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law no 516
APRIL 4, 2014 LAW
EVO MORALES AYMA
CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA
For the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, it has The following Act
THE PLURINATIONAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY,
D E C R E T A:
INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACT
CHAPTER I
OBJECT AND GENERALITIES
Article 1. (OBJECT). The purpose of this Law is to establish the general legal and institutional framework for the
promotion of investments in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, in order to contribute to the growth and economic and social development of the country,
This Law is based on the precepts laid down in the Constitution of the State and its application and
interpretation must be subject to these.
Article 2. (APPLICATION SCOPE). This Law applies to Bolivian and foreign investments that
are made in the territory of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
Article 3. (PRINCIPLES). Investments in the country should be subject to the following principles:
Sovereignty and Dignity. The State conducts the economic and social planning process, directs the economy and exercises the control and direction of the strategic sectors established in the Constitution of the State, in the framework of the country's economic and social planning. The State, being a promoter and protagonist of economic development and
Changing the Productive Matrix. The State promotes investment with sovereignty and dignity, for the development of productive sectors in non-traditional economic activities that contribute to the change of the primary export pattern and drive large-scale industrialization processes.
Mutual Respect and Equity. The investment contributes to the implementation of the plural productive economic model, where the State directs, controls, regulates and participates in the economic development of the country, relating to the investors in conditions of independence, mutual respect and equity, in the framework of the sovereignty and dignity of the State in a context of legal certainty.
Plural Economy. The forms of state, private, social cooperative and community economic organization that integrate the plural economy, are articulated in the framework of the principles of complementarity, reciprocity, solidarity, redistribution, equality, legal, sustainability, balance, justice and transparency. Investments made in the country contribute to the development of forms of economic organization.
Legal Security. The State's legal relations with Bolivian and foreign investors, as well as the legal relations between investors acting in the forms of economic organization recognized in the Constitution of the State, are based on legal certainty, subject to clear, precise and determined rules. All forms of economic organization will enjoy legal equality before the Law.
Mother Earth. The investments made in the country must ensure the integral development of economic activity in harmony and balance with Mother Earth, ensuring the sustainability of biodiversity.
Simplicity. The State establishes simple procedures and brief deadlines for the processing and consolidation of the investment.
Prioritization. The State will prioritize Bolivian investment against foreign investment as a mechanism for strengthening the national productive apparatus and offering goods and services.
Transparency. The forms of economic organization established in the Constitution of the State, as well as Bolivian or foreign investment, are fundamentally based on transparency and the fight against corruption.
Article 4. (DEFINITIONS). For the purposes of this Law, the following definitions shall apply:
Investment. Any placement of investment contributions in the different investment mechanisms according to the provisions of this Law, aimed at the permanent development of economic activities and the generation of income that contribute to growth and economic and social development of the country.
Investor. He is the natural or legal person, Bolivian or foreign, public or private who makes an investment in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
Bolivian investment. It is the investment of national origin made by natural or legal persons, public or private Bolivian, or by foreign natural persons with permanent residence or permanent radicalization in Bolivia. Bolivian legal persons are those formed in Bolivia and whose majority of capital is owned by Bolivian natural persons, reflecting in the direction and control of the legal person. When Bolivian investment is made with public resources and with domestic or foreign private resources, mixed investment will be considered.
Preferred Investment. Quality granted by the Ministry of Development Planning to investment projects that develop productive activities of strategic interest for the country, which are identified in this Law. This quality allows investment to access specific incentives.
Productive State Investment. It is a mode of Bolivian investment. The productive state investment is carried out in the framework of the country's economic and social development planning, is destined to productive activities qualified as preferential investment, is made with public resources and has advantages
Mixed Investment. It is a modality of investment, made up of productive state investment on the one hand, and domestic and/or foreign private investment on the other, in which the State maintains control and direction of productive economic activity.
Foreign Investment. It is the investment of foreign origin, private or public, made by natural persons or foreign legal persons or Bolivian natural persons resident abroad with a stay not less than two (2) years.
Transfer Prices. They are those resulting from transactions or transactions between related companies, considering those made between the parent, subsidiaries and/or subsidiaries or between subsidiaries and/or subsidiaries, of which at least one is located domiciled in the country; for payments of goods or services or other operations that may be different from the agreed between independent companies.
Effective Legislation. Any legal rule issued by competent national authority related to investment in the country, framed in the Constitution of the State.
Incentives. These are benefits or temporary financial or financial advantages granted by the State, as well as promotion policies that encourage investment in the country, in order to contribute to economic and social development. The benefits or benefits referred to, may consist of tax relief, tariff reductions, incentives to production and others.
General incentives. temporary status approved by express rule. Your application will not be able to create advantageous conditions for an investor or group of investors against others in the same sector.
specific incentives. These incentives are granted to preferred investments and must be approved by means of an express standard setting out the conditions, scope and temporality of their application.
CHAPTER II
TREATMENT TO INVESTMENTS
Article 5. (INVESTMENTS).
I. The State in its role as promoter and protagonist of the economic and social development of the country, through the Ministry of
Planning of the Development and the ministries head of field, orients the investments towards economic activities to promote economic and social development, generate decent employment and contribute to poverty eradication and the reduction of economic, social and regional inequalities.
II. Investments may be allocated to any sector the country's economic and will be implemented through the forms
and contractual permitted by the current regulations, observing the particularities related to the exclusivity of the State and the principles of Sovereignty and Dignity, of Mutual Respect and Equity, and other principles established in this Law.
Article 6. (STATE EXCLUSIVITY).
I. The State directs, controls and regulates the strategic sectors of the economy of the country established in the Political Constitution
of the State, through public entities and the exercise of its powers and attributions.
II. The State reserves the right to develop the country's strategic sectors for economic and social growth
with equity, and exercises its right to participate as an investor, through state investment. productive, within the framework of what is established in this Law.
III. Investors will be able to develop economic activities in strategic sectors, in accordance with the rights that the
State grants for the effect in the framework of the country's economic and social development norms and policies.
Article 7. (INVESTMENT WITH SOCIAL COMMITMENT).
II. Any third-party action that harms the normal development of investment activities will be liable to
criminal and civil sanctions, as appropriate.
Article 8. (RELATIONSHIPS WITH MUTUAL RESPECT AND EQUITY). The emerging relations of the
investments between investors and with the State, will be subject to the principles of Sovereignty and Dignity, Legal Security, Mutual Respect and Equity, established in Article 3 of this Law.
Article 9. (INVESTMENT MECHANISMS).
I. The placement of investment contributions is made through:
Commercial companies;
Public enterprises;
Mixed capital companies where the State has a stake majority ownership;
Contracts or other joint investment instruments.
II. All of the investment mechanisms referred to in the preceding paragraph, must observe the constitutional precepts
and be subject to this Law, the Trade Code and other applicable and current regulations.
III. The sector-specific regulations will establish the specific mechanisms to effect investment in their sector, taking care of the country's strategic interests and objectives; the sector regulations must be subject to the regulations regarding treatment investments, productive state investment, investment incentives, dispute settlement and other provisions laid down in this Law.
Article 10. (INVESTMENT CONTRIBUTIONS).
I. Every investor will be able to make investment contributions through:
National currency or foreign currency convertibility;
movable and immovable property on which property rights are exercised;
Reinvested Utilities;
Intellectual Property Rights, Intangible Technology Contributions, and Other Rights on Intangible Goods;
Acquisition of registered or listed shares on the Bolivian Stock Exchange Securities, of companies operating in the country, under the law applicable;
Industrial plants, new or reconditioned machines or equipment, spare parts, parts, and parts;
Raw material and intermediate products;
Other established by Law.
II. The State makes investment contributions primarily with the rights of use and exploitation of natural resources
, in the framework of the constitutional precepts.
Article 11. (CONDITIONS FOR THE INVERSION).
I. The investments made in the Plurinational State of Bolivia should consider:
That the transfer of capital from abroad is channeled through the national financial system;
foreign investments comply with the country's established transfer pricing regulations;
That the profitability of investment project proposals that are intended to be qualified as preferred is not conditional the incentives granted by the State;
That the State does not endorse or guarantees external or internal credit agreements entered into by natural or legal persons in private, Bolivian or foreign law;
That the technology transfer is carried out in accordance with Article 14 of the This Act;
That labor relations arising from investments established under this Law shall be subject to the General Labor Law and its regulatory standards;
That the investments established under this Law will be subject to the applicable tax, customs, environmental and other regulations of the country.
II. The measures to encourage the investment must respond to economic policy objectives and consider the
fiscal sustainability of the country.
Article 12. (GRANDNANTONLY).
I. The Grannational Companies will be made up of Bolivian state contributions and state contributions from countries
members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-ALBA-TCP Peoples Trade Treaty.
II. The creation, administration, supervision, control and oversight, as well as the reorganization, dissolution and liquidation of the
Grannational Companies, will be subject to Law No. 466 of the Public Enterprise of 26 December 2013.
Article 13. (FOREIGN INVESTMENT REGISTER).
I. The Central Bank of Bolivia will be responsible for the registration of foreign investment and will grant a certificate of income
of contributions for investment in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which will credit the income of foreign resources. to the country.
II. The registration must be in specific formats that guarantee the capture of information regarding the origin, destination,
contributions and mechanisms of the investment, as well as of the reinvestment, according to the provisions of this Law.
III. The Central Bank of Bolivia will dictate the required standard for the implementation of foreign investment registration.
Article 14. (TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER).
I. According to the development needs of the productive sector, the technology transfer must also contemplate
at least one of the following modes:
Generation of skills and skills in Bolivian personnel coming from technical institutes, technological institutes, technological higher schools and universities of the Plurinational Educational System, in the technical areas that develops the investment. The incorporation of Bolivian personnel should include operational, administrative and executive areas, observing promotion policies linked to the skills and skills acquired;
Transfer of machinery and equipment Technological avant-garde to technical institutes, technological institutes, technological higher schools, universities of the Plurinational Educational System and public entities linked to the area of investment, through agreements with objectives and goals clearly defined according to the interest of the parties;
Develop applied research within the company aimed at improving the industrial process or contributing to public welfare.
II. The application of the provisions set out in points (a) and (c) of the preceding paragraph must be applied during the process of
investment, and in the case of the provisions of point (b) the parties shall be subject to the agreements entered into.
Article 15. (TRANSFERS ABROAD).
I. Foreign investors, prior to compliance with the tax and other obligations established in regulations
in force, will be able to transfer abroad in freely convertible currencies through the banking system, the following:
Capital from the total or partial liquidation of the companies in which the registered foreign investment has been made, or by the sale of the shares, units or rights acquired by reason of the foreign investment;
Net profit generated from investment registered foreign;
The revenue resulting from the dispute settlement;
Payments to suppliers or creditors domiciled outside the country directly linked to the investment, under the applicable and applicable regulations;
Other payments to which you were entitled, in the framework of the current regulations.
II. The Central Bank of Bolivia shall record the transfer to the outside of the currencies referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
CHAPTER III
PRODUCTIVE STATE INVESTMENT
Article 16. (PRODUCTIVE STATE INVESTMENT).
I. The State in exercise of its role of investor, implements the productive state investment guiding it to the development of
the productive circuits of the strategic natural resources and the productive activities that contribute to the
The contributions of productive state investment go to public companies and mixed-capital companies where the State has majority shareholding, as well as to productive projects of non-traditional economic activities. The companies receiving the investment contribution will be responsible for the use of the assigned resources and the results achieved, in the framework of the rules that govern their operation.
II. The State will be able to partner with other investors for the development of the economic activities qualified as
preferential investment, priority for the joint development of certain activities of the productive circuit of strategic natural resources. The State shall maintain control and direction in the investment mechanisms used for the development of productive activity, as indicated in Article 9 of this Law.
The joint investment referred to shall be considered as mixed investment and Article 18 of this Law shall apply to it for its strategic importance.
III. The investment of the autonomous territorial entities, will be able to compete with the productive state investment for the implementation of economic enterprises, in order to strengthen and consolidate the development of the region.
Article 17. (REGISTRATION OF PRODUCTIVE STATE INVESTMENT).
I. The Ministry of Development Planning will be responsible for the registration of productive state investment for purposes
statistics and comprehensive monitoring of the investment project.
II. information on origin, destination, inputs and mechanisms of the investment and should include the
investment contributions of the autonomous territorial entities, if corresponding; as well as, the contributions of the private investment of Bolivia and the foreign private or public investment.
Article 18. (PROCESSING OF PRODUCTIVE STATE INVESTMENT). The productive state investment
will be addressed in a timely and agile manner by the competent public authorities, in terms of the elaboration, approval, financing and implementation of the investment, in the framework of this Law, environmental and social regulations, and other applicable regulations.
Article 19. (PROHIBITION OF PRIVATISATION). The assets and investments recovered as a result of
the processes of nationalization made by the State for the recovery of the natural resources and the strategic sectors, will not be able to be privatized under any mode.
Article 20. (EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY). Productive state investments must
be realized under criteria of economic efficiency and effectiveness, in strict compliance with current regulations.
CHAPTER IV
INVESTMENT INCENTIVES
Article 21. (GENERAL AND SPECIFIC INCENTIVES).
I. The State may grant general incentives and specific incentives to all investments made in the country, in
the conditions set out in this Law.
The general incentives will be granted to the activities
The specific incentives will be awarded to investment projects that are qualified as such, and will have a general application in the sector.
preferred investment.
II. For compliance with the above mentioned paragraph, the incentives will be determined as follows:
General incentives will be proposed by the sector ministries to the Ministry of Planning of the Development, attaching the identification and justification study, which includes the indicators that will measure the economic effects in the country. The Ministry of Development Planning, after analysis, will recommend to the Council of Ministers the application or not of the incentive, which should be approved by Law or Supreme Decree, as appropriate;
The specific incentives will be proposed by the sector ministries to the Ministry of Development Planning, attaching the investment project and the evaluation carried out by the proposing ministry, as well as a report on alignment with the provisions of Article 22 of this Law. The Ministry of Development Planning, after analysis, may or may not qualify as a preferential investment to the investment project; in case it qualifies as a preferred investment, the Ministry of Development Planning recommend to the Council of Ministers the application of specific incentives to be approved by Law or Supreme Decree, as appropriate.
III. Measures to encourage investment will have a temporary effect, can be applied in an interval
between one (1) to twenty (20) years depending of the economic activity and the investment recovery time.
IV. The Ministry of Development Planning will recommend to the Council of Ministers the suspension or cancellation of the
general incentives on the basis of the ministry head of the corresponding sector, based on the evaluation referred to in Article 23 (a) of this Law. The suspension or deletion will be approved by Law or Supreme Decree, as appropriate.
The general incentives will maintain their validity and application for those investments made that have met the objectives they determined your grant.
V. The Ministry of Development Planning will recommend to the Council of Ministers the suspension or cancellation of specific incentives granted in the light of the demonstrated non-compliance with the obligations assumed for the implementation of the investment, in accordance with the provisions of the contractual documents or those granting rights of use and exploitation of natural resources. The suspension or deletion will be approved by law or Supreme Decree, as appropriate.
The contractual documents and those that grant rights of use and use will contain specific clauses that establish in a clear and precise manner substantial obligations, the failure of which will result in the suspension or cancellation of the incentives granted.
VI. The autonomous territorial entities, within the framework of their powers, may provide incentives for investments
concurrent as referred to in Paragraph III of the Article 16 of this Law.
VII. Contracts linked to strategic sectors will include the specific incentives and these will take effect
once the contracts are approved by the Legislative Assembly. Plurinational.
Article 22. (PREFERRED INVESTMENTS).
I. The investment that goes to the development of the productive circuits of the strategic natural resources and the
economic activities that contribute to the change of the productive matrix developed in the framework of the planning of the economic and social development of the country, will acquire the quality of preferential investment when assigned to one of the following activities
Certain activities of the productive circuit of strategic natural resources in the areas of hydrocarbons, mining, energy, transport, contributing to generate value added;
Economic activities in the areas of tourism, agro-industry, textiles, and others that provide added value, with high innovative potential and generation of skills and knowledge in human capital;
Economic activities that generate development poles in areas of interest to the country, and which are aimed at reducing the economic and social inequalities of the regions in the country.
II. The investment projects, referred to the activities mentioned in the preceding initiatives, will have to contemplate the transfer of technology and the generation of decent work.
III. The ministries responsible for strategic sectors will have to perform actions aimed at attracting
qualified investments as preferred.
IV. The identification of investors interested in developing the activities referred to in Paragraph I of this Article, will be carried out through the reception of proposals and/or official mechanisms of wide dissemination.
Priority will be given to the proposal of the Bolivian investor against the proposal of the foreign investor, as long as the proposal presents similar or better features. The prioritization referred to must guarantee the greatest benefit for the country.
Article 23. FOLLOW UP ON INVESTMENTS). The heads of industry will carry out the
periodic monitoring of investments in their sector and in particular the productive activity qualified as preferential investment, for which must:
Evaluate the fulfillment of the objectives that determined the granting of general incentives and their contribution to the sector, based on the expected economic effects;
Evaluate the fulfillment of goals and specific objectives in projects qualified as preferential investment, in the project execution schedule framework;
Issuing to the Ministry of Development Planning the information referred to in points (a) and (b) of this Article.
CHAPTER V
INSTANCE COMPETENT FOR INVESTMENT PROMOTION
Article 24. (COMPETENT AUTHORITY). The Ministry of Development Planning is constituted at the competent authority of the central level of the State for the promotion of investment, within the framework of the provisions of this Law.
Article 25. (ATTRIBUTIONS).
I. For compliance with the above Article, the Ministry of Development Planning is
empowered to:
Recommend to the Council of Ministers the approval of policies and standards to encourage investment in the country;
To recommend to the Council of Ministers the approval of general and specific incentives for investment and its suspension or cancellation, in the framework of the country's economic and social development policies, and set forth in this Act;
Qualify as preferred investment proposals for projects submitted to their knowledge, when they are limited to the provisions of Article 22 of this Law, after selection when two or more proposals are submitted for the same economic activity;
Require information from ministries responsible for strategic sectors, on procedures to be performed for the identification of investors interested in developing preferred investment projects;
Require information to the sector's heads of industry, referring to the monitoring of investments, as well as information on incentives for investments in your sector;
Requiring public and private institutions, information related to investment in the country;
Other inherent in the fulfillment of their attributions, to be established by Supreme Decree.
II. The Ministry of Development Planning, will evaluate the administrative procedures to effect investment in
the country and in its case will recommend the modification and/or simplification of the same, safeguarding the legality and transparency of the act.
CHAPTER VI
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Article 26. (DISPUTE RESOLUTION). Conflicts arising from relationships between
investors, will be fixed in the forms and conditions set in the current regulations.
ADDITIONAL provisions
FIRST.
I. The treaties concerning foreign investments that are renegotiated in accordance with the provisions of the Disposition
Transitory ninth of the Constitution of the State, shall be in accordance with the regulations laid down in that provision. constitutional rule and this law, and be formalized through investment framework agreements.
II. As of the publication of this Law, any investment framework agreement or international trade agreement on
investments that underwrite the country will be based on the provisions laid down in this Law.
III. The treatment of investments subject to supranational integration agreements will be governed by these, provided that
have been ratified by the Plurinational State of Bolivia and are framed in the constitutional precepts.
SECOND. The accounting and auditing regulations to which the investments are made shall be those applied in the country, which shall be regularly adapted to international accounting and auditing standards.
THIRD.
I. The contracts involving investments must be registered in the Register of Commerce; for the purpose the Ministry of Productive Development and Plural Economy, will approve the specific procedure to be applied by the Registry of Trade.
II. In the case of joint investments between domestic or foreign private investors, the register must
capture at least information on the intervening parties, subject to the contract, origin of the investment, investor input and contract term.
III. In the case of joint investments in which the State intervenes, the register must capture at least information about the parties involved, the object of the contract, the origin of the investment, the contributions of the investors, contract term, contract administration instance, and resolution causals.
TRANSIENT provisions
FIRST. The Ministry of Economy and Public Finance, within ninety (90) days of the
publication of this Law, shall draw up the rule governing the transfer prices referred to in Article 11 (b) of this Law. Present Law.
SECOND. Within three (3) months of the publication of this Law, the competent public authorities whose attributions are linked to the treatment of investments in the country, must prepare, adapt and publish the regulations of their In this respect, the sector will be responsible for compliance with the provisions of this Law and the Constitution of the State.
The regulations referred to above should regulate procedures with short and simple deadlines, within the framework of the
principle of Simplicity.
THIRD.
I. The Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of the State, within three (3) months of the publication of the
this Law, will draft the new standard of conciliation and arbitration that will include specific regulations for the resolution of investment disputes.
II. The new standard of conciliation and arbitration, must observe the provisions of this Law and be framed in the
generally accepted principles for the solution of disputes in investments: equity, truthfulness, good faith, confidentiality, impartiality, neutrality, legality, speed, economy and mutual acceptability.
III. As long as the aforementioned rule is adopted and a controversy is raised, the parties to the conflict will apply the provisions of Law No 1770, of Arbitration and Conciliation, of 10 March 1997, in everything that does not contravene the State Political Constitution and this Law.
FOURTH. The Ministry of Development Planning, within three (3) months of the publication of this Law, will develop the specific regulations for the registration of productive state investment.
QUINTA. The Bank Central Bolivia, shall draw up within three (3) months of the publication of this Law, the rule governing the registration of foreign investment, for information purposes.
FINAL PROVISIONS
FIRST. The Ministries of Economy and Public Finance, and of Development Planning, will develop and/or
adapt the rules regarding the procedures of registration and budgetary administration, in order to effect the contribution of resources SECOND: Public investment in production or mixed investment, guaranteeing access to investment resources according to the conditions laid down in the respective legal documents.
SECOND. The investments made in the country prior to the validity of this Law, will be subject to
the regulations and legal instruments that established them in everything that does not contradict the Constitution of the State. In order to benefit from the incentives provided for in this Law, new investment contributions must be subject to the regulations established in this Law and the applicable sectoral regulations.
THIRD. The investments made by the State in sectors that are not strategic, may be
transferred to the actors of the other forms of economic organization of the plural economy, only when the State pursues social objectives. This transfer must be approved by the express law of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
FOURTH. The Ministry of Development Planning, in coordination with the competent ministries,
will draft a proposal for a special law to govern the application of Paragraph 1 of Article 262 of the Constitution of the State. This special law will have to open the Law No. 1961, of the Corredores de Exportación de Energía, Hydrocarbons and Telecommunication of National Need, of March 23, 1999.
QUINTA. The Ministry of Development Planning, will incorporate in its structure an organizational area
intended to comply with the provisions of this Law.
SIXTH. This Law applies to all forms of economic organization of the plural economy, in the
terms and conditions established in this.
The Executive Body shall regulate this Law by Supreme Decree.
OPENING AND ABROGATORY DISPOSITION
ONLY.
I. The following normative provisions are opened:
Law No. 1182, of Investments, of September 17, 1990.
Law No. 1330, Privatization, April 24, 1992.
Law No. 1544, of Capitalization, of March 21, 1994.
Supreme Decree No. 23230-A, dated July 30, 1992.
II. All provisions contrary to this Law shall be abrogated and repealed.
Remit to the Executive Body for constitutional purposes.
It is given in the Session Room of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, at twenty-five days of the month of March
of the year two thousand fourteen.
Fdo. Eugenio Rojas Aapza, Marcelo William Elio Chavez, Marcelo E. Antezana Ruiz, Roxana Camargo
Fernandez, Nelson Virreira Meneces, Angel David Cortes Villegas.
Therefore, it has been enacted to comply with the law of the State. Plurinational Bolivia.
Palace of Government of the city of La Paz, four days of the month of April of the year two thousand fourteen.
FDO. EVO MORALES AYMA, Juan Ramon Quintana Taborga, Elba Viviana Caro Hinojosa, Luis Alberto Arce
Catacora, Elizabeth Sandra Gutierrez Salazar, Ana Teresa Morales Olivera, Amanda Davila Torres.
