Who Regulates Business Activity in Colombia?

To begin this article, it is necessary to first clarify that depending on the economic sector where your business operates, you may have specialized control entities for the activity in question, some examples of which are the Superintendency of Health, the Financial Superintendency, and the Superintendency of Surveillance and Private Security. However, in this article, we want you to learn about those entities that are particularly necessary and regulate general issues and disputes in the business sector in our country.

We will then begin with the Chamber of Commerce, taking into account that these are located by city, and that in them you register your business at its principal place of business. Additionally, it has other functions set forth in Article 86 of the Commercial Code and in other legal and regulatory provisions, which are cited below: “Article 4 of Decree 2042 of 2014, Regulatory of Law 1727 of 2014:

1. Serve as an advisory body to the national government and, consequently, study matters submitted for its consideration and issue reports requested on industry, commerce, and other branches related to its activities.
2. Conduct, prepare, and promote legal, financial, statistical, and socioeconomic research and studies on topics of regional and general interest that contribute to the development of the community and the region where they operate.
3. Keep the public registries entrusted to them by law and certify the acts and documents registered therein.
4. Compile and certify commercial custom through research conducted by each Chamber of Commerce within its own jurisdiction. The research shall aim to establish practices or rules of commercial conduct observed in a public, uniform, repeated, and general manner, provided they do not oppose current legal provisions.
5. Create arbitration, conciliation, and amicable composition centers through which services typical of alternative dispute resolution methods are offered, in accordance with legal provisions.
6. Carry out actions and programs aimed at providing the region with the necessary facilities for organizing and holding fairs, exhibitions, artistic, cultural, scientific, and academic events, among others, of interest to the business community in the jurisdiction of the respective Chamber of Commerce.
7. Participate in the creation and operation of event centers, convention centers, and fairgrounds in accordance with Law 1558 of 2012 and other provisions that replace, modify, or add to it.
8. Promote business formalization, strengthening, and innovation, as well as develop training activities in commercial and industrial areas and other areas of regional interest, through specialized courses, seminars, conferences, and publications.
9. Promote regional and business development, improve competitiveness, and participate in national programs of this nature.
10. Promote the affiliation of registered merchants who meet the requirements set forth in the law, in order to encourage business participation in the management of chambers of commerce and access to special services and programs.
11. Provide business information services originating exclusively from public registries, for which they may charge only the costs of producing such information.
12. Provide paid value-added information services that incorporate data from other sources.
13. Perform and promote civic oversight activities on matters of general interest within their respective jurisdiction.
14. Promote programs and activities in favor of the productive sectors of the regions where they operate, as well as the promotion of culture, education, recreation, and tourism.
15. Participate in activities aimed at strengthening the business sector, provided it can be demonstrated that the project represents technological advancement or meets needs or implies development for the region.
16. Keep special programs and services available for their members.
17. Have the necessary technological services for the fulfillment and proper development of their registration functions and the efficient provision of their services.
18. Publish the commercial notice referred to in numeral 4 of Article 86 of the Commercial Code, which may be done in the bulletins or advertising organs of the chambers of commerce, through the Internet, or by any electronic means that allows it.
19. Make contributions and donations to all kinds of economic, social, and cultural development programs and projects in which the nation or territorial entities, as well as their decentralized entities and non-profit entities, have an interest or have committed their resources.
20. Participate in regional, national, and international programs aimed at economic, cultural, or social development in Colombia.
21. Manage the procurement of international cooperation resources for the development of their activities.
22. Provide certification entity services provided for in Law 527 of 1999, directly or through association with other natural or legal persons.
23. Administer individually or jointly any other public registry of persons, goods, or services derived from functions attributed to public entities, in order to give publicity to acts or documents, provided that such registries are developed under legal authorization and enabling contractual links entered into with said entities.” (taken from http://ccas.org.co/wp-content/uploads/FUNCIONES-Y-DEBERES-DE-LA-CA%CC%81MARA.pdf )

Now, continuing with the list of entities that are part of business activity in Colombia, we find the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, whose functions include:

1. Protecting consumers: according to the Consumer Statute, it regulates that companies comply with obligations, such as: providing the warranty, not engaging in confusing or misleading advertising, and even consumer education with concepts and monitoring of business activity in Colombia.
2. Industrial property: in this area, the Superintendency protects creations, signs, or symbols used to distinguish their products and services from others in the national market. It should be noted that this purpose also seeks to minimize confusion for consumers and the preservation of identity, recognition, and rights of companies that, through the proper process before the entity, register their products and services to be protected from competition.
3. Jurisdictional functions: this means that in this task, the Superintendency acts as a “judge,” reviewing complaints from companies and consumers, and accordingly, it may also carry out ex officio investigations, that is, initiated on its own initiative, when it anticipates any non-compliance with the law by companies.
4. It also protects competition: Colombia aims to protect the market in terms of variety of prices and products that the consumer is free to choose, and therefore the entity seeks to verify that there are no practices contrary to this premise.
5. Unfair competition: in this case, the Superintendency may investigate, correct, and sanction practices carried out by companies or entrepreneurs who seek to disrupt the proper functioning of the market to benefit themselves. It refers to behavior that is contrary to the requirements of good faith and professional diligence.
6. Protection of personal data: the Colombian Constitution indicates the protection of the right to privacy and good name[1], which is called “Habeas Data.” This is a right of the data subject to protect the knowledge, updating, and use of their personal data, since companies have access to such data for their commercial activities, and therefore the entity monitors that its use, storage, and handling are appropriate and for the purposes within the scope of business and as authorized by the owners of the information. It is the function of the SIC to monitor operators that handle such data to prevent them from being used and disclosed incorrectly.
7. Supervision of the Chambers of Commerce and their functions.

Finally, within the list of control entities, we have the Superintendency of Companies. This entity regulates the internal affairs of companies: good practices among partners, administrative, accounting, and economic management, with the due processes and registration required by law. According to the regulations, some of its functions are:

1. “Advise the national government and participate in the formulation of policies on all matters related to the inspection, supervision, and control of commercial companies, sole proprietorships, and the functions assigned regarding chambers of commerce, public registries, and merchants.
2. Exercise, in accordance with the law, inspection, supervision, and control over commercial companies, branches of foreign companies, sole proprietorships, and any other entity determined by law.
3. Request, confirm, and analyze occasionally, and in the form, detail, and terms it determines, the information required on the legal, accounting, economic, or administrative situation of any company not supervised by the Financial Superintendency of Colombia, or on specific operations thereof. With respect to these companies, the Superintendency of Companies may conduct administrative investigations ex officio.
4. Ensure that companies not subject to the supervision of other superintendencies, in their formation and operation and in the development of their corporate purpose, comply with the law and the bylaws.
5. Subject to control any commercial company, branch of a foreign company, or sole proprietorship not supervised by another Superintendency, and order the necessary corrective measures to remedy critical situations of a legal, accounting, economic, and administrative nature of that company.
6. Adopt the administrative measures that may be appropriate with respect to companies and branches not supervised by the Financial Superintendency of Colombia, under the terms established by law.
7. Exercise the functions assigned by law in relation to companies managing commercial self-financing plans and livestock funds.
8. Convene, when required, in accordance with the law, an insolvency process for clubs with professional athletes organized as corporations.
9. Order the initiation of an insolvency process based on the provisions of the law, for supervised and controlled companies.
10. Subject to the supervision of the Superintendency of Companies any company or branch of a foreign company not supervised by another superintendency under the terms provided by law.
11. Develop judicial police functions under the terms established in the Code of Criminal Procedure and under the direction and coordination of the Attorney General's Office.” (taken from https://www.supersociedades.gov.co/web/nuestra-entidad/funciones-y-deberes )

We have provided an overview of some of the entities that supervise and support business activity in Colombia, so that your business and your employees can better understand them in case they need guidance and reference for their various tasks and obligations, to file complaints or protect companies or consumers. However, if you have doubts or specific questions about a process to be carried out before these entities, do not hesitate to consult your lawyer or trusted firm to comply with legal requirements and specifications and guarantee your rights.

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[1] Article 15. All persons have the right to their personal and family privacy and to their good name, and the State must respect them and ensure they are respected.