1.    Legal and factual basis

1.1    Article 78 of the Political Constitution establishes that the law shall be in charge of regulating the control of the quality of goods and services offered and rendered, as well as the information to be provided to the public. 

1.2    The Congress of the Republic, in development of the constitutional mandate, issued Law 1480 of 2011 which regulates the rights and obligations arising between producers, suppliers and consumers. The rules of this law apply mainly to consumer relations and the liability of producers or suppliers to the consumer in all sectors that do not have special regulations.

1.3    Regarding the legal guarantee, Articles 6 and 7 of Law 1480 of 2011 establish that every producer must ensure the suitability, quality and safety of the goods and services it offers and must respond for any failure in any of the aforementioned aspects. This legal guarantee is similarly regulated in chapter 32 of title 2 of part 2 of part 2 of book 2 of decree 1074 of 2015. 

1.4    In the case of the provision of services, according to article 3 of the aforementioned law the legal guarantee implies that, when there is default, there must be the possibility of opting for the provision of the service under the contracted conditions or the refund of the price paid at the consumer's choice.

1.5    In addition, the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (“SIC”) issued instructions regarding the information that producers must make available to the consumer, defined the minimum content of information that must accompany the sale of tickets for public shows and implemented a security mechanism and a procedure that guarantees consumers the opportunity to file claims of any kind. 

2.    Regulation issued derived from the COVID-19 Pandemic 

Within the framework of the pandemic generated by COVID-19, unprecedented situations arose in the country that implied the adoption of multiple measures to face the problems generated by the virus:

2.1    On May 6th, 2020, the National Government issued Decree No. 637 of 202, declaring a state of economic, social and ecological emergency throughout the national territory. 

2.2    The Ministry of Health also declared a sanitary emergency through Resolution 385 of 2020.

2.3    Additionally, the President of the Republic issued the Legislative Decree No. 818 of 2020, which regulates the particular or transitory situations caused by CIVD-19. In this decree, it is mentioned in the motivating part that the pandemic has led to the cancellation of public performing arts shows and the closure of cultural venues such as theaters and concert halls, making it necessary to adopt actions that allow producers and box office operators to respond to requests for retraction, withdrawal and other circumstances of reimbursement. 

2.4    Taking into consideration the above, it is concluded that currently it coexists a general and a particular rule, for the process of attention of requests for effectiveness of the guarantee derived from cancelled or modified public shows, this is, Law 1480 of 2011 and Legislative Decree No. 818 of 2020. 

3.    Instructions

3.1    The effectiveness of the guarantee claims received by producers for the cancellation or modification of public shows, which have as direct cause the compliance with the measures adopted to contain the COVID-19 infection will be reimbursed during the period that the Sanitary Emergency declared by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection due to the COVID-19 pandemic is enforceable and for up to one more year.

3.2    The effectiveness of the guarantee claims received by the producers for the cancellation or modification of the shows for any cause other than the one stated in the previous section, shall be processed in accordance with the general consumer protection regulations in force. 

3.3    The SIC has the power to order any type of measures to prevent any damage or harm to consumers in case of suspension, cancellation or rescheduling of public performing arts events.

3.4    In case of suspension, cancellation or rescheduling of public performing arts events, consumers seeking protection of their interests may file claims for the effectiveness of the guarantee before the SIC.
 
3.5    Persons engaged in the organization or promotion of public performances of the performing arts must provide timely, clear, truthful, sufficient, verifiable, and suitable information to consumers on the suspension or cancellation of public performances. 

4.    Publication

This circular is available for consultation in the Official Gazette, the SIC's web page, and in the following link