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Which activities did the 2021 reform (Decree 6-2021) reopen under the Free Zones Law?

According to the cited documentsLegal framework

Activities whose ban the reform removed

13

Reform approved in May 2021Nota publicada por PRONACOM sobre

Congress Decree 6-2021, whose text appears on the Organismo Judicial (Judiciary) website, amends art. 41 of the Free Zones Act, Decree 65-89, 'reformado por el artículo 27 del Decreto Número 19-2016' (as amended by article 27 of Decree 19-2016), which lists the activities that may not be produced in or traded from a free zone nor carried out within one; it also amends arts. 1 and 5 Bis and adds art. 50 Bis, which treats obtaining free-zone qualification by deceiving the Ministry of Economy or SAT as a special case of customs fraud. According to the Congress news item of May 12, 2021, the plenary approved it with the favourable vote of 84 deputies; initiative 5174 thereby became a decree, to be sent to the Executive for sanction or veto. The decree text was issued 'EL DOCE DE MAYO DE DOS MIL VEINTIUNO' (on the twelfth of May 2021), bears the National Palace sanction dated 'treinta y uno de mayo del año dos mil veintiuno' (the thirty-first of May 2021), and provides that it enters into force on the day of its publication in the Diario Oficial (official gazette). According to a note published by PRONACOM (May 14, 2021) on the press conference given by MINECO and SAT officials, the reforms remove the ban on 13 activities, most notably recreation centres and hotels and ceramic products; a Diario de Centro América article reproduced by Deguate reports the same. According to Prensa Libre, the restriction was removed for processed foods, biscuits, oils, margarine, pasta, sauces, dairy products, soups and beverages of any kind; animal feed; leather and footwear; plastics and their manufactures; medicines; cosmetics industries; paint; furniture; toys; and electronic devices and household appliances for sale or lease into the national customs territory, as well as ceramic products and recreation centres and hotels. All of those activities were literals of art. 41 as worded by Decree 19-2016; the new wording (literals a) to ee)) no longer mentions them, except as regards beverages: it includes alcoholic beverages, alcoholic liquids and vinegars other than wine and cider (literal b) and mineral or carbonated water, beer and malt (literal c). As the expected effect, the Congress item quotes the Ministry of Economy: 'unos 32 mil empleos y más de US$300 millones de inversión' (some 32 thousand jobs and more than US$300 million in investment); the note published by PRONACOM speaks of 'más de 32,000 empleos y más de US$300 millones de inversión adicional' (more than 32,000 jobs and more than US$300 million in additional investment) according to MINECO estimates. These are official projections, not observed figures.

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  • Vote on Decree 6-2021

    Favourable vote of 84 deputies

    May 12, 2021Congreso de la República
  • Jobs expected according to MINECO (projection, not observed)

    Some 32 thousand

    2021 (projection)Congreso de la República
  • Investment expected according to MINECO (projection, not observed)

    More than US$300 million

    2021 (projection)Congreso de la República

Sources

  • Congreso de la República

    Pleno del Congreso aprueba reformas a la Ley de Zonas Francas

    • Vote on Decree 6-2021
    • Jobs expected according to MINECO (projection, not observed)
    • Investment expected according to MINECO (projection, not observed)
    congreso.gob.gtAccessed Sep 13, 2026Go to the source
  • Organismo Judicial

    Decreto Número 6-2021 del Congreso, reformas a la Ley de Zonas Francas

    ww2.oj.gob.gtAccessed Sep 6, 2026Go to the source
  • Organismo Judicial

    Decreto Número 19-2016 del Congreso, Ley Emergente para la Conservación del Empleo

    ww2.oj.gob.gtAccessed Sep 6, 2026Go to the source
  • PRONACOM

    Nota sobre la conferencia de prensa del MINECO y la SAT acerca de la aprobación de la reforma a la Ley de Zonas Francas

    pronacom.orgAccessed Sep 14, 2026Go to the source
  • Deguate

    Exponen beneficios de las zonas francas

    deguate.comAccessed Sep 14, 2026Go to the source
  • Prensa Libre

    Los sectores con beneficios fiscales tras las reformas a la Ley de Zonas Francas aprobadas por el Congreso

    prensalibre.comAccessed Sep 14, 2026Go to the source