.30 2.30 2.30 2.25 2.00
PXA-015 THAILAND A-A BANGKOK 6.00 5.00 2.35 2.35 2.35 2.30 2.22
PXA-016 TRINIDAD A-A PORT OF SPAIN ( R )
2.35( R )
2.35( R )
1.94( R )
1.94( R )
1.94( R )
1.63( R )
1.63
PXA-017 SOUTH AFRICA A-A JOHANNESBURG 6.00 5.00 2.85 2.85 2.79 2.53 2.11
PXA-018 RUSSIA A-A MOSCOW 7.48 7.48 2.20 2.20 2.20 2.15 1.79
PXA-019 SINGAPORE A-A SINGAPORE 6.00 5.00 2.40 2.40 2.40 2.35 2.22
PXA-020 TURKEY A-A ISTANBUL ( I )
7.48( I )
7.48( I )
2.53( I )
2.53( I )
2.53( I )
2.431.79
PXA-021 GREECE A-A ATHENS 7.48 3.51 2.87 2.87 2.51 2.29 2.29
PXA-022 BARBADOS A-A BRIDGETOWN 2.45 2.45 2.45 1.65 1.65
PXA-023 ST. MAARTEN A-A ST. MAARTEN 2.56 2.56 2.10 1.68 1.68
PXA-024 KOREA A-A SEOUL 6.00 5.00 2.60 2.60 2.60 2.55 2.22
PXA-025 BELIZE A-A BELIZE 3.48 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.27 1.86 1.86
PXA-026 EL SALVADOR A-A SAN SALVADOR 1.75 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.20 1.00 1.00
PXA-027 HAITI A-A PORT-AU-PRINCE 2.85 2.55 2.45 2.45 2.25 1.95 1.95
PXA-028 HONDURAS A-A TEGUCIGALPA ( I )
1.751.52 ( I )
1.32( I )
1.32( I )
1.221.02 1.00
A-A SAN PEDRO SULA ( I ) 1.65 ( I ) ( I ) ( I ) 1.00 1.00G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 117
AIR BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular 002 of 1993
34TH EDITION DATE:  FEBRUARY 15/2002
No. Country Mode PortUS$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.
Registration Destination M -45 +45 100 200 300 500 1000
1.75 1.50 1.50 1.25
PXA-029 NICARAGUA A-A MANAGUA 1.75 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.05 0.95 0.95
PXA-030 ROMANIA A-A BUCHAREST ( I )
7.48( R )
3.51( R )
2.10( R )
2.10( R )
2.10( I )
2.05( I )
2.00
PXA-031 SUDAN A-A KHARTOUM 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.85 2.79 2.53 2.11
PXA-032 EGYPT A-A CAIRO 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.85 2.64 2.53 2.00
PXA-033 CANADA: DRY
FREIGHTA-A MONTREAL ( I )
2.25( I )
2.25( I )
2.25( I )
1.44( I )
1.44
A-A TORONTO ( R ) 2.45 1.98 1.95 1.90 1.90
A-A VANCOUVER 2.25 2.25 2.25 1.44 1.44
PXA-033A CANADA: FRUIT A-A MONTREAL/TORONTO
(VIA EUROPE)2.30
A-A MONTREAL (VIA
HOUSTON)1.44 1.44 1.14 1.14
A-A TORONTO (VIA
HOUSTON)3.99 1.20 1.20 1.14 1.14 1.14 1.14
A-T VANCOUVER(VIA NEW
YORK)1.65 1.65 1.65 1.35 1.35
A-A VANCOUVER
(VIA EUROPE)4.10 3.30 2.90 2.90 2.60 1.70 1.60
PXA-034 JAPAN A-A NAGOYA 7.48 7.48 3.06 3.06 2.95 2.74 2.22
PXA-034A JAPAN A -A TOKYO ( R )
6.00( R )
5.00( R )
2.95( R )
2.95( R )
2.85( R )
2.74( R )
2.22
PXA-035 TAIWAN A-A TAIPEI 6.00 5.00 2.40 2.40 2.40 2.35 2.22
PXA-036 ANTIGUA A-A ST. JOHNS ( I )
2.822.41 1.90 1.48 1.48
PXA-037 ST. KITTS A-A BASSE-TERRE 2.56 2.41 1.90 1.48 1.48
PXA-038 GUYANA A-A GEORGETOWN 2.82 2.41 1.90 1.48 1.48
PXA-039 KENYA A-A NAIROBI 7.48 7.48 2.85 2.85 2.79 2.53 2.11
PXA-040 LEBANON A-A BEIRUT ( R )
6.00( R )
5.00( R )
2.15( R )
2.15( R )
2.15( R )
2.10( R )
2.00
PXA-041 INDONESIA A-A JAKARTA 7.48 7.48 3.06 3.06 2.95 2.74 2.22
PXA-041A I NDONESIA A-A SURABAJA 3.85
PXA-041B INDONESIA A-A DE NPASAR 9.00 8.00 2.20
PXA-042 CHINA A-A SHANGHAI ( R )
6.00( R )
5.00( R )
2.45( R )
2.45( R )
2.45( R )
2.40( R )
2.22
PXA-043 URUGUAY A-A MONTEVIDEO 5.25 4.41 ( R )
3.94( R )
3.94( R )
2.20( R )
2.20( R )
2.20
PXA-044 MARIANA
ISLANDSA-A SAIPAN 5.61
PXA-045 PHILIPPINES A-A MANILA ( I )
7.48( I )
7.48( I )
3.06( I )
3.06( I )
2.95( I )
2.74( I )
2.22
PXA-046 POLAND A-A WARSAW 7.48 7.48 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.95 1.79
PXA-047 DOMINICAN
REPUBLICA-A SANTO DOMINGO NOT APPLICABLE BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE
HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PXA-048 CYPRUS A-A LARNACA 6.00 5.00 2.55 2.55 2.50 2.45 2.30
PXA-049 VIETNAM A-A HO CHI MINH 3.55 3.55 3.55 3.30 3.10
PXA-050 ZIMBABWE A-A HARARE 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00
PXA-051 LAOS A-A PAKSE
PXA-052 JAMAICA A-A KINGSTON 2.05 1.85 1.35 1.35 1.34 1.34 1.34
PXA-053 GUATEMALA A-A GUATEMALA CITY ( I )
1.75( I )
1.54( I )
1.50( I )
1.501.25 0.90 0.90
PXA-054 KUWAIT A-A KUWAIT ( R )
6.00( R )
5.00( R )
2.40( R )
2.40( R )
2.40( R )
2.352.00G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 118
AIR BASE RATES FOR APPLICATION OF THE TRANSPORT COMPENSATION MECHANISM
Resolutions 003 – 004 External Circular 002 of 1993
34TH EDITION DATE:  FEBRUARY 15/2002
No. Country Mode PortUS$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.US$
kg.
Registration Destination M -45 +45 100 200 300 500 1000
PXA-055 FIJI ISLANDS A-A LAUTOKA
PXA-055A FIJI ISLANDS A-A NADI 4.85 4.15 3.95
PXA-056 INDIA A-A NEW DELHI 7.48 7.48 2.95 2.95 2.85 2.64 2.11
PXA-057 DOMINICA A-A ROSSEAU 3.70 3.29 2.78 2.58 2.58
PXA-058 NETHERLANDS
ANTILLESA-A CURA ÇAO NOT APPLICABLE BECAUSE DIRECT SERVICE
HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PXA-059 TUNISIA A-A TUNIS– SPAX ( R )
7.48( I )
7.48( R )
2.85( R )
2.85( R )
2.84( R )
2.53( R )
2.00
PXA-060 GHANA A-A ACCRA 6.00 5.00 2.75 2.75 2.75 ( I )
2.532.11
Rates subject to change without notice. Please confirm them before
shipping.
Proexport Colombia pays the fuel surcharge declared in the AWB.
(R)  Rate reduced compared to 15/06/01.  (N)  New destination.  ( I )  Rate increase.G/SCM/Q3/COL/17
Page 119
7. Circular No. 3884
Santa Fe de Bogota, 1 September 1997
Subject:  Extension of the transport compensation mechanism to exports from free zones
The transport compensation mechanism established by the Proexport Advisory Board in
Resolutions No. 003 and 004 of 1993 and regulatory circulars shall be extended to goods, services and
commercial users of free zones only in the event they comply with the following conditions:
Final sale (permanent export) by a commercial user from an export processing zone to a third
country of goods that had previously been permanently exported from national customs territory tothe free zone.
Final sale (permanent export) by goods and services users from an export processing zone to
third countries of goods produced, manufactured or prepared by those users within the export
processing zone. The goods to be sold or permanently exported must comply with a minimumdomestic value added of 60 per cent.
Third country means a country to which the transport compensation mechanism established
by Proexport is applicable.
1. Requirements for recognition and payment
Apart from the requirements established in Resolution No. 003 of 1993 and the regulatory
circulars, goods, services and commercial users shall present the following documents:
An informal copy of the licence showing that it is a goods, services or commercial user,
issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade. This copy only needs to be presented once and to berenewed annually.
2. For commercial users
2.1. A copy and informal photocopy of the export document (DEX) covering the export of
the goods from national customs territory to the free zone.
2.2. A copy and informal photocopy of the form on movements of goods in free zones,
duly signed by the user-operator, for the sale of goods to third countries.
3. For goods and services users
3.1 Certified copy of a value added form issued by the user-operator of the free zone
demonstrating that the domestic value added exceeds 60 per cent.
3.2 Copy and informal photocopy of the form on movements of goods in free zones, duly
signed by the user-operator, for the sale of goods to third countries.
__________