On May 4, 2020, the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic published Resolution No. 141/20 of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, which modifies the procedure for applications for authorization to import non-hazardous waste.
Decree No. 181/92 regulates the prohibition of importing waste, scrap or garbage from other countries, establishing in its article 2 that it includes those waste or garbage, not included in its Annex I, coming from the recycling or material recovery of waste that are not accompanied by a certificate of health and environmental safety issued prior to shipment by the competent authority of the country of origin and/or provenance and ratified by the implementing authority.
For its part, Resolution No. 946/02 establishes the instructions for processing applications for authorization to import non-hazardous waste or residues pursuant to the regime of Decree No. 181/92.
Within this framework, Resolution No. 141/20 (hereinafter the “Resolution”) amended Articles 1, 3, and 4 of Resolution No. 946/02 and replaced (i) the instructions for processing applications for authorization to import non-hazardous waste (Annex I); (ii) the regulations for processing applications for authorization to import non-hazardous waste (Annex II), and (iii) the model for proof of authorization from the National Director of Chemical Substances and Products for partial shipments (Annex III).
In essence, the new regulation establishes that natural or legal persons requesting authorization from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development for the importation of waste or residues, pursuant to the regime of PEN Decree No. 181/92, must adjust their authorization request to the requirements and conditions set forth in the instructions attached as Annex I to the Resolution.
Furthermore, the Resolution modifies the validity period of the authorization from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development contemplated in Resolution No. 946/02, whose validity was shortened from one year to four months, starting on the day following notification of the corresponding resolution.
It should be noted that when merchandise whose import has been authorized enters the national territory through successive partial shipments, all of these shipments must be made within that four-month period.
In this case, the Resolution authorizes the Secretary of Environmental Control and Monitoring to sign, on each occasion, the authorization certificates for the entry of such goods.
