Law No. 13,723

FOREST RESOURCES AND ECONOMY

IS DECLARED OF NATIONAL INTEREST, DEFENSE, IMPROVEMENT, EXPANSION AND CREATION OF RESOURCES, AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELATED INDUSTRIES.

DECREE:

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Title I

GENERAL PROVISIONS


Article 1 °.
State of national interest the defense, improvement, expansion and creation of the forest resources
, and the development of forest industries and, in general, of the forest economy.

Article 2 °.
The national forest policy will be formulated and implemented by the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture and must be fundamentally oriented towards the fulfillment of national interest mentioned in the previous article.

Article 3 °.
The provisions of this law shall be governed by the provisions of this law, all forests, parks and forest land within the national territory.

Article 4 °.
For the purposes of this law, forests are all land covered by plant associations in which trees of any size predominate, exploited or otherwise, and which are in conditions of produce wood or other forest products or exert some influence on the hydrological or climate regime, or provide shelter to livestock and wildlife or other benefits of national interest

Article 5 °.
For the purposes of this law, it is forest land that, tree or not:

(a) For their soil, altitude, climate, location and other characteristics, they are unsuitable for any other permanent and profitable exploitation or destination; and

b) Those who are qualified as such by resolution of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture for reasons of public utility

Article 6 °.
The Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture will be the executive body in forestry and will be in charge of compliance with this law.

Article 7 °.
Without prejudice to the above article, the Forest Management will have the following special tasks:

a) Promote forest development in all its productive stages through research activities, outreach and outreach.

b) To study and plan the development of the national forest economy, analyze its costs of production, prices and markets and to censor the forestry and industrial productive means.

c) Encourage and plan afforestation on private or public lands and develop all activities that are foreseen in this law for this purpose.

d) Increase and improve the production and distribution of plants and seeds for afforestation.

e) Attend public institutions and private forest owners, in the management of natural or artificial formations and their national exploitation.

f) Plan development and promote the installation and technification of the processing industries of wood forest products, pulp, paper and other types.

g) Manage, conserve and use the State's forest heritage, in accordance with the provisions of this law.

h) Organize protection of forests against diseases, parasites, fires and other causes of destruction.

i) Develop experimentation in the field of forest ecology, exploitation and forest industries, in coordination with activities in this field that develop other institutions.

j) Collaborate with the Forestry Honorary Board.

Title II

OF THE PARTICULAR FORESTS

Article 8 °.
Particular forests will be classified according to their purposes, in the following ways:

a) Protectors,. where they are primarily intended to conserve water, water and other renewable natural resources.

(b) Performance, where the main purpose is the production of woody or alloyed materials and are of particular national interest to the location or to the class of wood or other forest products which may be obtained from them; and

c) General, when they do not have the protective or performance characteristics.

The qualification of the protective and performance forests will be made by the Forest Management, at their initiative or at the request of the interested parties. In this second case, they must present:

-A circumstantial report, when it comes to classifying an existing forest, or
-A project of afforestation, when it comes to creating a protective or performance forest.

Article 9 °.
The Forest Address will bring records that will be registered as a protective or performance-grade forest.

Article 10.
The Forestry Directorate, within the deadline set by the regulations, will proceed to the field, of any forest declared protective or performance.

Article 11.
The unlinde operations shall be carried out by the officials of the Forestry Directorate, in the presence of the person concerned or his representative and shall be immediately materialized on the ground, by means of the the placement of the mowers or other peripheral immovable signals, the location of which shall be indicated on a plane which shall be drawn up for the purpose, in the presence of the parties and shall be signed by them.

Article 12.
Existing or future-planted artificial forests, declared protective or performance, according to Article 8 ° and natural forests declared protective according to the aforementioned Article, as well as the land occupied or directly affected by it, will enjoy the following benefits of tax exemption:

1 °) Free of all national tax on rural property;

2 °) Their respective values or extensions shall not be computed for the purposes of determining: (a) income or income for the purposes of the liquidation of taxes on the income or minimum production payable on holdings (b) the taxable amount of the estate tax.

Article 13.
On taxes on inheritances and similar acts, replacement of inheritances and real estate transfers, related to real estate occupied by forests that are in the intended conditions for the previous article, the value of the plantations will not be computed to determine the taxable amount. Also, in the case of inheritance tax and similar acts, the payment of the levy which corresponds to the land occupied by these forests shall be deferred at the request of the person concerned after obtaining the opinion of the Forestry Directorate. the following terms:

(a) Performance forests, for the period necessary for forest production to allow payment, not being able to extend for more than twenty years, counted from the date the forest was planted; and

b) Protective forests, the tax shall be paid in three equal annual instalments. In any case, the deferred payments will only experience a 1% (one percent) monthly interest rate surcharge.

Article 14.
The tax benefits provided for in Articles 12 and 13 shall cease from the time the forest is destroyed for any cause.
If the destruction is partial the benefits mentioned
.
When the total or partial destruction of the forest is intentionally caused or by serious fault and the responsibility corresponds to the owner, the administration will demand payment of the surcharges for arrears from the time the tax has been deferred by application of the foregoing Article, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 36 and Title VII.

Article 15.
For the setting of afora and appraisals, the value of the land and the plantations will be determined separately.

Article 16.
The cost of a plantation, will be considered integrated by the following items:

(a) sums paid directly or indirectly to enable, prepare, carry out and conserve plantations;
(b) the annual income of the land occupied, and
(c) Interest, capitalised annually on the items set out in the previous Incisos, from the time of payment or imputation and at a rate equal to that laid down in Article 4 ° of the law N ° 5.180, dated December 24, 1914, for mortgage collateral obligations.

The members of the cost according to this article, will be updated according to the laws and regulations that, for the revaluation of the movable property, rijan at the moment of their determination.

Article 17.
When tree plantations, qualified under Article 8 °, are carried out in whole or in part in rural areas within a 5-kilometer strip on either side of the railway lines present or future, the tax exemptions and the guarantees provided for in this law will be further extended to a surface equal to that of the contiguous area, which will be considered directly affected; the area released must be property of the natural or legal person making the afforestation.

Article 18.
The State guarantees that no new tax burden, unless expressly stated, will directly or indirectly affect the forest plantations qualified under Article 8 of the present law, nor the grounds for its radication.

Article 19.
The loans provided for in this Section will be met with the Forest Fund under Title VI of this Law.
Will be requested from the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, to which it is responsible.
grant of loans will be granted for afforestation, natural regeneration of forests, forest management and protection. Among the afforestation work, the installation and development of forest nurseries will also be included.
Credits for existing or projected forestations will be agreed, provided they have been rated as protective or
prejudice to the loans granted by the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, under its normal resources, the amount of the loans will be up to 75% (seventy-five percent) of the value of the loan. direct investment, excluding from the field.

The terms, interests and other conditions of the loans will be in accordance with the rules of this law and those agreed by the Ministry of Gameria and Agriculture and the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, which may require any guarantee, even real, as well as monitoring the fate of the funds.

Article 20.
The Forestry Directorate shall exercise the technical control of the forest nurseries benefiting from the loans provided for in the previous article, whether for their own use for commercial purposes.

Article 21.
In the case of the disposal of forged buildings, the Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay, with the advice of the Forestry Directorate, may or may not transfer, in whole or in part to the acquirer, the credits and guarantees referred to in this law.

Article 22.
If the forest benefited by the loan is destroyed by any cause, the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay may require immediate payment of the balance due and interest.
Forester management determines that the destruction cannot be directly or indirectly imputed to the loan beneficiary, may grant a reasonable time for the payment and its patrimonial liability will be limited to the value of the property, on the surface afforested.

Article 23.
In the granting of loans, priority will be given to those who apply to plant on forest land that together meet the conditions laid down in the Incisos A) and B) of the article. 5 °.

Article 24.
To benefit from the tax and credit benefits set forth in this Chapter, stakeholders must submit to a management and management plan for cultural, operating, and regeneration of forests. This plan must be approved by the Forestry Directorate, which will establish in general, when it must be accompanied by the firm of agronomist, Technical or Forestry Expert of the School of Forestry of the University of the Uruguay.

Administrative resources that stand against resolutions that deny or remove such benefits will have suspensory effect.

Article 25.
The planting of protective forests on all land that requires them is mandatory. It is also mandatory to afforestation with performance forests, of the land located in the areas designated for reasons of public convenience. The designation of the declared land of compulsory afforestation is a matter for the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, on a proposal from the Forestry Directorate.

Article 26.
The resolution referred to in the previous article will determine the conditions and deadlines within which the afforestation will be executed, which will be covered by all tax and credit benefits.
The owner who, being able to benefit from the aforementioned loan, does not want to do the job, will be able to opt for the sale of the land to third parties or the State; in the first case, he will offer it with preference to the occupier. In the case of leasehold or sharecropping premises, the occupant shall be obliged to allow the owner to carry out the afforestation work. Where the afforested area exceeds 5% (5%) of the total area of land, the price of the lease shall be reduced proportionally, as long as the area occupied by the forest is not usable for the occupant.

Article 27.
Due to the deadlines set out in the previous article, without the owner making the plantation, the Executive Branch, on the proposal of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, will expropriate total or partially the predium. The expropriated area will enter the State Forestry Heritage.

Article 28.
Without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing Article, as long as the plantation or the Executive Branch is not carried out, the property shall not be expropriated, due to the time limits in the first paragraph of Article 26. owner will pay a fine of 1%. (one per thousand) real monthly real estate fixed by the General Directorate of Catastro and Administration of National Furniture.

Article 29.
The Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, after a report from the Forestry Directorate, may revoke the resolution that forces afforestation when:

a) Trying to plantation protective forests, the owner presents substitute, total or partial solutions, that allow the same purpose to be fulfilled, or

b) Trying to plant performance forests, the owner demonstrates that the land is essential for the development of his or her own needs and their direct family core.

Title III

THE FOREST HERITAGE OF THE STATE

Article 30.
All forests and forest land defined in Articles 4 and 5 that are the property of the State at the date of enactment of this law and those acquired in the future, make up the State Forest Heritage, being under the auspices of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture.

Article 31.
The Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, through the Forestry Directorate, will provide its conservation, protection, expansion, improvement and rational utilization.
Nationals of Santa Teresa and San Miguel, who will continue to be led and managed by the Honoraria Restoration and Conservation Commission of the Fortaleza de Santa Teresa and Fuerte San Miguel (law N ° 8,172, 26 of December of 1927 and article 12 of the law N ° 12.802, 30 November 1960).

Article 32.
The forests that integrate the State Forestry Heritage will be National Parks or Fiscal Forests.
National Parks will be declared by resolution of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, on a proposal from the Forestry Directorate. The National Parks shall be destined for tourist, recreational, scientific and cultural purposes and shall not be subject to any exploitation, except for the general interest to be created.
The Fiscal Forests shall be constituted, without express declaration, by the portion of the Forest Heritage that is not found in the case of the previous paragraph. They can be exploited only under a management plan, management and improvements prepared by the Forestry Directorate, approved by the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture and executed by the Directorate, either directly or through agreement with others. public or para-state bodies, private companies or cooperatives.

Article 33.
Emerging income from the use of forests administered by the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture will be discharged directly to the Forestry Fund. In turn, the same Fund will finance the forestry, improvement, management and exploitation works that the Forestry Directorate will carry out in the Forest Heritage.
Such funding will take precedence over loans to private individuals.

Article 34.
The Forest Management will qualify the forests that make up the State Forestry Heritage, even if they are not protective or performance and will carry special registers for all of them.
Forest of the State shall be dislocated in the field by the Forest Management in accordance with Articles 10 and 11, within a period of one year from the date of enactment of this law; and within a period of thirty days from its registration in the Registration, when other portions are entered in the future.

Article 35.
Declare of public utility the expropriation of lands that the Executive Branch designates in compliance with Article 27, or for the purpose of extending the Forest Heritage that governs this Title.

Title IV

OF THE PROTECTION OF THE FORESTS

Article 36.
The destruction of the protective and performance forests created according to Article 25 is prohibited. Any operation which does not comply with the plan referred to in Article 24 shall be considered to be destruction of forests and shall, intentionally or intentionally, prevent the development or permanence of the forest. Their elimination can only be done prior to authorization and with the channels to be established by the Forestry Directorate in each case.
Who has destroyed a forest in violation of the precept in the previous paragraph, will be forced to afforestation according to the rules of Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28, not enjoying such effects of the credit benefits conferred by the law.

Article 37.
The destruction of natural palm trees and any operation that attacks their survival is prohibited.
The Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, on a proposal from the Directorate Forestry, for scientific, economic or general interest reasons, may regulate the cutting or exploitation of other forest species or specimens, as well as the use of resins, bark, seeds, leaves or other parts of trees native or exotic foresters.

Article 38.
The departmental governments will not be able to authorize fractionations in declared land of compulsory afforestation by the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, without prior authorization of the same, which does not will be agreed as long as they are not forged.

Article 39.
Protective or performance forests may only be expropriated by the National Institute of Colonization in exceptional cases, subject to the authorization of the Executive Branch, when appropriate to the interest general.

Article 40.
When diseases occur in a forest or parasites are developed that threaten their conservation or that of neighboring forests, those who are aware of this should immediately send notice to the Forest Management. The owner of the forest must comply with the directives imposed on him by the forest management.
The owners of any forest may benefit from the loans provided for in Article 19 to carry out the treatments. Phytosanitary that are required.

Article 41.
The Executive Branch will establish mandatory fire prevention and other forms of forest protection.

Article 42.
Any project of afforestation, management or management of forests, drawn up on the basis of Articles 8 ° and 24, shall provide for a network of anti-fire streets, which shall be kept free of vegetation according to the provisions of this law and of the rules referred to in the previous Article.

The owners of forests adjacent to railways or public roads, must keep the girdles whose dimensions will determine the regulations free of vegetation.

In case of non-compliance with these obligations, the Forestry Directorate may propose the removal of the benefits granted by Articles 12 to 24 of this Law.

The Ministry of Public Works, Governments, Departmental and the Administration of State Railways will keep clean weeds and make firewalls in spaces occupied by roads or railway lines, close to forests.

Article 43.
Loans for forest protection work referred to in Article 19 shall be extended to the works and the elements needed for the protection of forests against fires, such as: control towers, anti-fire streets, technical means of distance pointing and to determine hazard rates, as well as tools and machines for fire intervention in forests.
Loans may also be made to partner groups of stakeholders.
Imports of items intended for these purposes, carried out by the persons concerned, shall enjoy the regime of release provided for in Article 52.

Article 44.
The Forestry Directorate will assist in the constitution and operation of forest owners ' associations, which will at last have the prevention and control of forest fires and pests.
Management may participate in such partnerships when the forests of the members of one of them are close to forests or forest lands belonging to the State Forestry Heritage.

Article 45.
Everyone is required to immediately report to the nearest authority the existence of fire in a forest or its vicinity, or any breach of the protection rules established in the the previous articles.
Government authorities will take all the most rapid and appropriate initiatives in the media and personnel to organise the extinction of forest fires.

Article 46.
Substitute Article 20 (5) of the Rural Code, which will be worded as follows:

" In the cases established in the previous paragraph, if the neighbor, understands that the plantations, even under the conditions indicated, can damage the property, will submit the question to the resolution of the Forestry Directorate.
Forestry shall determine whether or not there is damage and if it exists, it shall fix the minimum distance to which the planting shall be left. '

Article 47.
Substitute Article 12 (3) of the Rural Code, as follows:

" The distance between the posts shall not exceed fifteen metres and the piques shall be placed sufficient for each other not to be more than two metres apart. The posts must be made of woods that offer reasonable natural or acquired durability, and good quality piques and wires. "
The Executive Branch will determine previously to hear from the Forest Management, the woods that can be used as posts.

Article 48.
Forests and forest land belonging to the State Forestry Heritage shall be subject to the protection rules mentioned in the previous Chapter, as applicable.
established by such standards in forest and forest land belonging to the State Forestry Heritage, the Forestry Directorate may:

(a) Temporarily prohibit transit, when climatic or other conditions are particularly favourable to the development of forest fires.

b) Ban the permanent installation of private individuals.

c) Ban the exploitation and partial or total cutting of isolated trees and shrubs of any size and age.

d) To prohibit all or part of the use of the harvest of any product in addition to the wood, when reasons for conservation and protection of natural resources so advise.

e) To prohibit the grazing of domestic animals, by fixing, when authorized, the conditions of payment, the number and species of animals that may be introduced, the area and the dislinds of the area covered by the concession.

The entries deriving from any concession to private individuals on land belonging to the State Forestry Heritage will be entered into the Forestry Fund.

Article 49.
The failure to comply with the protective rules provided for in the previous article will indemnify the Fisco for the direct or indirect damage it would have caused to the State Forestry Heritage. The amount of this compensation will be paid in the Forestry Fund.
The payment of the compensation does not exempt the person responsible for the other penalties provided for in this law, nor those provided for by the Civil Code and the Rural Code.

Article 50.
The Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture may allocate up to 5% (five percent) of the annual collections of the Forest Fund to the organization and support of a Forest Guard service, which will maintain the permanent surveillance of the State Forestry Heritage.

Tullo V

OF THE PROMOTION OF THE FOREST INDUSTRIES

Article 51.
For twenty-five years counted since the enactment of this law, they shall enjoy the facilities specified in the following Articles, provided that they employ domestic production wood, industrial companies engaged in the following activities:

a) Wood exploitation or use of other forest products;
b) Manufacture of wood for the production of cellulose, pulp, paper and cardboard, sawwood, wood and wood veneers, wood and wood panels agglomerated wood: distillation of wood;

c) Preservation and drying of wood.

Article 52.
The Executive Branch, by decree founded, exonerate the importation of the necessary raw materials and equipment, machinery and implements that are required for the installation and operation of these industries, all or part of the following taxes and charges: additional duties and other charges levied by Customs, including tax on imports; provents and port charges; surcharges, pre-deposits and consignations; as well as any other charge on importation or applicable on the occasion of the same. It will be an indispensable condition for the granting of the franchise:

(a) That raw materials, equipment, machinery and equipment to be imported, are not normally produced in the country, under appropriate conditions of quality and price, and

b) That the activity carried out by the beneficiary industry is compatible with the general purposes of forestry policy.

Article 53.
The Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, through the Forestry Directorate, will agree with the Bank of the Republic to grant loans that will be provided by the Forestry Fund and will be granted the small industries among those referred to in Article 51. These loans may be granted up to ten years and will be used to cover the costs of installing these industries and the purchase of necessary machines and tools.
The Executive Branch, through the Ministries of Livestock and Agriculture and Industry and Trade will determine, before the Bank of the Republic, the conditions they will have to meet to be considered small, the industries mentioned in Article 51.
excludes the other benefits provided for in the previous articles.

Title VI

OF THE FOREST FUND

Article 54.
In order to attend to the erogations that the application of this law requires, create the Forest Fund, which will be integrated with the following resources:

a) The sums that the Government assigns to you through the corresponding laws;
b) The repayment of loans granted with resources from the Forest Fund, as well as accrued interest;
c) The product of all kinds of entries by uses or concessions deriving from the management of the State Forestry Heritage in accordance with Articles 33 and 48;
d) The amount of compensation received by the State Forestry Heritage in accordance with Article 49;

e) The amount of fines applied for violations of the provisions of this law and its regulations;

f) The legacies and donations you receive;

g) Funds from loans and other financing that are agreed in accordance with the law.

Article 55.
The amounts that the Forestry Fund will integrate will be deposited directly into a special account at the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, called the Forestry Fund, whose availability is To meet the following requirements:

a) Concessions on afforestation and forest protection provided for in Articles 19, 26, 40 and 43 and to the small industries provided for in Articles 52 and 53;

b) Acquisition of premises as provided for in Articles 26 and 27 and enhanced State Forestry Heritage;

c) Expenditure for the management of the State Forestry Heritage according to Articles 33 and 50.

Article 56.
The resources of the Forestry Fund shall apply to an investment plan that shall be drawn up annually by resolution of the Executive Branch, in agreement with the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture.
annual plans must comply with a national programme for the development of long-term afforestation, which was previously developed and approved by the Ministry (Article 2).
The sums not invested in the budget year will increase the Fund Forestry with cumulative character.

Title VII

OF THE PROCEDURES AND SANCTIONS

Article 57.
The violations of this law or its regulations shall be documented by the officials of the Forestry Directorate. The determination, imposition and enforcement of the respective sanctions shall be the responsibility of the Directorate of the Legal Controller of the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture, in accordance with the procedures laid down by law N ° 10.940, dated September 19, 1947.

Article 58.
The violations of Articles 37, 40, 41, 45, and 48, will be sanctioned with fines of $500.00 (five hundred pesos) at $200,000.00 (two hundred thousand pesos).
In all cases the opinion of the Forestry Directorate will be sought in advance.

Article 59.
Commune, etc.


Chamber of Sessions of the House of Representatives, in Montevideo, on December 13, 1968.




    MINISTRY OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND AGRICULTURE.
      MINISTRY OF FINANCE.
       MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS.
        MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE.
         MINISTRY OF CULTURE.

Montevideo, 16 December 1968

Comply, acknowledge receipt, communicate, post and insert into the National Register of Laws and Decrees.