Public Registry of Commerce - New Method of Written Notifications

On December 9, 2014, the Public Registry of Commerce of the City of Buenos Aires (hereinafter, the “PRC”) issued General Resolution 3/2014 (hereinafter, “Resolution 3/2014”) adding a new method to notify its decisions or observations. Resolution 3/2014 was published in the Official Gazette on December 11, 2014 and it came into full force and effect the day after publication.

Resolution 3/2014 was issued in order to accelerate proceedings before the PRC, adding a new method of written notifications, capable of proving not only reception but also content. This new method of notifications is established in Section 41 of Decree No. 1759/1972 (hereinafter, “Section 41”), statutory of Argentine Administrative Proceedings Law No. 19549. Section 41 establishes that notifications can be made by an official letter such as an express certificate with acknowledgment of receipt, and that the official letter and the attached documents must be exhibited in an open envelope to the authorized postal agent, who will seal them along with copies, which will be added to the file. This evidence, together with the notice of receipt referred back to by the mail service company, proves the notification.

Section 43 of Decree No. 1759/1972 (hereinafter, “Section 43”) establishes that the grounds and the enacting terms of the resolution subject to the notification must be transcribed in the notification, unless edicts or broadcasting are used, in which case only the enacting terms must be transcribed. Section 43 also establishes that the transcription of the grounds and the enacting terms of the resolution subject to the notification can be replaced by adding an integral and certified copy of the resolution, by leaving record of this in the text of the official letter. This is a method of notification that gives certainty to the receipt by the interested person and to the content of the administrative act.

Resolution 3/2014 modifies Section 12 of Annex A, of the General Resolution 7/2005 to establish that the following resolutions shall be subject to notifications by certificate or by an official letter such as an express certificate with acknowledgment of receipt from the PRC:

a)  resolutions which make observations or serve notice, unless it is expressly provided that the notification must be performed in person in the pertinent area of the PRC;

b)  resolutions which require means of evidence, except for those produced automatically by the PRC;

c)  resolutions which contain summons or warnings;

d)  resolutions which provide the resumption of suspended periods;

e)  resolutions which implement corrective or disciplinary measures or which refer to the proceedings for said purpose to other competent authorities or bodies with powers of such character;

f)   resolutions which require the citation of a person not related to the proceedings;

g)  resolutions given as definitive or interlocutory;

h)  resolutions given by the General Inspector of Justice; and

i)   any other resolution specially established by this regulation or another supplementary regulation to be notified by this method or in any case in which the notification by certificate is established by agreeing to the circumstances of the proceedings or acts performed in the proceedings.

This method will be implemented through a claim letter (servicio de confronte y sellado) sealed by the postal service company “Correo Argentino”.