Current status of procedures for obtaining permits to operate a business in Guatemala.

By zone_admin | 24 de May de 2022 | Blog

In Guatemala, for any work, project or industry, a series of permits is necessary to operate, among which we can mention:
  1. Environmental Impact Study, which must be approved by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as established in the Law for the Protection and Improvement of the Environment.
  2. Sanitary License issued by the Health Centers, attached to the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, as established in the Health Code;
  3. Occupational Health and Safety Plans, approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, as established in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
  4. Emergency Response Plan approved by the Disaster Reduction Coordinator, as established in Disaster Reduction Standard number two-NRD-2.
  5. Municipal permits that will depend on each municipal jurisdiction establishing the corresponding permit.
  6. Hydrocarbon licenses in general, approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, among others.
In the country there is a particular situation related to obtaining permits from the institutions, which consists in the fact that there is no established order or clear information to obtain permits. This creates a problem for companies since there is confusion, misinformation, disorder and government bureaucracy on the subject. In this sense, the personnel in charge of verifying the obtaining and compliance with the permits to operate of a company are generally assigned a series of additional administrative tasks typical of what the company does and this implies an extra burden of attributions that has as a consequence the carelessness or inattention in the issue of permissions. As a result of the situation experienced by the employees in charge of the issue of permits, it is recommended that they rely on companies that can advise them, take control and carry out the necessary procedures before public institutions to obtain permits and thus guarantee that companies are in compliance to operate. For this, ZONE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES puts at your disposal the experience that is available for the processing of these permits before the aforementioned Public Institutions, so that companies can achieve compliance. Having this service implies a benefit to the companies, because they avoid wear and bureaucracy before the institutions to obtain the permit, the employees can dedicate themselves to the assigned tasks of the company, and they have technical support staff that can solve Doubts or queries about the requirements, process, costs and time to obtain the permit.