Argentina becomes a pre-closing jurisdiction by Nov. 2026

The incorporation of the ANC was significantly advanced by means of Decree 803/2025, which modified Decree 480/2018—implementing regulation of the Antitrust Law 27,442 (the “Antitrust Law”)—clearing the path for its immediate deployment. The main amendments entailed the removal of the sixty-day period for the exercise of its functions, for the issuance of internal regulations and for the exercise of the faculties in Section 28 of the Antitrust Law; the ratification of the number of members that need to be designated for the ANC to start operating; and clarification on which body exercises the functions under Section 28.

On November 14, 2025, through Decree 810/2025, the ANC was formally established, and the following members were appointed: Eduardo Montamat (President of the Antitrust Tribunal), Lucas Trevisani (Member of the Antitrust Tribunal), Marcelo D’Amore (Member of the Antitrust Tribunal), Ana Parente (Secretary of Anticompetitive Conducts), and Germán Zamorano (Secretary of Economic Concentrations).

The creation of the ANC will bring forth several changes in antitrust enforcement in Argentina, of which the following should be highlighted.

Pursuant to Section 84 of the Antitrust Law, now that the ANC has been incorporated, the pre-closing system in Argentina will become operational one year afterwards (namely, November 17, 2026, since Decree 803/2025 was published in the Official Gazette on November 17, 2025).

Transactions closing after this date will be subject to the new regime and, as such, parties shall have to consider that the notification process will now have to be approved by the ANC for the parties to close the transaction. This is a very important departure from the current system, since merger control review in Argentina has been carried out on a post-closing manner ever since the introduction of the system over 25 years ago.

Furthermore, upon creation of the ANC, the current double-tier system in Argentina (by means of which the Antitrust Commission issued an opinion which had to be later approved by the Secretary of Trade), will no longer be operational. The consolidation of the decision-making process in one single authority is expected to significantly improve the timing on cases.

The creation of the ANC constitutes a significant milestone in the enforcement of the Antitrust Law by entirely reshaping the enforcement process of antitrust matters.