Tax and customs experts analyzed, in Guayaquil, the content of the Economic Development and Fiscal Sustainability Law that has been in force since November.
Like a change from vision on investment attraction issues for the country considers Eduardo Egas, executive president of the Corporation for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Corps) to the Economic Development and Fiscal Sustainability Law.
In the rule, which went into effect on November 29, it is set aside a series of incentives that existed for investments; it establishes new rules for oil contracts and even introduces certain telecommunications issues.
The Economic Development Law entered into force upon being promulgated by the Official Registry
The head of the union said, during an event held in Guayaquil, that the norm deals with “Level the playing field” and set aside the incentive as a method of attracting investment to the country.
“The benefits are eliminated by differentiated sectors, that is to say, it is aimed at that more items are interested in attracting capital,” added Egas, who explained that in the last twelve years FDI has been concentrated in natural resources, services and manufacturing.
For Egas there is a whole change of institutionality with the law. In other words, fewer institutions intervene to achieve an investment.
Ecuador, the leader explained, maintains a reduced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) compared to other countries in the region such as Colombia and Peru. For example, he cited, one of the largest investors in the country is Canada. However, this nation has invested more than 20 times its value in Peru and more than 10 times in Colombia compared to that made in Ecuador.
Currently, the repair that is made from the guild is that errors are solved such as the issue of the elimination of the Special Zones of Economic Development (ZEDE) and that these be included and regulated in the new Investment Law project that the Executive expects to send.
In customs matters, Francisco Gottifredi, A member of the firm Gottifredi & Pozo, affirmed that the new Law marks milestones to point towards the facilitation of trade and better customs control in the country. In this last point, he added to the inclusion within the norm of a section related to high-tech scanning systems.
According to the lawyer, with the rule one also walks towards the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which Ecuador has been a party since 2019.
He cited, for example, the total elimination of the cost of freight on the tax base for the calculation of customs duties. “This enables imports to pay less tariffs and taxes when entering the country, which translates into a reduction in costs for a segment hit by the increase in maritime freight,” he said.
Elimination of the cost of freight from the tax base seeks to provide relief to importers
In tax matters, Pablo guevara, a consultant for the Andersen firm in Ecuador, qualified that in the new standard the main winners are those of the microenterprise segment. In addition, he reiterated that the rules of the Economic Development Law that deal with the determination of income tax (periodic tax) must be applied from the next fiscal period (2022). (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
