Necessary and Urgent Decree No. 311/2020: prohibition of suspension or cancellation of services based on lack or delay on payment.
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Public Law Report | Necessary and Urgent Decree No. 311/2020: Prohibition of suspension or cancellation of services based on lack or delay on payment.
Within the state of sanitary emergency currently in force, on March 24, 2020, the National Executive Branch issued and published Decree 311/2020 –an emergency decree- through which it prohibited the cancellation or suspension, to certain users, of electricity, gas, water, fixed or mobile phones, internet, and cable TV services, for a period of 180 days, for cases of delay or lack of payment of 3 bills either consecutive or alternative, with due days as from March 1, 2020. With regards to pre-paid telephone or internet services, Decree 311/2020 states that companies must grant limited services and connectivity for those who have not paid for a recharge until April 30, 2020.
Users are classified into two categories:
a) Residential users: beneficiaries of State Programs (Asignación Universal por Hijo y por Embarazo), Non-Contributing Pensions within certain parameters, users registered in the Social Monotax, pensioners and retired people, workers within an employment relationship within certain parameters, Monotax within categories of no more than two minimum salaries, users receiving unemployment insurances, electro-dependants, Law 27.351 beneficiaries, people within special regimes for private house employees, and those excepted from ABL payment or similar.
b) No-residential users: Micro, small and medium companies, Working Cooperatives or Recovered Companies, public or private health institutions, public wellbeing entities contributing to the production or distribution or food products within the frame of the food emergency. All of them, if affected by the emergency.
Decree 311/2020 states the possibility of including new beneficiaries in case their payment capacity if sensibly affected due to the emergency.
Finally, Decree 311/2020 establishes that the maximum prices for the selling of liquated petroleum gas with destination to internal consumption will continue to be the price as per March 24, 2020, for 180 days.
Please do not hesitate in coming back to us should you have any queries.
Juan Antonio Stupenengo
Florencia Cairella