General Resolution SMV No. JD-3-20 Adopting Special Procedure for Notification of Administrative Acts During COVID-19 National Emergency

Promulgated in Official Gazette No. 28997 of April 7, 2020.
REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SECURITIES MARKET
General Resolution SMV No. JD-3-20
Of April 3, 2020
"That adopts the special procedure for the notification of administrative acts issued pursuant to procedures that are filed and advanced before the Superintendence of the Securities Market, as part of the temporary measures adopted in response to the National Emergency State declared due to COVID-19"

The Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Securities Market, under the exercise of its legal powers, and CONSIDERING:

That Law 67 of September 1, 2011, reformed Decree-Law 1 of July 8, 1999, and created the Superintendence of the Securities Market as an autonomous entity of the State, with legal personality, own assets, and administrative, budgetary, and financial independence.

That the Board of Directors, in accordance with Articles 5, 6, 10 (items 18 and 20), 19, and 20 of the Single Text of the Securities Market Law (hereinafter: Single Text), acts as the Highest Consultative, Regulatory, and Policy-Setting Body of the Superintendence and has among its attributions: issuing the necessary administrative norms for the fulfillment of the functions and attributions of the Superintendence, as well as issuing resolutions of general application, which must be published in the Official Gazette and enter into force from their promulgation, unless the Board of Directors establishes another date.

That the Superintendence, by virtue of Article 3 of the Single Text, has the general objective of regulating, supervising, and auditing the activities of the securities market that are developed in the Republic of Panama or from it, promoting legal certainty for all market participants and guaranteeing transparency, with special protection of investors' rights.

That within the framework of the regulation of securities market activities attributed to the Superintendence by the Single Text, the Board of Directors has adopted various Agreements that develop the conditions, requirements, and procedures that must be complied with in any procedure related to registration, license, or authorization by this Superintendence.

That it is public knowledge the National Emergency State declared by the Cabinet Council, as well as the sanitary and security measures that have been adopted to prevent and control the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

That in Executive Decree No. 507 of March 24, 2020, personnel of the Superintendence of the Securities Market and financial institutions were exempted from the curfew, so that they continue to provide their services, but, in any case, strictly complying with the instructions issued in this regard by the health authority, in particular: maintaining physical distance and the number of people allowed in each physical space.

That this Superintendence has been adopting measures to mitigate the risk of possible contagion, seeking to always preserve the health and safety of its officials and users, as is the case with Resolution No. SMV-117-20 of March 25, 2020, where it was determined, among other things, a special work schedule and temporarily suspend in-person public attention at the facilities of this Regulator, consequently providing an email address so that users may submit information and/or documentation digitally for due processing.

That, based on the foregoing, we conclude that it is necessary to adopt a special procedure for the notification of administrative acts issued pursuant to procedures that are filed and advanced before the Superintendence, where the facilities provided by the use of email are employed, so as to guarantee the continuity of administrative functions in this National Emergency State and, therefore, the provision of services in the securities market.

That the use of email has facilitated and expedited the processing of files related to the sanctioning procedures advanced by this Superintendence; in addition, it is important to take into account that Law 38 of July 31, 2000, which applies supplementarily to all administrative processes as provided in its Article 37; on its part, in Article 95 it determines that "...whenever it results from the file that the party has had knowledge of the resolution that motivated it, this shall be considered as notification and shall produce its effects from then on."

Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Securities Market, in the exercise of its legal powers, RESOLVES:

ARTICLE FIRST: ADOPT the special procedure for the notification of administrative acts issued pursuant to procedures that are filed and advanced before the Superintendence of the Securities Market, as part of the temporary measures adopted in response to the National Emergency State declared due to COVID-19, which shall be subject to the following:

1. Any administrative act issued by the Board of Directors or the Superintendent, or by delegation thereof, shall be notified to the corresponding parties by means of email, to the email address previously indicated for purposes of communications with the Superintendence and which appears in the respective file.

2. A digitized copy of the document containing the administrative act to be notified shall be attached to the email sent to the parties.

3. Parties who do not maintain an identified email address in the respective files must send the email address where they will receive notifications to the following email address of the Superintendence of the Securities Market: tramites_smv@supervalores.gob.pa.

4. Notifications made by email, in the manner indicated above, shall be considered as made and shall produce effects in the place, time, day, month, and year stated in the email sent, so that the terms for filing administrative appeals provided by the Single Text of the Securities Market Law shall begin to run from the next business day following the date of sending.

5. As proof of the action taken, a printed copy of the email sent, stating the place, time, day, month, and year of its sending, shall be incorporated into the respective files.

ARTICLE SECOND: ESTABLISH the duty of users and their representatives to indicate, in all requests, inquiries, and other procedures submitted to the Superintendence of the Securities Market, the email address where they will receive notifications of the administrative acts that are subsequently issued.

In the event that no email address is indicated, the sender's email address used to send the request, inquiry, or other procedure to the email address of the Superintendence of the Securities Market: tramites_smv@supervalores.gob.pa will be used to make the respective notification.

ARTICLE THIRD: CLARIFY that what is provided in this resolution applies to any inquiry, complaint, or request and to any procedure for registration, license, or authorization before the Superintendence of the Securities Market, whether it is being advanced on the date of the present or enters after the entry into force of this resolution.

In addition, it also applies to administrative acts that must be notified to registered issuers, understood as: any issuer that has registered securities and registered investment companies in the Superintendence of the Securities Market.

ARTICLE FOURTH: CLARIFY that what is provided in this resolution does not apply to the administrative sanctioning procedures advanced by the Superintendence of the Securities Market, whose terms are suspended according to the decisions adopted by the Superintendent.

ARTICLE FIFTH: VALIDITY. This resolution shall enter into force from its promulgation in the Official Gazette.

LEGAL BASIS: Articles 3, 5, 6, 10 (items 18 and 20), 19, and 20 of the Single Text of the Securities Market Law. Articles 35 and 95 of Law 38 of July 31, 2000. Article 32 of the Civil Code.

NOTIFY, PUBLISH, AND COMPLY,

(signed) (signed)
Eduardo Lee Luis Chalhoub
President of the Board of Directors Secretary of the Board of Directors.
/aatencio/rdiez.