UIA news: regulations, productive development programs and meeting with Minister Matías Kulfas

Dear Partners,

We are contacting you to convey some news regarding:

1. BCRA: new circular on access to financing for companies with pension debts
2. SME Productive Development Program: financing for MSMEs with FONDEP ANRs
3. Procedure to access reduction of employer contributions
4. Payment plans for earnings and personal assets: extension of improvements in conditions
5. Press report on the visit of Minister of Productive Development Matías Kulfas and Secretary of Industry Ariel Schale

RULES AND PRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

1. BCRA: new circular on access to financing for companies with pension debts

After UIA's efforts before the BCRA and the Ministry of Productive Development, the BCRA published the Communication “C” 90926 to reiterate to banking entities that pension debts should not impede access to financing for companies.

In this way, companies that at the time of requesting a bank loan have pension debts are authorized to take out loans, as long as they use a part of the financing to fully cancel said debts (according to General Resolution No. 4128 of the AFIP).

For any additional questions, please contact the Head of the PYMI and Regional Development Department, Francisco Abramovich at fabramovich@uia.org.ar.

2. SME Productive Development Program: financing for MiPYMEs with ANRs from FONDEP

The SEPYME announced the launch of the SME Productive Development Program, whichHe grants Non-Refundable Contributions (ANR) of up to $40 million for projects of:

• productive transformation
• develop the value chain
• increase your MSME exports

It is for industrial or agro-industrial MSMEs. The deadline is until November 21.

The minimum ANR amount is $3 million and the maximum is $40 million, and up to 70% of the project can be covered. The concepts that can be financed are:

• Consulting and technical assistance services, to incorporate improvements in technical, commercial and productive aspects.
• Acquisition of capital goods such as fixed assets, machinery or new machinery parts; equipment, installations and start-up; plant expansion or technological modernization and intangible assets.
• Incremental working capital associated withproject, which contemplates the acquisition of inputs, raw materials and intermediate goods or salaries of new personnel incorporations without including the payment of contributions or social security contributions. You can allocate a maximum of 10% of the ANR amount in this area.

Projects linked to sustainable development, export development, digital transformation, eco-innovation, productive reconversion, opening of new business models, design and development of new products or product lines, and those that incorporate actions aimed at mitigating inequalities will be prioritized. gender.

Requirements:

• Have a valid MSME Certificate at the time of registration.
• Be registered in the Single Registry of the Productive Matrix (RUMP) with updated information.
• Be a legal personca.
• Have 2 years or more of verifiable economic activity.
• Be registered with the AFIP and be in the normal course of compliance with tax and pension obligations.

The procedure is via TAD. For more information you can consult: https ://www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/acceder-finamiento-para-el-desarrollo-productivo-de-tu-pyme.

For any additional questions, please contact the Head of the PYMI and Regional Development Department, Francisco Abramovich at fabramovich@uia.org.ar.

3.Procedure to access reduction of employer contributions

The AFIP and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security established the procedureto access the benefit provided by the Decree 493/2021 (RG 5083/2021).

We remember that it consists of a reduction of 90% or 95% of employer contributions (depending on whether they are men, on the one hand; or women, transvestites, transsexuals, transgender people or people with disabilities, on the other) in those hiring of people who They have participated or participate in educational, vocational training and labor intermediation programs, and as long as they increase the employer's payroll.

Thus, to have access to this benefit, employers, as well as workers, must register in the “Employment Portal” (https://portalempleo.gob.ar/) of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

Employers eligible for the benefit will be able to view – on the aforementioned portal – people who are looking for employment and are potential recipients of the contribution reduction. Once the hiring is completed by the employer, AFIP will validate the data to proceed to approve the benefit.

Once approved, it will be reflected in the characterization of the employer in the “Registration System”, and in that of the worker, both in the application “Social Security Obligations Calculation System – SICOSS ”, as in the “Online Declaration” service.

For any additional questions, please contact the Department of Social Policy laurag@uia.org.ar / social@uia.org.ar or to the Department of Tax Policy lucioc@uia.org.ar/tributaria@ uia.org.ar.

4. Payment plans for earnings and personal assets: extension of improvements in conditions

Through the RG 5080/2021, AFIP extended until December 30 November the possibility of regularizing income tax and personal property tax obligations (in the terms of the RG 4057/2017) without taking into account the SIPER risk profile, provided that trate of risk categories A, B, C or D. Previously, this possibility was available until today, September 30.

In this way, all taxpayers (except those in risk category E) can access a payment plan with a 25% advance payment and up to 3 installments.

For any additional questions, please contact the Head of the Tax Policy Department, Lucio Cardinale Lagomarsino at lucioc@uia.org.ar/tributaria@uia.org.ar.

5. Press release attached for Minister Matías Kulfas' visit to the UIA

The Presidential Committee of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), headed by the president of the institution, Daniel Funes de Rioja, met with the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, and the Secretary of Industry, Knowledge Economy and External Commercial Management, Ariel Schale. The agenda of the meeting included a review of the institutional agenda, the promotion of productive investments, the promotion of value-added exports, the impact of the increase in logistics costs at a global level and the strategies to strengthen MERCOSUR in order to consolidate the regional integration.

The Presidency Committee of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), headed by the president of the institution, Daniel Funes de Rioja, met with the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, and the Secretary of Industry, Knowledge Economy and External Commercial Management, Ariel Schale. The agenda of the meeting included a review of the institutional agenda, the promotion of productive investments, the promotion of exports with agricultural valueirrigated, the impact of the increase in logistics costs at a global level and the strategies to strengthen MERCOSUR in order to consolidate regional integration.

At the beginning of the meeting, the evolution of industrial activity and future prospects were analyzed. In addition, the agenda of topics that the institution is working on was reviewed regarding initiatives that allow the potential of productive investments, value-added exports and the generation of formal employment to be deployed, as well as technical-professional training for the employability of Young. In addition, the recovery of the activity of SMEs and the importance of consolidating an improvement in the labor market was highlighted.

The importance of the MERCOSUR Industrial Council (CIM) was another focus of the meeting. Within the framework of the CIM, theEntities representing the region's industry work on the impact of the global agenda on regional integration. In this sense, the relevance of a productive MERCOSUR was considered based on the challenges that will arise in terms of international trade and production. Funes de Rioja highlighted that it will be “key to strengthen regional cooperation within the regional bloc. It is essential that governments and productive sectors work to improve the quality of life of citizens. "Strengthening regional value chains is one of the keys to achieving this, incorporating new technologies and generating quality employment that contributes to fighting poverty and the existing asymmetries in our region." 

For his part, Kulfas highlighted “the fact of having a constructive agenda to continue strengthening industrial developmenttrial and to work on the post-pandemic growth path, which generates new opportunities for the development of different industrial sectors in Argentina. It is an agenda shared with the UIA and with all industrial sectors."

Another of the topics addressed during the meeting was the cost overruns in international maritime freight and its impact on foreign trade, which is estimated to take at least two years to return to pre-pandemic prices - which adds to the difficulty in obtaining containers. 

At the close of the meeting, the UIA authorities, Minister Kulfas and Secretary Schale agreed on the need for the technical teams of the institution and the Ministry of Productive Development to continue working on the agenda of topics that were addressed during the meeting. meeting.

They accompanied the President of UIA, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez,Eduardo Nougués, Luis Tendlarz, Adrián Kaufmann Brea, Guillermo Moretti, Miguel Acevedo, Carlos Garrera, David Uriburu, Matías Furió, Martín Rapallini and Diego Coatz. On behalf of the Ministry of Productive Development, the minister of that portfolio, Matías Kulfas, and the secretary of Industry, Knowledge Economy and External Commercial Management, Ariel Schale, were present.