ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Agustin Ferrari and Astrid Nottebohm, Naveira, Truffat, Martínez, Ferrari & Mallo Abogados
• the National Administration of Civil Aviation has been instructed by the executive branch to establish procedures permitting airlines to request authorisation – subjected to cer - tain safety conditions – to use foreign crew members and/or foreign aircraft to operate domestic flights (this has allowed Flybondi to wet-lease foreign aircraft during the 2025 summer high season). Rural Land The Rural Land Law limits ownership of land by foreign persons and entities (defined as control by a foreign person) as follows: • no more than 15% of land (calculated on national territory and on the territory of the province and county) can be owned by for - eign persons; • foreign persons of the same foreign national - ity cannot hold more than 30% of the above- mentioned 15% limit; • rural land owned by foreign individuals may not exceed 1,000 hectares in core zones or the equivalent surface area as determined by the Interministerial Council of Rural Lands; core zones represent the most fertile agricul - tural lands of Argentina; and • foreign persons are prohibited from acquiring riparian land along large and permanent bod - ies of water. Foreign investors interested in acquiring rural land that are not included in the exceptions list - ed hereafter are required to obtain a certificate of approval to purchase the rural land issued by the Office of the National Registry of Rural Land. Foreigners i) with ten or more years of con - tinuous residency in Argentina; ii) with sons or daughters who are Argentine citizens and have five years of continuous residency in Argentina;
or iii) those married to or in a registered domes - tic partnership with an Argentine citizen for five years and with an equally long continuous resi - dency in Argentina are exempt from the restric - tions of the Rural Land Law. Border Security Zones Foreigners are generally prohibited from owning or possessing land in designated border secu - rity zones. Border security zones are considered sensitive for national security and sovereignty reasons. If a foreigner wishes to acquire land in these areas, they must obtain prior consent from the Ministry of the Interior. Foreign Argentine nat - uralised persons with less than five years of con - tinuous residency in Argentina, non-naturalised foreign persons, and foreign entities (incorpo - rated abroad or controlled by foreigners) must undergo a cumbersome administrative process considered “exceptional” , requiring them to submit an investment plan in which they must prove the public interest of the project. Natu - ralised persons with at least ten years of con - tinuous residency in Argentina are also required to undergo an administrative process to obtain an authorisation, but rather than “exceptional” it is considered an “ordinary” process aimed at determining national security is not at risk (ie, by Under the Argentine Competition Act (ACA), cer - tain transactions must be filed for merger control and are subject to the approval of the Argentine Antitrust Commission (AAC). The obligation to submit a transaction to merger control depends both on whether: i) there is a change of control in a company or part of a company with activities or assets in Argentina; and ii) certain thresholds are met. Both of the following thresholds must be met: checking for criminal records). 2.4 Antitrust Regulations
39
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook