Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Economy Profile Guatemala Page 1 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Economy Profile of Guatemala Doing Business 2019 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality Page 2 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) Page 3 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Ease of Doing Business in Region Latin America & Caribbean DB 2019 Rank 190 1 Guatemala Income Category Upper middle income 98 DB 2019 Ease of doing business score Population 16,913,503 0 100 City Covered Guatemala City 62.17 DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score 0 100 69.24: Colombia (Rank: 65) 68.89: Costa Rica (Rank: 67) 65.41: El Salvador (Rank: 85) 62.17: Guatemala (Rank: 98) 58.97: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 58.22: Honduras (Rank: 121) Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100 represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Rankings on Doing Business topics - Guatemala 1 22 28 44 55 86 83 82 89 Rank 102 109 122 136 156 163 174 176 190 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Guatemala 100 86.71 84.12 80.00 80 77.15 70.30 64.72 64.90 Score 60 40 34.55 31.67 27.59 20 0 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Page 4 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Starting a Business This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. • Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) The business: • Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type city of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms • Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office. - Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a also collected for the second largest business city. business or to leave the home to register the - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). company - Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity; • Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita. identification card - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade Time required to complete each procedure activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, (calendar days) liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes. • Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per capita. • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. procedures cannot start on the same day) - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of • Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. • Procedure is considered completed once final The owners: document is received - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are • No prior contact with officials assumed to be 30 years old. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or • Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the • No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. law or commonly used in practice Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) • Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration or up to 3 months after incorporation Page 5 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Starting a Business - Guatemala Standardized Company Legal form Sociedad Anónima (SA) - Corporation Paid-in minimum capital requirement GTQ 200 City Covered Guatemala City Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Procedure – Men (number) 6 8.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 15 28.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 18.1 37.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Procedure – Women (number) 6 8.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 15 28.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 18.1 37.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.6 1.5 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Starting a Business Score 0 100 86.71: Guatemala (Rank: 89) 85.31: Colombia (Rank: 100) 79.92: Costa Rica (Rank: 142) 79.40: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 78.41: El Salvador (Rank: 147) 77.06: Honduras (Rank: 154) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 6 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Starting a Business in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 20 14 Cost (% of income per capita) 12 15 10 Time (days) 8 10 6 4 5 2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 *6 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 7 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Starting a Business in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Check uniqueness and reserve the company name 3 days GTQ 50 for each Agency : Notary Public name The notary has to conduct a company name availability search on the website of the Mercantile Registry of Guatemala. 2 Deposit the subscribed capital 1 day no charge Agency : Bank or administrator The legal representative opens a bank account and deposits the subscribed capital. The bank will require a bill of any public service with the address of the new company. The deposit slip is presented to the notary. Companies with a capital lower than GTQ 2,000, have the option to deposit the capital at the bank or with an administrator. 3 A notary public draws the deed of constitution 1 day included in procedure Agency : Notary Public 4 The notary issues a certified copy of the deed and draws the appointment of the legal representative (Sole Administrator or members of the Board), who has to be personally registered before the Tax Authorities 4 Registration and payment of the fees online by a notary, publication of the 8 days see procedure details edict on the Registry's website, and opposition period for affected third parties Agency : MiNegocio (Commercial Registry) The notary completes the forms required by the Commercial Registry (Registro Mercantil) online (https://minegocio.gt/). The following forms are required by the Commercial Registry: a- certified copy of the deed of constitution b- appointment of legal representative c- bank receipt if the capital is superior than GTQ 499.999. The notary also pays online the amount required by the Registry. The fees are as follow: GTQ 5,000 average notarial fees + GTQ 250 stamp tax + GTQ 300 notarial stamp tax for the certified copy + GTQ 30 edict + GTQ 200 publication of the edict. Then the registry will proceed to the company's incorporation, tax registration, issuance of commercial license (patente) and edict publication. 5 Register the company’s employees at the Guatemalan Social Security 1 day no charge Institute (IGSS) Agency : Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) Entrepreneur must go to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) offices to register the company’s employees in the system. Registration is mandatory for companies with 3 or more employees and it is made at the Sección de Inscripciones en la División de Registro de Patronos y Trabajadores. The following documents are required: certificate of company registration, appointment of representative, company deeds, identification document of the representative and the list of employees to be registered. 6 Register the employees’ contracts with the Ministry of Labor 1 day, simultaneous No charge Agency : Ministry of Labor with previous According to the Labor Code, companies with more than 3 employees need to procedure register the contracts of the employees with the Ministry of Labor. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 8 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo): all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second • Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city. all necessary inspections - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a • Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or • Registering and selling the warehouse after its topographical experts. completion - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion. (calendar days) The warehouse: • Does not include time spent gathering - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. information - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of • Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 though procedures that can be fully completed meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately online are an exception to this rule 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the • Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further • No prior contact with officials documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and income per capita) regulatory requirements). • Official costs only, no bribes The water and sewerage connections: Building quality control index (0-15) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there • Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be • Quality control before construction (0-1) installed or built. • Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average • Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day. • Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 9 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Dealing with Construction Permits - Guatemala Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse GTQ 1,613,500.30 City Covered Guatemala City Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Procedures (number) 11 15.4 12.7 None in 2017/18 Time (days) 230 199.0 153.1 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of warehouse value) 6.3 3.2 1.5 None in 2017/18 Building quality control index (0-15) 11.0 8.9 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 71.05: Costa Rica (Rank: 74) 68.77: Colombia (Rank: 89) 66.10: Honduras (Rank: 116) 64.72: Guatemala (Rank: 122) 63.48: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 51.82: El Salvador (Rank: 173) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) 5 200 Cost (% of warehouse value) 4 150 Time (days) 3 100 2 50 1 0 0 1 2 *3 *4 *5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 10 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 15 11.0 11.0 11.0 Index score 10.0 10.0 10 8.9 5 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain certificate of land ownership 8 days GTQ 50 Agency : One-Stop Shop under the Municipality of Guatemala City The application is done at the single window of the construction department or directly at the main headquarters of the General Property Registry. Applicants fill out the application form for certification of inscriptions, providing all necessary information pertaining to the property, as well as their contact information. Payment is made in the respective bank, according to the established fees (from 1 to 10 sheets GTQ 50.00). A proof of payment is obtained, which provides the password for the receipt and the expected date of delivery is also indicated on this receipt. 2 Obtain project approval from the Ministry of Health 30 days no charge Agency : Ministry of Health The Health Code of Guatemala (1997) requires that all constructions in Guatemala City need a clearance from the Ministry of Health to obtain a construction license. This requirement was never implemented in practice until 2016. 3 Hire an environmental specialist and obtain an environmental assessment 14 days GTQ 14,000 of minimum impact Agency : Independent Specialist The environmental assessment of minimum impact is generally prepared by a professional (engineer or architect) authorized to do so. BuildCo hires the professional and the cost will vary depending on the project's characteristics. According to Administrative Ruling ("Resolución Administrativa") 001- 2018/DIGARN/OBT, the warehouse of the case study falls under Category c): "Low potential environmental impact" 4 Verify compliance with Standard for Disaster Reduction Two (NDR-2 Norma 14 days no charge de Reduccion de Desastres Numero Dos ) Agency : National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) Since October 2013, the National coordinating agency for disaster reduction (Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres, CONRED) is required to verify that each building is in compliance with Agreement N. 04-2011-Standard for Disaster Reduction Number Two (Acuerdo Número 04-2011 Normas de Reducción de Desastres Número Dos-NDR-2). BuildCo. must submit an application including affidavits of the detailed building plans. 5 Submit a brief or simple industrial report 1 day no charge Agency : One-Stop Shop under the Municipality of Guatemala City This is a simple form obtained at the Municipality and completed by the architect. It must be submitted in the request for a building permit. The report contains an affidavit on storage use and any industrial processes to be carried out in the warehouse. Page 11 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala 6 Submit evironmental assessment of minimum impact and receive approval 75 days GTQ 9,050 from MARN (Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) Agency : One-Stop Shop under the Municipality of Guatemala City According to Administrative agreement (Resolución Administrativa) 001- 2018/DIGARN from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), the warehouse falls under Category c): low potential environmental impact. The environmental assessment along with the application is submitted to the one-stop shop. Required documents include: 1. Initial environmental impact form 2. Project profile 3. Building plans 4. Photocopy of identity card or DPI 5. Deed of affidavit from proposer 6. Legal entity status (if applicable) 7. Certified copy of land ownership certificate 8. Certified copy of the firm's business license 9. Copy of NIT 10. Digital copies of the environmental document 11. Copy of the environmental document 7 Request and obtain a construction license 44 days GTQ 70,232 Agency : One-Stop Shop under the Municipality of Guatemala City On January 2009, he Municipality of Guatemala City introduced a new Land Management Plan (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial- “POT”) and other legislation regulating the construction permit issuance. According to this, the new zoning regimes are established according to general use of land which among others introduced mixed use of zoning regimes. Under the new implementing regulations of POT, this mechanism is based on three stages: Simplified Procedure (Precedimiento Directo); Approval of Land Management Council (Junta de Ordenamiento Territorial); Approval of Land Management Council and Neighbors’ Consent. BuildCo's case would fall into the ‘Simplified Procedure' scheme and does not require the subsequent procedure with Land Management Council and neighbors. BuildCo must submit the corresponding form with all the requested specifics, together with all the requirements in the previous procedures, photocopies of the identification cards of its legal agent and the professional responsible for the construction, and a photocopy of the latest Single Real Estate Tax (Impuesto Unico sobre Inmueble) receipt and any other required receipts. An architect or engineer must be responsible for the construction work, signing the submitted form and the plans. All the information to obtain the construction license can be submitted in a digital form. 8 Request water and sewage connection and receive requirements from 1 day no charge EMPAGUA Agency : EMPAGUA Once the construction is finalized, BuildCo must fill out the application at the one- stop shop and receive the requirements from the Water and Sewerage Authority (Empresa Municipal de Agua, EMPAGUA). EMPAGUA will notify BuildCo of the fee to be paid as a deposit to cover the completion of the procedure and a service feasibility study that must be carried out by EMPAGUA. EMPAGUA will start the feasibility study within about 15 days. In 2007 the Municipality of Guatemala unified the application forms and relevant requirements for EMPAGUA, Department of Urban Construction Control (Departamento de Control de Construcción Urbana) and Infrastructure Directorate (Dirección de Infraestructura). Another change is that the approvals from all these entities are given simultaneously. However, this has not had any practical impact on the ground. 9 Notify the Construction Licensing Department upon construction 1 day no charge completion and return the license Agency : Construction Licensing Department (Departamento de Licencias de Construcción) The license must be returned to the Construction Licensing Department who performs the final inspection. If the construction work conforms to approved specifications, the occupancy permit is issued. When the license is returned, the Municipality notifies the Cadastre Office about the construction and its cost. Within 7 -- 14 days, the Municipality visits the site to verify that the building complies with the approved specifications. Page 12 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala 10 Receive final connection to water 60 days GTQ 8,800 Agency : Municipality/EMPAGUA This procedure entails the reception of the water connection. 11 Receive final inspection and obtain occupancy permit 11 days no charge Agency : One-Stop Shop under the Municipality of Guatemala City According to Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial (COM 30-2008), upon completion of the construction work, BuildCo. requests a final inspection from the Construction Licensing Department at the one-stop shop. This inspection shall be performed by the supervisor in charge, who shall record the result on an inspection card.If no objections are raised during the inspection (meaning that every part of the construction is authorized as complying with the plans submitted to the Construction Licensing Department), the professional in charge of the inspection immediately provide the applicant with the certificate of conformity. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 13 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 11.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0 Free of charge. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid; Required preapprovals. Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0 compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect; Licensed engineer. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by in- 1.0 (0-2) house engineer. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0 inspections are always done in practice. Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0 Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0 with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is done by government agency; Yes, in- house engineer submits report for final inspection. Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0 always occurs in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 1.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building Architect or 1.0 once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) engineer; Professional in charge of the supervision; Construction company; Owner or investor. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0 structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain insurance . Professional certifications index (0-4) 2.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the University degree 1.0 architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) in architecture or engineering; Being a registered architect or engineer. Page 14 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction University degree 1.0 on the ground? (0-2) in engineering, construction or construction management; Being a registered architect or engineer. Page 15 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. • Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are receiving all necessary inspections also collected for the second largest business city. • Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. • Concluding any necessary supply contract and - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters obtaining final supply (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet). (calendar days) The electricity connection: • Is at least 1 calendar day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed • Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). • Does not include time spent gathering information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve follow-up and no prior contact with officials the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property Cost required to complete each procedure (% of because the warehouse has access to a road. income per capita) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has • Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base. • Value added tax excluded The monthly consumption: The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 • Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier. • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used. • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* • Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study *Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing business score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 16 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Getting Electricity - Guatemala Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 19.4 Name of utility Empresa Electrica de Guatemala, S.A City Covered Guatemala City Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Procedures (number) 5 5.5 4.5 3 (25 Economies) Time (days) 44 65.5 77.2 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 515.4 946.3 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 7 4.3 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies) index (0-8) Figure – Getting Electricity in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 85.10: Costa Rica (Rank: 38) 84.12: Guatemala (Rank: 44) 75.77: Colombia (Rank: 80) 71.24: El Salvador (Rank: 97) 70.59: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 53.78: Honduras (Rank: 153) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity. Page 17 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Getting Electricity in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 500 40 Cost (% of income per capita) 35 400 30 Time (days) 300 25 20 200 15 10 100 5 0 0 1 *2 3 4 *5 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 Index score 5 4.3 4 3 2 1 0 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Page 18 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Getting Electricity in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application request to EEGSA and await estimate 11 calendar days GTQ 0 Agency : Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala S.A. (EEGSA) The client requests the connection to the grid via online or in person. The application must include: A. A copy of the notarized legal representation document. B. The local identity card (ID) of the legal representative. C. Notarized proof of ownership of the property or lease contract. D. List of technical data of the load required. The utility will perform a feasibility study to verify the conditions of the new connection point and will confirm that the network has the capacity requested by the client. 2 Await external inspection by EEGSA 1 calendar day GTQ 0 Agency : Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala S.A. (EEGSA) EEGSA performs an external inspection. The utility that the electrician in charge of the internal installations is present to clarify technical details. The visit consists of reviewing EEGSA's network and its interactions with the new user. There is no review of the user's internal wiring installation. During the inspection, the utility will verify that the voltage, capacity, and distance comply with the safety regulations. After EEGSA performs the external visit and checks the suitability of the connection's technical conditions, it will deliver a letter to the customer specifying the amount to be paid as a guarantee deposit and will confirm that the technical conditions are adequate to connect the warehouse to the grid. 3 Pay deposit and sign supply contract 2 calendar days GTQ 23,500 Agency : Empresa Electrica de Guatemala S.A. EEGSA will only provide its services once the client has signed the contract and paid the guarantee deposit. For loads above 100 kW, the deposit is not paid in cash but is covered by a bond issued by a guarantee agency in Guatemala. The guarantee deposit will be refunded when the customer no longer requires the service of the power supply (according to the General Electricity Law). As soon as the customer pays the deposit, he is able to sign the supply contract. 4 Hire private company to construct transformer post and install transformer 21 calendar days USD 17,970 Agency : Empresa privada For EEGSA to make the connection, it is needed that the civil works are completed. EEGSA is only responsible for the measuring equipment and therefore does not supervise the construction and laying of the cables, so the customer should contract the services of an independent engineer for this part of the works. The electrical engineer hired by the client installs the transformer, the pipe onto the post, the meter box, and the underground wiring to the main board. 5 Receive external works, meter installation and final connection 30 calendar days GTQ 0 Agency : Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala S.A. (EEGSA) When the civil works are completed, the internal wiring are ready and the contract is signed, EEGSA installs the meter, transformers and connects the internal wiring to the transformers. The physical installation is performed by the Distributor (EEGSA) although subcontractors do the job. The electricity distribution company has a sufficient stock of materials. The customer does not buy any materials for the external connection. The meter installation is simultaneous with the connection and the electricity begins to flow from the moment the connection is made. It is necessary to mount the transformer station, which involves installing a post and installing the metering equipment, all of this is paid by EEGSA. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 19 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Getting Electricity in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 2 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 3.7 System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 2.4 What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 3.0 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of Yes supply? Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages Yes exceed a certain cap? Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1 Are effective tariffs available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online http://www.cnee.gob. gt/Calculadora/pliego s.php Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Page 20 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. • Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller): checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 • Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities. Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller): (calendar days) - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. • Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller. information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. • Each procedure starts on a separate day - - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 • Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is document is received located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no • No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety. property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of • Official costs only (such as administrative fees, any kind. duties and taxes). - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural payments are excluded activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Quality of land administration index (0-30) • Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) • Transparency of information index (0–6) • Geographic coverage index (0–8) • Land dispute resolution index (0–8) • Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Page 21 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Registering Property - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Procedures (number) 7 7.2 4.7 1 (4 Economies) Time (days) 24 63.3 20.1 1 (New Zealand) Cost (% of property value) 3.7 5.8 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 13.5 11.9 23.0 None in 2017/18 Figure – Registering Property in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Registering Property Score 0 100 74.36: Costa Rica (Rank: 47) 71.22: Colombia (Rank: 59) 66.32: El Salvador (Rank: 73) 64.90: Guatemala (Rank: 86) 63.43: Honduras (Rank: 95) 55.25: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Registering Property in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 4 3.5 20 Cost (% of property value) 3 Time (days) 15 2.5 2 10 1.5 1 5 0.5 0 0 1 *2 *3 4 5 6 *7 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 22 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Registering Property in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 30 25 Index score 20 17.5 16.5 15 13.5 14.0 14.0 11.9 10 5 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Details – Registering Property in Guatemala – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain a property certificate ("Certificacion del historial de la finca") and 4 days GTQ 214; (QTG 214: the cadastral value certificate ("Valor de matricula") Non-encumbrance Agency : Property Registry (Registro General de la Propiedad de Guatemala) certificate QTG 50 (www.rgp.org.gt) (for first 10 pages, The seller obtains a certificate at the Property Registry in which the buyer can each additional page verify that the property is free from mortgages and encumbrances, and to verify that the property is owned by the seller. In order to obtain the certificate, the +QTG 5) + Legal buyer needs to know the registry numbers where the property is registered. Fees QTG 164) Usually this information is provided by the seller and it is usually the lawyer who verifies the books at the registry and obtains this information. This updated certificate of the property will be used later by the Notary to prepare the public deed. This information can be searched for online, however only the physical, paper certificate, has legal value. 2 Obtain the cadastral value of the property from DICABI (Dirección de 1 day no charge Catastro y Avalúo de Bienes Inmuebles) Agency : National Cadastre (Dirección de Catastro y Avalúo de Bienes Inmuebles, DICABI) In parallel to requesting a non-encumbrance certificate at the Property Registry, the Notary must obtain a certificate from the National Cadastre (Dirección de Catastro y Avalúo de Bienes Inmuebles, DICABI) indicating the cadastral value of the property. DICABI is a national institution containing information based on a “personal registry type” on all the regional registries in the country. Pursuant to amendments in Tax Law (Article 171 Decree 10-2012), authorized valuation of property and declaration of value of the real estate are mandatory. The request can be either submitted online, or at a specific counter of the Superintendencia de Impuestos located in the Property Registry in Guatemala City. The most common practice by Notaries is to request all the certificates necessary to proceed with the property transfer physically at the different counters located in the Property Registry building. It is common for Notaries to pick up the DICABI certificate once the non- encumbrance certificate has been issued by the Property Registry. 3 Obtain the cadastral value from the Municipality of Guatemala 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality of Guatemala A certificate of the cadastral value can be obtained online; however it is more common to submit a paper form at the Municipality of Guatemala and obtain the certificate on the same day. This certificate is necessary as the Stamp Duty will be determined based on the highest value between the sale price, the cadastral value from DICABI and the cadastral value from the Municipality. For taxation purposes, the sale price cannot be smaller than the cadastral value of the property. Page 23 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala 4 Lawyer/notary prepares the sale agreement and notarizes it, along with the 2 days GTQ 56,255.01; (3% public deed of the property value Agency : Lawyer / notary for Stamp Duty (2nd The lawyer/notary (in Guatemala, the lawyer is also a notary public) prepares the or subsequent sale and purchase agreement and notarizes it by redacting the agreement on a transfer) and between public deed. The deed is read by the Notary and then ratified and signed by the parties, thus accepting the transaction. QTG 6500 - QTG 8200 for notary fees There is a scale in the Notary Act that regulates the fees and one will likely pay plus QTG 500 (tax between $800 and $1000 for such a transaction. The notary will oversee buying stamps, copies, and the State stamps for the Stamp Duty tax of 3% charged to second and others)) subsequent sales of properties (this is assumed to be the case in the Doing Business scenario). For the first sale of a property a VAT payment of 12% of the property value is paid. Stamps are adhered to the Public Deed. Payments of registration fees (GTQ.160.00 plus GTQ 1.5 for each GTQ 1,000 of transaction value) are made to the notary, who will then pay the property registry. The documentation requested by the notary shall include: (i) Updated non-encumbrance certificate of the property issued by the Property Registry (Obtained in Procedure 1); (ii) Photocopy of the ID of seller and buyer (passport or local ID). In case the seller/buyer is a Company, a photocopy of the appointment in which the Company gives sufficient faculties to proceed with the transfer of property is necessary. In some cases, a Board of Director´s resolution may be required; (iii) Cadastral value obtained at DICABI (Obtained in Procedure 2); (iv) Last receipt of payment of the property tax (Impuesto Único Sobre Inmuebles, IUSI); (v) Cadastral value obtained at the Municipality of Guatemala (Obtained in procedure 3). 5 Public deed is delivered to the Property Registry for its recording 7 days GTQ 2,580.25; (QTG Agency : Property Registry (Registro General de la Propiedad de Guatemala) 160 + 0.15% of (www.rgp.org.gt) transaction value The public deed is delivered to the Property Registry to be recorded under the (registration fees)) name of the buyer. It is also advisable to obtain a certificate at the Property Registry to verify that the change of ownership has been properly recorded after registration is completed. The internal procedures conducted by the Property Registry are as follows: (1) All incoming cases are scanned and then randomly assigned to the officials (Operadores). (2) The official registers the property electronically; issues the case file (Expediente) and if the legal requirements are met, registers the transaction (Inscripción); (3) The Accounting Department verifies the payment of fees; (4) The Registrar or auxiliary registrars approve and sign the registration certificate. With Decree 42-2006, electronic signatures from auxiliary registrars are legally valid. Each one is assigned a unique number by which they can electronically sign, facilitating the registration process; (5) The Archives Department prints the Inscription of the Property Transfer and prepares it for the user. It is also possible to verify the authenticity of the inscription of the transaction through www.rpg.org.gt (section “Validar razones registrales”). The buyer accesses to this information though a verifying code and a reference code previously given by the Property Registry. 6 Notify the Municipality of the transaction 10 days no charge Agency : Municipality of Guatemala Once the transaction is concluded the notary notifies the Municipality of Guatemala City of the change in ownership. This step is important to update the cadastral value of the property for tax collection purposes. There is a small fine if this procedure is not fulfilled, but it has no effect on the validity of the registration of the property transfer obtained in the previous step. The notary needs to provide a copy of the title deed together with the notice. She/he will follow up with the municipality until they receive a statement of the updated records showing the updated information regarding the ownership of the property. Notaries can notify the registration of property transfers to the Municipality of Guatemala City online. However, the majority of Notaries are still communicating property transfers by courier to the Municipality. Page 24 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala 7 Notify the National Cadastre and Valuation Agency (DICABI) of the 10 days no charge transaction Agency : National Cadastre (Dirección de Catastro y Avalúo de Bienes Inmuebles, DICABI) The National Cadastre and Valuation Agency (DICABI) must also be notified of the change of ownership. This notification is presented simultaneously with the notification provided to the municipality. Notaries can notify the registration of property transfers to DICABI online. However, the majority of Notaries are still communicating property transfers by courier to DICABI. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 25 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Registering Property in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 4.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Registro General de la Propiedad In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Scann 1.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? ed Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions Yes 1.0 and the like)? Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Guatemala Municipality In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Scann 1.0 paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? ed Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing Yes 1.0 cadastral information (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Separate 0.0 or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the No 0.0 same identification number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 4.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Anyone who 1.0 property registration in the largest business city? pays the official fee Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made Yes, online 0.5 publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: https://www.rgp.o rg.gt/index.php/s ervicios-a- notarios/formulari os https://www.rgp.o rg.gt/index.php/pr eguntas- frecuentes? Itemid=131 Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: https://www.rgp.o rg.gt/index.php/s ervicios-a- notarios/formulari os Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally Yes, online 0.5 binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: https://www.rgp.o rg.gt/index.php Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that Yes 1.0 occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? Page 26 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Contact information: Fiscalía de Delitos contra el Registro de la Propiedad, Ministerio Publico located at 15 Avenida 15-16, Zona 1 Edificio Gerona Ciudad de Guatemala, teléfonos 2411- 9903 https://www.rgp.o rg.gt/index.php/s eguridad- registral; Oficina de Acceso a la Información Pública y Procedimientos Jurídicos (Ocursos) Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the Yes 0.5 immovable property registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2017: 12,000 in 2017 Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5 pays the official fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, in person 0.0 and if so, how? Link for online access: Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a No 0.0 specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0 registry? Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0 immovable property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 5.0 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5 property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5 Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0 engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry? Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5 transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar; Notary; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5 transaction? If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar; Notary; Page 27 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? Yes 1.0 For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property Juzgado de worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business Primera Instancia city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance? Civil y Mercantil How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a Between 2 and 3 1.0 case (without appeal)? years Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? No 0.0 Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2017: Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Page 28 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of • Rights of borrowers and lenders through indicators. The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices collateral laws (0-10) affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index bankruptcy laws (0-2) measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first Depth of credit information index (0–8) determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case • Scope and accessibility of credit information scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Special emphasis (0-8) is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank. • Number of individuals and firms listed in largest In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case credit bureau as a percentage of adult population A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) • Number of individuals and firms listed in credit Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) registry as a percentage of adult population are used: - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Page 29 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Getting Credit - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 9 5.4 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 7 4.9 6.7 8 (42 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 24.2 14.6 21.8 100.0 (4 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 7 44.5 65.3 100.0 (25 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Getting Credit Score 0 100 95.00: Colombia (Rank: 3) 85.00: Costa Rica (Rank: 12) 85.00: Honduras (Rank: 12) 80.00: Guatemala (Rank: 22) 80.00: El Salvador (Rank: 22) 51.56: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Figure – Legal Rights in Guatemala and comparator economies 9 12 10 9 9 8 7 6 5.4 Index Score 5 4 3 2 1 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Page 30 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Legal Rights in Guatemala Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 9 Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and Yes enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without Yes requiring a specific description of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a Yes specific description of collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and No replacements of the original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be Yes secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by Yes asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtor's name? Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? Yes Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed No online by any interested third party? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency Yes procedure? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? Yes Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization No procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow Yes the secured creditor to sell the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? Figure – Credit Information in Guatemala and comparator economies 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 Index Score 4.9 5 4 3 2 1 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Page 31 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Credit Information in Guatemala Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit Credit Score bureau registry Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? Yes Yes 1 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? Yes Yes 1 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and Yes No 1 financial institutions - distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries Yes Yes 1 that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? Yes Yes 1 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or No Yes 1 credit registry? Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online Yes Yes 1 (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help No No 0 banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Total Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 7 Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0. Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 700,012 2,446,112 Number of firms 18,252 19,768 Total 718,264 2,465,880 Percentage of adult population 7 24.2 Page 32 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions • Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related- party transactions The business (Buyer): • Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock of minority shareholders to sue and hold exchange. If there are fewer than ten listed companies or if there is no stock interested directors liable for prejudicial related- exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with party transactions; Available legal remedies multiple shareholders. (damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on imprisonment, rescission of the transaction) behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. • Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. Access to internal corporate documents; James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum legal expenses requirements. Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. • Extent of conflict of interest regulation index - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of The transaction involves the following details: shareholder indices - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two • Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): directors to Buyer’s five-member board. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail decisions hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand • Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price Governance safeguards protecting shareholders is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. from undue board control and entrenchment - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not • Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): outside the authority of the company. Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all compensation, audits and financial prospects required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. • Extent of shareholder governance index (0– - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the 10): Simple average of the extent of shareholders executives and directors that approved the transaction. rights, extent of ownership and control and extent of corporate transparency indices • Strength of minority investor protection index (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices Page 33 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Protecting Minority Investors - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 3.0 4.1 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 5.2 5.3 10 (Cambodia) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 6.7 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 5.0 5.4 6.4 10 (Kazakhstan) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 1.0 3.2 5.4 None in 2017/18 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 3.0 3.9 7.6 10 (6 Economies) Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 75.00: Colombia (Rank: 15) 48.33: Costa Rica (Rank: 122) 47.50: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 41.67: Honduras (Rank: 140) 38.33: El Salvador (Rank: 161) 31.67: Guatemala (Rank: 174) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Guatemala 3 2 3 1 5 5 Colombia 6 7 9 9 6 8 Costa Rica 3 5 5 4 4 8 El Salvador 6 0 3 1 6 7 Honduras 2 8 3 1 5 6 OECD high income 7.4 5.5 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 Latin America & Caribbean 4.2 5.4 4.4 3.5 5.6 6.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) Page 34 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) 3.3 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 3.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Board of 2.0 directors excluding interested members Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Existence of a 1.0 conflict without any specifics Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the Yes 1.0 transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0- Not liable 0.0 2) Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Liable if negligent 1.0 Buyer (0-2) Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of 0.0 fraud or bad faith Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying No 0.0 specific ones? (0-1) Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Preapproved 1.0 questions only Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) No 0.0 Can shareholder plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) Yes if successful 1.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 3.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 5.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of No 0.0 shareholders? Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new Yes 1.0 shares? Page 35 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected No 0.0 shares approve? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require No 0.0 member approval? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a No 0.0 meeting of members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all or almost all members consent to add a Yes 1.0 new member? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member first offer to sell their interest to Yes 1.0 the existing members before they can sell to non-members? Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 1.0 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of No 0.0 directors? Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end Yes 1.0 of their term? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board No 0.0 members? Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of No 0.0 Buyer? Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? No 0.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve No 0.0 disagreements among members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to No 0.0 all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute profits within a maximum No 0.0 period set by law? Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 3.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and No 0.0 directorships in other companies? Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting No 0.0 agenda? Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? No 0.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on the Yes 1.0 meeting agenda? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual financial statements be Yes 1.0 audited by an external auditor? Page 36 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2017 (January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017). See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory contributions a 2017 (number per year adjusted for electronic medium size company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden and joint filing and payment) of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax • Total number of taxes and contributions paid or laws, time taken to comply with the requirements of postfiling processes and time withheld, including consumption taxes (value waiting. added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2016. Time required to comply with 3 major taxes It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions (hours per year) recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2017). Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. • Collecting information, computing tax payable • Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process: required - In June 2017, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the • Completing tax return, filing with agencies machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are • Arranging payment or withholding equally expensed per month (875 times income per capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred in June will be Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, profits) sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will • Profit or corporate income tax exceed Output VAT in June 2017. • Social contributions, labor taxes paid by The corporate income tax audit process: employer - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax • Property and property transfer taxes depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. • Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions discovered the error and voluntarily notified the tax authority. The value of the taxes underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. Postfiling Index • Time to comply with a VAT refund (hours) • Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) • Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) • Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) Page 37 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Paying Taxes - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Payments (number per year) 8 27.1 11.2 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 248 330.0 159.4 49 (Singapore) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 35.2 46.7 39.8 26.1% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 33.04 47.04 84.41 None in 2017/18 Figure – Paying Taxes in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 77.99: Costa Rica (Rank: 57) 77.30: El Salvador (Rank: 62) 70.30: Guatemala (Rank: 102) 60.49: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 57.85: Colombia (Rank: 146) 51.74: Honduras (Rank: 164) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Figure – Paying Taxes in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 100 87.15 80 Index score 60 48.17 49.54 47.04 40 33.04 35.14 20 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Page 38 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Paying Taxes in Guatemala Tax or Payments Notes on Time Statutory Tax base Total tax Notes on mandatory (number) Payments (hours) tax rate and TTCR contribution contribution rate (% of profit) Corporate 1.0 online 23.0 25% or 7% taxable profits 19.65 income tax or gross income Solidarity tax 1.0 online 1% net asset or 17.68 included in (ISO) gross income other taxes Employer 1.0 online 126.0 12.67% gross salaries 14.29 paid - Social security contributions Capital Gains 1.0 online 10% capital gains 0.51 Tax Property tax 1.0 online 0.9% property 0.45 value Tax on 1.0 10% interest 0.26 interest income Advertising 1.0 0.5% advertising 0.01 tax expenses Employee 0.0 jointly 4.83% gross salaries 0.00 withheld paid - Social security contributions Value added 1.0 online 99.0 12% value added 0.00 not included tax (VAT) and land sale Totals 8 248 35.2 Page 39 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Paying Taxes in Guatemala – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 20.2 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 14.3 Other taxes (% of profit) 0.7 Page 40 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Paying Taxes in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 33.04 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No Restrictions on VAT refund process Restricted to international traders and others Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT refund 0 per case study scenario Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) No VAT refund 0 per case study scenario Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 50% - 74% Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) 15.0 75.23 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) 13.8 56.92 Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. N/A = Not applicable. Page 41 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are or border handling in origin economy recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency required by destination economy and any transit at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. economies The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. • Covers all documents required by law and in practice, including electronic submissions of Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are information excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors Border compliance are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector • Customs clearance and inspections experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates. • Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of shipments) Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a • Handling and inspections that take place at the warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a economy’s port or border warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS Domestic transport 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest • Loading or unloading of the shipment at the value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the warehouse or port/border product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. • Transport between warehouse and port/border Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. • Traffic delays and road police checks while - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import shipment is en route product and the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Page 42 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Trading across Borders - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 36 61.9 12.5 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 310 529.8 139.1 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 48 52.5 2.4 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 105 110.4 35.2 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 72 62.6 8.5 0 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 405 647.2 100.2 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 32 79.1 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 37 116.3 24.9 0 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 89.76: El Salvador (Rank: 44) 79.32: Costa Rica (Rank: 73) 77.15: Guatemala (Rank: 83) 69.15: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 65.85: Honduras (Rank: 123) 61.83: Colombia (Rank: 133) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import. Figure – Trading across Borders in Guatemala – Time and Cost Time (hours) Cost (USD) 80 72 405 450 70 400 310 350 Time (hours) 60 Cost (USD) 48 300 50 250 40 36 32 200 30 105 150 20 100 10 37 50 0 0 Export Export Import Import - - - - Border Documentary Border Documentary Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance Page 43 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Trading across Borders in Guatemala Characteristics Export Import Product HS 09 : Coffee, tea, matï and spices HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner United States United States Border Santo Tomás de Castilla port Santo Tomás de Castilla port Distance (km) 298 298 Domestic transport time (hours) 8 8 Domestic transport cost (USD) 750 750 Details – Trading across Borders in Guatemala – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required 33.3 105.0 by customs authorities Export: Clearance and inspections required 8.0 0.0 by agencies other than customs Export: Port or border handling 28.0 205.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required 72.0 200.0 by customs authorities Import: Clearance and inspections required 0.0 0.0 by agencies other than customs Import: Port or border handling 72.0 205.0 Page 44 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Trading across Borders in Guatemala – Trade Documents Export Import Phytosanitary Certificate Customs Import Declaration Export Permit /Permiso de la Asociacion Nacional del Café Bill of Lading Commercial Invoice Commercial Invoice Bill of Lading Packing List Customs Export Declaration Certificate of Origin Packing List Terminal Handling Receipts Terminal Handling Receipts SOLAS certificate Inspection Report Certificate of Origin SOLAS certificate Page 45 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between 2 courts (calendar days) domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt • Time to file and serve the case enforcement. • Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses several • Time to enforce the judgment assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and courts (% of claim) Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. • Attorney fees - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are not of adequate quality. • Court fees - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local • Enforcement fees currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. • Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure the claim. • Case management (0-6) - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. • Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable • Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) assets. Page 46 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Enforcing Contracts - Guatemala Standardized Case Claim value GTQ 61,485 Court name Guatemala City Court of First Instance City Covered Guatemala City Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Time (days) 1402 768.5 582.4 None in 2017/18 Cost (% of claim value) 26.5 31.4 21.2 None in 2017/18 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.0 8.5 11.5 None in 2017/18 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 55.30: El Salvador (Rank: 109) 53.39: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 53.33: Costa Rica (Rank: 121) 45.54: Honduras (Rank: 152) 34.55: Guatemala (Rank: 176) 34.29: Colombia (Rank: 177) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Guatemala – Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of claim value) 1600 45.8 50 Cost (% of claim value) 1402 1400 1288 35.2 40 1200 Time (days) 31.4 1000 920 852 816 26.5 30 24.3 768.5 800 21.2 19.2 582.4 600 20 400 10 200 0 0 Colombia Costa El Guatemala Honduras Latin OECD Rica Salvador America high & income Caribbean Page 47 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Guatemala 2 0.5 0.5 3 Colombia 2.5 1.5 1.5 3.5 Costa Rica 2.5 2.5 0.5 3 El Salvador 2.5 2 0.5 3 Honduras 2.5 2 0 3 OECD high income 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.6 Latin America & Caribbean 2.4 2.1 0.9 3.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Guatemala Indicator Time (days) 1402 Filing and service 66 Trial and judgment 796 Enforcement of judgment 540 Cost (% of claim value) 26.5 Attorney fees 15 Court fees 6.5 Enforcement fees 5 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 Case management (0-6) 0.5 Court automation (0-4) 0.5 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 Page 48 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Enforcing Contracts in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 6.0 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 3.0 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? No 0.0 2. Small claims court 1.0 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? Yes 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? No 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, automatic 1.0 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 0.5 1. Time standards 0.5 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil Yes case? 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? Yes 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? No 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be No granted? 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to No 0.0 disposition report; (ii) clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the No 0.0 competent court? 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0 use by judges? 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0 use by lawyers? Court automation (0-4) 0.5 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the no 0.0 competent court? 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the No 0.0 competent court? 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.5 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the No general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme Yes court level made available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 1. Arbitration 1.5 Page 49 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public No order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes 2. Mediation/Conciliation 0.5 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or No consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects? 2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation No (i.e., if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? Page 50 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: • Measured in calendar years • Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local estate) currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s • Measured as percentage of estate value real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to • Court fees operate otherwise. • Fees of insolvency administrators In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to • Lawyers’ fees judicial liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered. • Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees • Other related fees Outcome • Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors • Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account • Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) • Sum of the scores of four component indices: • Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) • Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) • Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) • Creditor participation index (0-4) Page 51 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Resolving Insolvency - Guatemala Indicator Guatemala Latin America OECD high Best Regulatory & Caribbean income Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.0 30.9 70.5 None in 2017/18 Time (years) 3.0 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 14.5 16.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 .. .. .. concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 4.0 7.1 11.9 None in 2017/18 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2019 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 67.40: Colombia (Rank: 40) 45.63: El Salvador (Rank: 89) 38.91: Regional Average (Latin America & Caribbean) 34.53: Costa Rica (Rank: 134) 32.09: Honduras (Rank: 143) 27.59: Guatemala (Rank: 156) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala – Time and Cost Time (years) Cost (% of estate) 4 3.8 16.8 18 3.5 3.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 16 Cost (% of estate) 3.0 3.0 2.9 14 3 Time (years) 12.0 12 2.5 9.3 10 2 8.5 1.7 1.7 8 1.5 6 1 4 0.5 2 0 0 Colombia Costa El Guatemala Honduras Latin OECD Rica Salvador America high & income Caribbean Page 52 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Guatemala 0 2 2 0 Colombia 5.5 3 1 0.5 Costa Rica 2 3 1 0 El Salvador 4 2 3 0 Honduras 4 2 1 0 OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.2 1.9 Latin America & Caribbean 3.7 2.4 1.9 0.8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 100 80 67.2 60 40 32.5 28.0 29.3 30.9 19.0 20 0 Guatemala Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Honduras Latin America & Caribbean Page 53 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala Indicator Answer Score Proceeding foreclosure A foreclosure would probably be the most likely procedure to apply, based on the Civil Procedure code, the Commercial Code and Decree 107 (Art. 294). In general, collective insolvency proceedings are less frequent than foreclosures in Guatemala. The foreclosure proceeding would take around 3 years. It would start with the creditor filing a claim before the court for the enforcement of the sale of the property used as a collateral. The debtor has to be personally notified about the claim. The debtor will have the opportunity to counter-claim. The claim has to be sent to the debtor’s home and he has to personally acknowledge the receipt of the claim. This can take a while, delays at this stage are very common. Once the debtor is finally reached, he has three days to object. Several rounds of objections are very common. Even though in “via de apremio” there are limits to the objections the debtor can make, it is common to face a lot of delays because of the objections. After that, it will take about 1.5 years until the approval to initiate foreclosure is handed down by the Court. Once the debtor finally accepts the claim, after several rounds of objections, the judge sets a time and date for the public auction. It can take around from 6 months to 1 year to organize and complete the auction. Also, it is not uncommon to organize several auctions because the hotel is not sold in the first one. Also, it is common that the debtor opposes how the hotel was valued. The public auction has to be published in the Diario Oficial at least three times, and also at the court (this will take a minimum of one month). Outcome piecemeal sale Because of the sale of the property through a public auction, the hotel won’t be able to continue operating and its assets will be sold piecemeal. Time (in years) 3.0 The foreclosure proceeding will take approximately 3 years in Guatemala from the moment of Mirage’s default until the debt is repaid to the secured creditor. It will take 1.5 years until the approval to initiate foreclosure is handed down by the Court, including the notification period and the debtor’s counter-claim. After that stage, it will take 1 year for the auction to take place (including the necessary time to appoint an auctioneer, the scheduling of the auction and the sale of the real estate). It will take additional 6 months for the judge to approve the sale and have it registered. Cost (% of 14.5 The cost for a foreclosure proceeding as described above would amount approximately to 15% of estate) the value of Mirage’s estate. The main component of this expenditure would be the attorney’s fees, which would amount 8% of the value of Mirage’s estate. The rest would be the costs of the custodian and property appraisal which would amount to 5% of the value of Mirage’s estate. The rest of the cost would be judicial and notification expenses. Article 396 of the Procedural Civil and Commercial Code of Guatemala provides that in no case the total fees of all professionals involved in the insolvency process may not exceed 12% of the value of the claim. However, this article does not apply to foreclosures. They can be calculated according to the professional schedules for arbitrators, attorneys, judicial leaders, experts, auditors and trustees. (Decree 111- 96) Recovery rate 28.0 (cents on the dollar) Page 54 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Details – Resolving Insolvency in Guatemala – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 4.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (b) Debtor may 0.5 file for liquidation only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may file for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0 insolvency framework? generally unable to pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods No 0.0 and services to the debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome No 0.0 contracts? Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after No 0.0 commencement of insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (c) No priority is 0.0 assigned to post- commencement creditors Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.0 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? N/A 0.0 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization receive at No 0.0 least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, No 0.0 does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 2.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or Yes 1.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0 assets of the debtor? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information No 0.0 from the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions Yes 1.0 accepting or rejecting creditors' claims? Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Page 55 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents detailed data for the labor market regulation indicators on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. same night hours as men; (v) length of paid annual - Has 60 employees. leave. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them. Redundancy rules - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify agreements. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring; (ii) whether law mandates paid or unpaid maternity leave; (iii) length of paid maternity leave; (iv) whether employees on maternity leave receive 100% of wages; (v) availability of five fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Page 56 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Labor Market Regulation - Guatemala Details – Labor Market Regulation in Guatemala Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) No limit Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 439.2 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.8 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 2.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 50.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 50.0 Restrictions on night work? Yes Whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work the same night hours as men Yes Restrictions on weekly holiday? Yes Restrictions on overtime work? Yes Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 15.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 15.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 15.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 15.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? No Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? No Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Priority rules for reemployment? No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 0.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 0.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 0.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 0.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 5.1 Page 57 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 25.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 50.6 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 27.0 Job quality Equal remuneration for work of equal value? No Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? No Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 84.0 Receive 100% of wages on maternity leave? Yes Five fully paid days of sick leave a year? Yes Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? n.a. Page 58 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Business Reforms in Guatemala In the past year, Doing Business observed a peaking of reform activity worldwide. From June 2, 2017, to May 1, 2018, 128 economies implemented a record 314 regulatory reforms improving the business climate. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business. DB2019 Starting a Business: Guatemala made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement, reducing the registration fees and streamlining registration procedures. DB2018 Dealing with Construction Permits: Guatemala made dealing with construction permits more complicated and expensive by expanding the classification of projects requiring an environmental impact assessment. DB2017 Paying Taxes: Guatemala made paying taxes less costly by reducing the rate of corporate income tax. DB2016 Paying Taxes: Guatemala made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Trading across Borders: Guatemala reduced the documentary and border compliance time for importing by making electronic submission of documents compulsory and eliminating the need for many hard-copy documents. DB2015 Starting a Business: Guatemala made starting a business easier by eliminating certain registration fees and reducing the time to publish a notice of incorporation. Paying Taxes: Guatemala made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by enhancing the electronic system for filing and paying corporate income tax and VAT and by reducing the capital gains and corporate income tax rates. On the other hand, it also made paying taxes more complicated by introducing a new form for capital gains tax. DB2014 Dealing with Construction Permits: Guatemala made dealing with construction permits easier by streamlining procedures through the creation of a one-stop shop, backed by agreements between institutions and agencies involved in the permitting process. Paying Taxes: Guatemala made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing a new electronic filing and payment system. DB2013 Dealing with Construction Permits: Guatemala made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing a risk-based approval system DB2010 Dealing with Construction Permits: Guatemala made dealing with construction permits easier through a new land management plan that simplified the risk-based approval process for building permits and through new zoning regimes that speeded up the approval process. Registering Property: Guatemala made registering property easier by streamlining the process at the cadastral office, by reorganizing operations, and making greater use of electronic services. Getting Credit: Guatemala strengthened its secured transactions system by creating a new movable asset registry that covers all types of movable assets as well as creditors and debtors and improved access to credit information by guaranteeing borrowers’ right to inspect their own data. Paying Taxes: Guatemala made paying taxes easier for companies by expanding the category of businesses for which electronic filing and payment of value added and corporate income tax is mandatory and by extending the electronic system to most banks. DB2009 Getting Credit: Guatemala strengthened its secured transactions system through a new law creating a new form of pledge over movable assets and a registry for these pledges, allowing a general description of accounts receivable and inventory used as collateral and permitting parties to a security agreement to agree to out-of-court enforcement of the security right when signing the agreement. Page 59 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala DB2008 Starting a Business: Guatemala reduced the time required for new company registration through full implementation of its one-stop shop. Dealing with Construction Permits: Guatemala made dealing with construction permits less time consuming by accelerating the issuance of decisions by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Registering Property: Guatemala reduced the time required to register property by allowing registrars to submit electronic signatures. Trading across Borders: Guatemala made trading across borders easier by implementing a new electronic data interchange system, training customs staff and improving its risk-based inspection system. Enforcing Contracts: Guatemala made enforcing contracts easier by increasing the maximum size of claims that can be brought to justices of the peace. Page 60 Doing Business 2019 Guatemala Page 61