The telecommunications giant, Millicom – which operates under the Tigo trademark in Central America – has acquired all of Telefónica’s subsidiaries in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. Together with Davis Polk, BLP advised its client throughout the acquisition process, from the elaboration of the due diligence study and the regulatory analysis of the transaction to…
Author Archives: blp_admin
Repeal of the Tax on Financial Transaction Law On May 28, 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice repealed the Tax on Financial Transactions Law (“TFTL”) which levies upon financial operations undertaken in El Salvador. The Supreme Court argued that the Legislative Assembly had violated the constitutional procedure for enacting laws because the text of the…
It is necessary to go back to September 1999, during the Rodríguez Echeverría administration and as part of the “National Concertation Forum”. The convenience and necessity of de-monopolizing the insurance market in order to open it up to private competition were discussed. For promoters, the opening of the insurance market in Costa Rica would improve…
Generally, a person invests in a corporation to obtain, eventually, economic advantages. The right to the dividend is acquired inherently, by virtue of being a shareholder, in a commercial company. The doctrine has classified it as a patrimonial right (with economic content) that the shareholder has against the corporate entity, unlike political rights (for example,…
On February 6th, 2018, the Legislative Assembly adopted the last amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This is the sixth amendment that has been made to the Montreal Protocol, an agreement designed to phase-down the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, thereby reducing their potential release into the atmosphere….
The Special Public Economic Development Zones (ZDEPs) in Guatemala emerged as a legal possibility after the reforms to the Law of the Santo Tomás de Castilla Free Zone (ZOLIC) were approved by a qualified majority of the Congress of the Republic in the year 2008. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and despite the existence of a regulation…
Due to the reform of the Tax Agreement Law published on February 28, 2019, the tax burden on the importation of juices, soft drinks, and energy drinks increased both in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and in the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC): a) Value Added Tax Previously the tax was calculated on the customs value…
On February 28, 2019, upon publication in the Official Journal, the Gazette, the Law of Amendments and Additions to law No. 822, Tax Agreement Law (Law No. 987), which modifies significant elements of the majority of the taxes contained in the Tax Agreement Law (hereinafter the “LCT”) entered into force. Subsequently, on March 15, 2019,…
The world is changing and with it, people change their natural and legal status (companies, societies, associations, foundations, etc.), change their personal relationships, and consequently change their social and commercial relationships. With so much change, nothing is certain in life, except for two things that the president of the United States George Washington mentioned in…
The high flow of immigration and the relocation of foreign employees managed by national and transnational companies in Costa Rica mean that there is a need to obtain work permits in the shortest possible time and with the least risks and contingencies for companies. When hiring foreign personnel for its work structure, a company must…

