The Regulatory Agency of the Hemp and Medical Cannabis Industry (the “ARICCAME”) established a new procedure for the application and granting of licenses for activities specifically related to non-psychoactive Industrial Hemp (seed, grain, fiber). On October 21, 2024, the ARICCAME issued Resolution No. 1/2024 (the “Resolution”), establishing a new procedure for applying and granting licenses for activities related to non-psychoactive industrial hemp (seeds, grain, fiber). This procedure applies to both new applications and those that have not yet been approved by the Resolution’s effective date.
The Resolution introduces two mandatory, non-transferable types of licenses, valid for five (5) years from their issuance:
- Agricultural license, for activities related to non-psychoactive hemp (seed, grain, and fiber), which includes the cultivation, multiplication, and transportation of hemp seeds, grain, and/or fiber, in whole or in part, its derivatives, and/or biomass; and
- Industrial license, for activities related to non-psychoactive hemp (seed, grain, and fiber), including the importation, exportation, commercialization, transportation, distribution, storage, preservation, packaging, processing, and other related services for hemp seeds, grain, and/or fiber, in whole or in part, its derivatives, and/or biomass.
Once the license is secured, their holders must:
- Comply with the conditions set out in the Regulatory Framework for the Development of the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Industry.
- Require and display the license to those with whom they intend to conduct transactions involving hemp seeds, grain, and/or fiber.
- Report any unusual or suspicious operations they become aware of to ARICCAME.
- Accommodate visits from ARICCAME and other control, inspection, and auditing agencies.
- Submit sworn statements of plant material stock (seeds, grain, fiber) in May and October of each year.
- Provide any information and documentation requested by competent oversight entities.
- Update the license if conditions under which it was granted change.
- Begin licensed activities within one year of issuance.
- Ensure that only the license holder or the designated responsible party performs the licensed activities.
Agricultural license holders must also submit a plan for the upcoming cultivation campaign, indicating its georeferencing and dimensions, along with the October sworn statement, and pay an annual fee. Industrial license holders must submit an annual sworn statement in October detailing their invoicing for licensed activities and pay 0.5% of their invoicing as a regulatory and oversight fee.
