Superintendency of Industry and Commerce

The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC; Spanish: Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio) is the competition regulator in Colombia. It is the statutory body of Government of Colombia in charge of regulating fair business practices, promoting competitiveness and acting as the Colombian patent and registration office.

Superintendency of Industry and Commerce

Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio
Agency overview
Formed	3 December 1968 (1968-12-03)[1]
Headquarters	Carrera 13 № 27-00 Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Annual budget	COP$54,085,200,000 (2011)[2] COP$71,296,085,000 (2012)[3] COP$94,169,797,000 (2013)[4]
Agency executive	Cielo Elainne Rusinque Urrego, Superintendent
Parent agency	Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism
Website	www.sic.gov.co

History

In 2014, the agency signed an agreement of cooperation with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division.^[5] In 2018, Andrés Barreto, who served as Deputy Director of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, became superintendent of the SIC.^[6] In December 2020, the SIC levied fines equivalent to USD$84.5 million against members of a consortium headed by Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, over anti-competitive behavior.^[7]

In 2022, the agency established thresholds that would determine whether a merger control procedure would take place.^[8] In April 2023, María del Socorro Pimienta, who led the Executive Director of the Trademark Office within the SIC, was appointed to lead the agency.^[9] However, she was dismissed from the position over controversies related to her tenure.^[10] In February 2024, Cielo Elainne Rusinque Urrego was appointed to lead the agency.^[11]

References

1. "SIC 40 Años Sirviendo al País" [SIC 40 Years Serving the Country]. Boletín Virtual del Sector Commercio, Industria y Turismo (in Spanish) (11). Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. November 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
2. Colombia, Congress of (13 December 2010). "Ley 1420 de 2010" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (47, 922). Bogotá: 29. ISSN 0122-2112. OCLC 500057889. Retrieved 6 May 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
3. Colombia, Congress of (14 December 2011). "Ley 1485 de 2011" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (48, 283). Bogotá: 15. ISSN 0122-2112. OCLC 500057889. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
4. Colombia, Congress of (10 December 2012). "Ley 1593 de 2012" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish) (48, 640). Bogotá: 16. ISSN 0122-2112. OCLC 500057889. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
5. "Agreement On Antitrust Cooperation Between the United States Department of Justice and the United States Federal Trade Commission, of the One Part, and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia, of the Other Part". Federal Trade Commission. 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
6. "Interview with Andrés Barreto González, Superintendent, Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), Colombia" (PDF). ABA. 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
7. "Colombia regulator fines Odebrecht, consortium members $84.5 million". Reuters. 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
8. Pardo Cuéllar, María Carolina; Navarro, Angelica; Alberto, Luis (2022-01-28). "Colombia: The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce set the thresholds regarding total assets or operational income for determining the obligation to undertake a merger control during 2022". Global Compliance News. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
9. "Colombia welcomes new superintendent". Olarte Moure. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
10. "Gobierno destituye a la Superindustria María del Socorro Pimienta". El Espectador (in Spanish). 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
11. McConnell, Charles (2024-02-08). "Colombia appoints new antitrust head but uncertainty remains over predecessor's exit". Global Competition Review. Retrieved 2024-02-09.