New Market Surveillance Protocol

Through Resolution 56/2026, the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce approved a Market Surveillance Protocol applicable to products marketed in Argentina and to measuring instruments used in commercial transactions. The Resolution was published in the Official Gazette on March 9, 2026, and was issued within the framework of Decree 274/2019 on Fair Trade, Consumer Protection Law 24240, and Legal Metrology Law 19511.

The Protocol does not introduce new technical requirements for products. Instead, it systematizes and reinforces the existing control and enforcement framework by establishing clear criteria, procedures, and priorities for the market surveillance actions to be carried out by the enforcement authority. It especially provides a uniform framework for document reviews, on site inspections, border controls, and products sampling and testing.

One of the key features of the Resolution is that it adopts a risk based approach, under which the authority will prioritize enforcement actions based on factors such as the product’s impact on consumer health and safety, the volume of commercialization, and the operator’s history of non compliance. As a result, certain market participants—due to their scale, track record, or type of product—may be subject to increased scrutiny and control measures.

The Resolution is particularly relevant for manufacturers, importers, and distributors, as well as for parties using measuring instruments in commercial operations, as it reinforces their responsibilities throughout control procedures. Among other aspects, it provides that proceedings will be conducted through the Remote Procedures Platform (TAD) and that the parties responsible for the inspected products or instruments must comply with specific obligations regarding the samples taken for testing.

Where non compliance is detected, the Protocol allows initiating sanctioning proceedings, which may result in fines, bans on commercialization, product recalls, or other measures provided for under applicable regulations, notwithstanding the liabilities that may arise under other legal regimes.

Resolution 56/2026 represents a qualitative shift in the way market surveillance is exercised, by making controls over products circulating in the market more structured and predictable—while also more demanding—thereby underscoring the importance of proactive regulatory compliance management.