PORTUARY ACTIVITIES

Decree 769/93

Revise the Law Regulation No. 24.093

Bs. As. 19/4/93

VISTO Issue No. 2465-P/1992 of the Register of the General ADMINISTRATION OF PUERTS - STATUS (In Liquidation) and the provisions of Act No. 24,093 and Decree No. 817/92; and

CONSIDERING:

That water transport, transfers of goods and the various activities and services provided within the Ports are a critical factor in the national economy.

That for greater efficiency in the use of port infrastructure, ports must be exploited by the Provinces in whose territory they are located.

It is essential to have a uniform criterion for the efficient functioning of the Nation.

That State activity should be limited to maintaining security, preserving the environment and protecting the user against possible violations of the principles of sound competition.

That the process of stabilization of the economy delineated by the HONORABLE CONGRESO of the NATION in the various rules sanctioned by the NATION, including Law No. 24,093, should be complemented by provisions that, with the utmost speed, encourage the implementation of the policies set there.

That for the purpose of enabling the above-mentioned and in accordance with Article 23 of the Law, it must be regulated.

That the present is given in the use of the powers arising from Article 86 (1) and (2) of the National Constitution and Article 23 of Law No. 24.093.

Therefore,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARGENTINA DECRETA NATION:

Article 1 - Approve the regulation of the Law of Portuguese ACTIVITIES, No. 24,093, which, as Annex I, is part of the present.

Art. 2o - Please note this to the BICAMERAL COMMISSION established by Article 14 of Law No. 23,696.

Art. 3o - Contact, post, give to the National Directorate of the Official Register and archvese. - MENEM - Domingo F. CAVALLO




ARTICLE 1 - Unregulated.

ARTICLE 2 - Unregulated.

ARTICLE 3o - The military or police authorities that must carry out movements or operations of their ships in channels, dunes and harbour sectors outside of the sectors intended exclusively for the use of military or the exercise of state police power shall coordinate such movements or operations with the public authorities or individuals of such ports that administer or operate them.

ARTICLE 4o - Unregulated.

ARTICLE 5o - The relevant qualification must be requested to the NATIONAL PORTUARY AUTHORITY by the owner of the domain of each port, presenting the corresponding title or instrument that credits its right to that domain. In cases where the State is the National or Provincial State, but its administration and/or exploitation is transferred to natural or legal persons, whether state, mixed or private, they must present the legal instruments that credit such rights to such ports. In those ports in which the National or Provincial State is holders of domains and/or are being exploited or administered, for their empowerment, the Implementation Authority shall establish the minimum requirements for this.

When applying for the qualification, the petitioner must accurately identify the area that covers the port in question, as well as those that reserve for future extensions, provided that they are under their possession or possession, including the land accesses built especially for the port, indicating whether the maintenance and preservation of the same is under their responsibility.

It should also include in the delimitation the works of self-defence and the channels that connect it with the open sea or the troncale waterways. Radas or anchor sites for ships will also be included, clarifying when they are auxiliary or belong to another port. At the request of the interested parties, the authorization to be granted to the port will include the terminals operating in the port.

Ports or port facilities that are not affected to trade or industry are excluded from the obligation to enable the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER, but must nevertheless comply with the provisions of the competent national and provincial authorities regarding the safety of navigation and environmental pollution.

In the resolution by which the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER grants the qualification, the use and destination of the facilities must be established according to the request for the respective qualification and the particular characteristics of each port.

In the case of ports that are requested in place where there is no customs jurisdiction or permanent or occasional customs control, the system or control regime that has previously been proposed by the NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION of ADUANAS shall be applied in accordance with the operational characteristics of each port. The qualification granted by the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER, after the intervention of the Implementation Authority, shall include the final customs clearance.

Provisions for new ports or ports covered by Article 9 shall not affect existing and applicable customs jurisdictions and regimes, unless the NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION of ADUANAS, at the request of the interested parties, establishes a different customs jurisdiction or a special or different regime in the jurisdictional domain that is to be enabled.

ARTICLE 6o - They will be enabled as ports those facilities capable of making the transfer of cargo between the means of aquatic and terrestrial transport, when the set of them allows to individualize sectors or terminals for the attention of different types of load. The facilities that, without being able to be sectored in the planned manner, will also be enabled as ports, meet operational conditions that allow them to attend different types of loads and that, due to their location, support the regional interest.

In all cases, these facilities shall constitute a hub for the comprehensive provision of direct or indirect services to vessels and goods that they attend.

With the same requirements required to enable a port, specialized or multipurpose terminals that constitute operating units independent of aquatic or terrestrial access, direct or indirect infrastructure and services of a port will be enabled.

The terminals, regardless of the ownership of the domain required of the accesses, infrastructure and/or direct or indirect services of a port, will form part of the jurisdiction of the port itself and will not constitute a port in itself having to be enabled by the local Harbour Authority. The Harbour Authority of the jurisdiction to which they belong may only charge them the fees related to the specific services they provide, whether direct or indirect.

The Implementation Authority shall request the applicants for the qualifications that comply with the reports and data required by Article 6 (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and (g) of Law 24,093, also analysing, on the basis of the above-mentioned elements, that the provisions referred to in subparagraphs (e), (h), (i), and (j), of the same legal standard, for which each competent authorities shall require reports. These consultations shall be preceded by the qualification, having to be evacuated by the competent bodies within a period not exceeding TREINTA (30) days, counted from their receipt, which shall be deemed to have no objection to the request for approval. The Authority of Application shall lift the request for approval and the respective reports to the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER, within a period not exceeding the SESENTA (60) days counted from the date of initiation of the request for approval.

ARTICLE 7o - Unregulated.

ARTICLE 8o - Applications for change of destination may be either total or partial or require sectoral or new facilities whose destination is different from that of the initial qualification of the port concerned, which will continue to operate with that destination.

ARTICLE 9 - The terminals referred to in Article 9 of Law No. 24.093 are those covered by the third paragraph of Article 6 of this Decree.

Applications for the final qualification of the ports mentioned in this article shall be elevated to the Authority of Application by complying with the requirements of Article 6 of this regulation.

The petitioners will accompany as a precaution the precarious qualifications and/or authorizations granted by the NATIONAL DIRECTION of PORTUARY CONSTRUCTIONS and NAVEGABLE VIAS, by the NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION of ADUANAS and which have the relevant monitoring of the NAVAL ARGENTINA PREFECTURA or another adopted by those who manage or exploit the port.

The Implementation Authority shall grant the petitioners a time limit of NOVTA (90) days in order to take and implement the measures leading to comply with the legal and technical requirements provided for in the provisions of Act No. 24.093 and this regulatory decree.

ARTICLE 10: It is understood that a port is in operation until it has ceased to operate in the destination for which it was enabled, by the time of UN (1) year counted since the last operation performed. This period shall not be computed as long as its inactivity persists due to duly justified causes.

In the case of a port affected by seasonal operations, this period shall be computed from the beginning of the immediate season following the start of the inactivity.

The Authority of Application may confirm the maintenance of the technical and operational conditions taken into account for the qualification, in case of non-compliance with the holder of the same for the period of TREINTA (30) days to render its discharge or conform to the conditions that must be met by the petitioners of the permits or concessions of use, exploitation and/or administration of the ports.

ARTICLE 11 : The Provinces shall have a period of SESENTA (60) days from the date of validity of this regulation to request the transfer of domain or administration of the ports located in their jurisdiction, except the ports mentioned in Article 12 of Law 24.093.

The transfer of the ports to the Provinces shall be made with the same agreement regarding the obligations assumed by the National State prior to its transfer.

The transfers of administration and/or domain carried out under Decree No. 906/91 are currently valid.

ARTICLE 12: The Provinces, in whose territories the ports of ROSARIO, BAHIA BLANCA, QUEQUEN and SANTA FE are located, shall previously constitute their transfer provided for in Article 11 of Law No. 24,093, Private Law Companies or Non-State Public Entities that will bring together the following characteristics:

(a) The purpose of the administration, modernization and exploitation of the port shall be to provide the priorities for the entry and departures of the ships and their location (place or place of mooring or anchoring) in the ports where they must operate; administration and provision of services to the cargoes and to the vessels operating in those ports; to exercise control and, where appropriate, to denounce to the competent authorities any breach of the rules of security, health and protection of the environment;

(b) They should ensure the participation of the following sectors concerned in the port work: Importers, Exporters, Transport Companies by Water, Terminals dealers, Styba Companies, Services Providers to the Goods or Ships and workers who provide services in the port area. Also in these Entes or Societies will be represented the Provincial and Municipal governments, in whose territory the port is located.

(c) The sectors mentioned in the preceding subparagraph should be represented in the governing bodies, so as to ensure their participation in decision-making.

In the particular case of the PUERTO of BUENOS AIRES its management and administration will be divided into THREE (3): 1) NEW PUERTO, 2) SUR PUERTO and 3) DOCK SUD PUERTO, whose jurisdictional limits will be defined by the Authority of Application.

The administration of the sector designated as NEW PUERTO will be in charge of the PUERTO NUEVO S.A. PUERTO ADMINISTRATION society to be created.

PUERTO DOCK SUD will be transferred to the Province of BUENOS AIRES at your request, pursuant to Article 11 of Act No. 24,093 on the grounds that it is located in provincial territory.

ARTICLE 13 : Unregulated.

ARTICLE 14 : Unregulated.

ARTICLE 15: Unregulated.

ARTICLE 16: Unregulated.

ARTICLE 17: Individuals, when applying for the authorization of the ports that build on their own or fiscal grounds, shall present the title by which they credit their right to domain, possession, use, usufruct or exploitation, which arise from the relevant instruments in the case of private domain land, or of the agreements, administrative acts or legal rules that grant them such rights on tax grounds.

Accredited to this title, the pending submissions to the qualification shall be set out in Act No. 24,093 and its Rules of Procedure.

ARTICLE 18: Unregulated.

ARTICLE 19: In the ports of commercial public use, their holders must have the necessary arrangements to ensure that, directly or through third parties hired to that end, in accordance with existing legal norms, it is provided within the scope:

(a) The services of trailer-maniobra, mooring and practice, in case this service is necessary by the characteristics of the port.

(b) Drinking water, waste collection, bilge, seating cleaning, fire and dislocation of tankers.

(c) Environmental Pollution Control Service.

The ports, whatever their destination, shall provide appropriate facilities for the use of the authorities linked to port security and control, navigation, customs control and, if necessary, to the appropriate police authorities.

ARTICLE 20: It is understood that the natural or juridical person is responsible for each port, to whom the authorization has been granted.

ARTICLE 21 : The Authority of Application may call upon the competent authorities and those responsible of the ports to coordinate the control activities in order to adapt them to the operating modalities of each and only to the effect of not interfering with the harbour operations.

ARTICLE 22: The Authority for the Application of this Law will be the SUBSECRETARIA of PUERTS and NAVEGABLE VIAS, which will review the character of NATIONAL PORTUARY AUTHORITY.

ARTICLE 23: THE PORTUARY AUTHORITY NATIONAL may apply in order to the provisions of Article 23 (a) of Law No. 24,093 to the holders of the harbour administrations, with the limitations established by the National Constitution, the following penalties:

(a) Suspension of a given time-frame.

(b) Enabling.

In both cases, both in the application of the suspension of the expiration of the permit, the NATIONAL PORTUARIA AUTORITY may intervene the administration of the sanctioned port when the public interest is at stake.

Serious misdemeanours will be considered and will result in the suspension penalty:

I) Failure to comply with the technical and operational conditions that were taken into account in granting the qualification.

II) Do not properly carry the accounting records and operations referred to in Article 23 (b) of Act No. 24,093 and the rules that are determined accordingly.

III) Not to provide the minimum services required by Act No. 24.093.

IV) Do not give ports and port facilities the purpose that conditioned their empowerment.

(V) Not to provide the police and control authorities with the necessary facilities, in accordance with the relevant regulations.

VI) Failure to comply with or violate the rules of: Safety of Navigation, Port Security, Health and Protection of the Environment, Hygiene and Occupational Safety, Customs and Migration.

VII) Infring the rules of free competition, exercising or allowing the exercise of unfair and/or monopoly practices.

VIII) To transgress any norm whose application is mandatory in the port area.

The repetition of any of the aforementioned serious faults will result in the application of the expiry penalty of the qualification.

Procedure:

In the face of the alleged commission of a serious fault, the Authority of Application shall disclose to the holder of the port in which the same has been committed, the fact or the fault that is charged to him, giving him CINCO (5) days to carry out his discard and offer evidence.

Once the procedure has been completed, a decision will be issued on the basis of the corresponding sanction, with the right to the person concerned in the terms of Act No. 19.549 and complementary.

The criteria for occupational health and safety, environmental incidence and sanitary controls in the ports, will be determined by the competent National Authority on the subject.

In accordance with Article 23 (b) of Act No. 24,093, the following accounting and operating records shall be required:

1.) Books established by the Trade Code and other laws applicable to legal persons.

2.) Registration of ships operating in each port and/or terminal specifying their physical and technical characteristics and goods shipped, disembarked or transported from or to the same and other related operations, all in the form and with the periodicity determined by the application authority.

ARTICLE 24: Unregulated.