Urgency Decree No. 056-2020

2 LEGAL NORMS Friday, May 15, 2020 / El Peruano EXECUTIVE BRANCH URGENCY DECREES

URGENT MEASURES IN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MATTERS TO ALLOW THE OPENING OF ACCOUNTS IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM FOR BENEFICIARIES OF FUNDS GRANTED OR RELEASED BY LAWS AND OTHER NORMS, AND OTHER MEASURES.

WHEREAS, by Supreme Decree No. 008-2020-SA, a State of Health Emergency was declared at the national level for a period of ninety (90) calendar days, and measures for the prevention and control of COVID-19 were issued;

WHEREAS, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert for COVID-19 to "very high level" worldwide as outbreaks have been detected in more than one hundred twenty (120) countries; likewise, by Supreme Decree No. 044-2020-PCM and its supplements, the State of National Emergency was declared, and mandatory social isolation (quarantine) was established, as well as measures for the exercise of the right to freedom of movement, due to the grave circumstances affecting the life of the nation as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak;

WHEREAS, the spread of the coronavirus has been affecting global growth prospects, and particularly the Peruvian economy, given the risk of high virus (COVID-19) propagation within national territory; being the factors that would lead to the impact on economic activity, the lower prices of raw materials, the volatility of financial markets, the decrease in international trade, and the lower dynamism of some key activities in the local economy; for which reason, if the COVID-19 virus continues to expand, the various economic sectors of the country could be affected;

WHEREAS, in this context, various economic-financial measures have been issued, through mechanisms of liquidity injection such as the delivery of economic subsidies or the release of pension funds, which minimize the impact caused by the necessary isolation measures decreed with the declaration of the State of National Emergency, in the economy of vulnerable households with low incomes and which are maintained from independent activities, as well as in the economy of natural and legal persons whose daily activities had to be suspended due to the restrictions established within the framework of the aforementioned State of National Emergency;

measures that, if not adopted, could affect the national economy and with it the fulfillment of the fiscal targets foreseen for the current fiscal year.

WHEREAS, in order to facilitate the payment process of funds granted or released by laws and other norms, such as those carried out within the framework of National Emergency situations, due to the current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, it is necessary to permit the opening of citizen accounts so that various operations can be carried out and access to different financial services, among them: deposits, conversion, payment of goods and services, bank transfers, cash withdrawals, among others;

WHEREAS, the aforementioned account opening will allow citizens a series of benefits in a context of Health Emergency and National Emergency such as the one affecting the country; such as: I. providing them with greater security by not exposing them to going to offices or agencies of entities to request the opening of accounts in person; II. reducing transaction costs, as physical presence is not necessary for identification and validation of consent, as well as avoiding costs and risks of displacement due to the lack of nearby offices or agencies to the place of residence; and III. having immediate access to funds in their favor, as required;

WHEREAS, if such measures are not executed, the health of the population would be placed in grave danger and the impact on the Peruvian economy would increase;

WHEREAS, likewise, as a consequence of the application of these measures in favor of citizens, the development of a payment ecosystem with adequate infrastructure and coverage of convenient and accessible channels for the entire public is promoted; and the systems for the protection of the population and the adequate management of market conduct of financial service providers are strengthened;

WHEREAS, therefore, it is necessary to establish extraordinary measures in economic and financial matters, so that there is a tool that, in addition to financially including the population, facilitates the transfer of funds made available by laws and other norms in favor of each of the citizens and allows them to dispose of the necessary resources to face the difficulties caused as a consequence of the declaration of the State of National Emergency regarding the risk of COVID-19 propagation;

WHEREAS, on the other hand, due to the social isolation situation the country is living, it is required that entities under the competence of the Superintendence of the Securities Market (SMV) call non-presential or virtual shareholder meetings or bondholder assemblies to take those transcendental decisions that allow the continuity of their businesses; consequently, it is necessary to adopt measures that allow said entities to call and hold shareholder meetings and bondholder assemblies in a non-presential or virtual manner, and to authorize the SMV to issue the normative that is necessary for its implementation;

WHEREAS, likewise, the economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak have been affecting the development of activities of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) due to the social isolation the country is living, for which the implementation of measures charged to the MIPYME Emprende Fund is required for the financing of non-financial instruments to increase the productive development and productivity of MSMEs and innovative high-impact startups in initial stages of development;

IN USE OF THE POWERS CONFERRED BY SUBSECTION 19 OF ARTICLE 118 OF THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF PERU;

WITH THE VOTE OF APPROVAL OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS; AND,

WITH DUE NOTICE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC;

DECREES:

Article 1. Object
The present Urgency Decree aims to establish extraordinary measures in economic and financial matters, which allow companies of the financial system, including the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, and companies issuing electronic money supervised by the Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS), to open accounts, en masse or individually, in favor of beneficiaries of funds granted or released by laws and other norms, to carry out the respective payment; and other measures that allow entities under the competence of the Superintendence of the Securities Market to call and hold shareholder meetings and bondholder assemblies in a non-presential or virtual manner; as well as provisions regarding requests for the disposition of the Compensación por Tiempo de Servicios (CTS) and non-financial instruments to increase the productive development and productivity of MSMEs and innovative high-impact startups in initial stages of development.

Article 2. Opening of accounts in the financial system
2.1. Companies of the financial system, including the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, and companies issuing electronic money may open accounts, en masse or individually, in the name of beneficiaries identified by the state or private entity that instructs the payment, without the need for the prior celebration of a contract and its acceptance by the holder.

2.2. Companies of the financial system and companies issuing electronic money may share, with the state or private entity that instructs the payment, identification information of the existing account or accounts of the beneficiaries, including the Interbank Account Code (CAI); which is exempt from the scope of banking secrecy. The state or private entity that instructs the payment may share the personal data of the beneficiaries that result strictly necessary for the purpose described in the preceding numerals, which is considered within what is provided in subsection 9 of Article 14 of Law No. 29733, Personal Data Protection Law, solely for the purpose of carrying out the fund transfer.

2.3. The accounts referred to in numeral 2.1 may be used by the holder for purposes additional to the deposit and withdrawal of the transferred funds. They may also be closed by companies of the financial system and companies issuing electronic money, when these do not maintain a balance for a minimum period of six (6) months or at the request of the holder.

2.4. The Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and AFP establishes the characteristics and additional conditions for the opening, use, and closure of these accounts, through regulatory norms.

Article 3. Nature of the funds granted or released
3.1. In the case where the responsible for the payment instruction is a state entity, it establishes a protocol and a maximum deadline for beneficiaries, holders of the accounts, to use said funds in total or partial manner. At the end of the maximum deadline, in case the account has not had any movement, the funds must be externalized from the accounts and reintegrated by companies of the financial system and companies issuing electronic money to the corresponding state entity.

3.2. The nature of the funds granted or released by laws and other norms that are deposited in the accounts indicated in this norm, has the character of intangible for a period of one year, once the payment is received; for which, such funds cannot be subject to legal or contractual compensation, embargo, retention, or any other impact, whether by judicial and/or administrative order.

Article 4. Selection of companies and assignment of funds
The state or private entity responsible for the transfer of funds establishes the mechanisms and/or criteria for the selection of companies of the financial system and/or companies issuing electronic money that carry out the opening of accounts and/or the subsequent deposit in favor of the beneficiaries, as well as those terms and conditions associated with the assignment of funds and costs of the service. Such mechanisms and/or criteria must seek to maximize the coverage of beneficiaries and the effective use of the funds, as well as minimize the associated costs.

Article 5. Call and holding of non-presential or virtual shareholder meetings and bondholder assemblies
5.1. Exceptionally, entities under the competence of the Superintendence of the Securities Market (SMV) are authorized to call and hold general or special shareholder meetings in a non-presential or virtual manner, through the use of technological and telecommunications media and communications, even if the respective statutes of said entities only recognize the possibility of calling and holding presential shareholder meetings. In order to call said shareholder meetings, the boards of directors of the mentioned entities may hold sessions in a non-presential or virtual manner.

5.2. Exceptionally, the board of directors of companies issuing securities for public offering, or in their effect, the representative of the bondholders of said issuances, is authorized to call and hold non-presential or virtual bondholder assemblies.

5.3. The SMV is exceptionally empowered to issue general normative complementaries to carry out the call and holding of non-presential or virtual shareholder meetings and bondholder assemblies, in order to determine the advance period in which the call must be made, the terms and information that it must contain, and the media in which it must be disseminated, as well as the determination of the matters of competence of the meetings that can be addressed in a non-presential or virtual session and for open joint-stock companies, and other necessary aspects that allow the adequate application of what is provided in this disposition.

5.4. What is provided in the preceding numerals is applicable during the validity of the State of National Emergency established by Supreme Decree No. 044-2020-PCM and its supplements, and until ninety (90) business days after the expiration of said State of Emergency.

Article 6. Non-financial instruments of the MIPYME Emprende Fund
It is provided that the non-financial instruments of the MIPYME Emprende Fund, to which Law No. 30230, Law that establishes tax measures, simplification of procedures and permits for the promotion and dynamization of investment in the country, and its modifications, refers, are operated by public or private entities. Likewise, the innovative high-impact startups referred to in numeral 30.1 of Article 30 of Law No. 30230, are those in initial stages of development.

Article 7. Extension of the deadline to request financial facilities to Regional Governments and Local Governments
The deadline established in numeral 3 of the tenth complementary final provision of Urgency Decree No. 021-2020, Urgency Decree that establishes the model for the execution of public investments through special public investment projects and dictates other provisions, is extended until July 31, 2020, for the presentation of requests to access the financial facility established in said tenth complementary final provision.

Article 8. Validity
The present Urgency Decree is valid until December 31, 2020, unless otherwise provided in Article 5, which is subject to the deadline provided in said article.

Article 9. Refrendum
The present Urgency Decree is refrended by the President of the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Economy and Finance.

COMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
MODIFICATORY

First. Modification of the first paragraph of the Tenth-Eighth Complementary Final Provision of Urgency Decree No. 013-2020.
The first paragraph of the Tenth-Eighth Complementary Final Provision of Urgency Decree No. 013-2020, Urgency Decree that promotes the financing of MSMEs, startups, and ventures, is modified, which remains worded as follows:

"Tenth-Eighth. Creation of the MIPYME Emprende Steering Committee The MIPYME Emprende Steering Committee (hereinafter, Steering Committee) promotes and ensures the compliance of the policies, strategies, and objectives established for the functioning of the CRECER Fund and the MIPYME Emprende Fund, for which it exercises the functions of direction, supervision, and evaluation of the financial and non-financial instruments oriented to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of MSMEs and ventures in the country. In the case of the CRECER Fund, the Steering Committee approves the complementary guidelines for the administration of resources.

(...)."

Second. Modification of numeral 7.1 of Article 7 of Urgency Decree No. 038-2020.
Numeral 7.1 of Article 7 of Urgency Decree No. 038-2020, Urgency Decree that establishes complementary measures to mitigate the economic effects caused to workers and employers by COVID-19 and other measures, is modified in the following terms:

"7.1. Exceptionally, workers included in a perfect suspension of labor provided for in the prevailing legal framework and subject to the scope of the Text Ordained of the Law of Compensation for Time of Service, approved by Supreme Decree No. 001-97-TR, are authorized to freely dispose of the funds of the amount of intangible deposits for Compensation for Time of Service (CTS), provided for in Law No. 30334, up to one (1) monthly gross remuneration for each calendar month of duration of the perfect suspension of labor. To this effect, the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion enables a consultation platform for the financial entities that are depositaries of the Compensation for Time of Service, or in their effect, they send them with weekly or lesser frequency, through the corresponding informatic media, the information that corresponds regarding the perfect suspensions of labor presented that allows said entities to confirm that the workers are included in a measure of perfect suspension of labor. With the information provided by the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion, the financial entities make the corresponding amount available to the worker in their respective Compensation for Time of Service deposit account, or if the worker requests it, the financial entities transfer the corresponding amount to active or passive accounts of the worker that he indicates. The free disposition referred to in this numeral adds to the free disposition regulated in Article 9 of Urgency Decree No. 033-2020, which establishes measures to reduce the impact on the Peruvian economy, of the prevention provisions established in the declaration of state of emergency national regarding the risks of propagation of COVID-19."

Given in the Government House, in Lima, on the fourteenth day of the month of May of the year two thousand twenty.

MARTÍN ALBERTO VIZCARRA CORNEJO
President of the Republic

VICENTE ANTONIO ZEBALLOS SALINAS
President of the Council of Ministers

MARÍA ANTONIETTA ALVA PEREDA
Minister of Economy and Finance

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