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The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) is tasked with negotiating bilateral and multilateral sanitary and phytosanitary agreements which make it possible to market agricultural products abroad and guarantee the quality of agricultural inputs and seeds used in Colombia, while regulating and controlling the use of living organisms modified by genetic engineering in the agricultural sector. The ICA lays down guidelines and coordinates studies to assess the risks associated with the genetic modification of animals, plants and living organisms for the trade in agricultural goods, in accordance with existing regulations and protocols. It also undertakes the relevant risk analyses to justify the adoption of SPS measures that serve to permit, limit or ban imports. The ICA maintains import and export checkpoints at 127 local offices in as many municipalities spread over 32 departments, as well as at eight airports, eight seaports and five border crossings. The ICA has 55 laboratories and a quarantine station.

Imports of plants, plant products and regulated items, depending on their risk level, require a Phytosanitary Requirements Import Document (DRFI), issued by the ICA and setting out the phytosanitary requirements which must be met and which the exporting country must certify for it to be possible to export the product to Colombia. (…) Imports of wild flora further require a clearance document issued by the Ministry of the Environment, Housing and Regional Development. (...)

(...) Decree No. 4.525 of 2005 established the regulatory framework for LMOs in keeping with the procedures laid down in Law No. 740 of 2002, and established the National Technical Biosafety Committee, which is responsible for assessing the risks posed by GMOs. (...)

Resolution No. 00329 of 2001 prescribes that laboratories which analyse agricultural inputs and pesticide residues must be registered with the ICA. Foreign laboratories must be certified by a recognized international body. The national registration of a pesticide requires a risk and environmental management assessment and laboratory analysis certificates. (...)

Table 3.36 Overview of intellectual property rights, 2017
Coverage Term of protection Exceptions
(…)
Patents
Any invention, whether of products or of processes, in all areas of technology, provided that it is new, involves an inventive step and is susceptible of industrial application 20 years from date of filing of the application (...) to preserve plants or the environment; (...)

In April 2016, Colombia joined the OECD Fisheries Committee, in which it undertook to strive to strengthen management for sustainable development of fishing and aquaculture. (…) It is also working on simplification of administrative procedures, education and qualification of fishermen and fish farmers and strengthening monitoring and surveillance. This will all be helped by the approval of the draft law on illegal fishing, which deters this type of activity with sanctions; (...)

Incentives are also being offered to promote the use of non conventional sources (solar, wind, geothermal and biomass), through measures such as: (a) 50% of the amount invested deductible from the tax base for income tax, for a period of five years; (b) exemption from the payment of tariffs (imports of machinery and equipment); and (c) exemption from VAT (imports and purchases of machinery and equipment as well as services supplied in relation to the project, e.g. topographic survey, etc.). To be entitled to these incentives, projects must obtain the UPME's endorsement and the Environmental Benefit Certificate issued by the National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA). Only projects rolled out as from 2015 can benefit from these incentives.

4.75. End users are categorized as regulated or unregulated. Regulated users are small consumers, who pay for electricity in accordance with the tariff formula established by the CREG. (...) Unregulated users are large consumers whose monthly demand for power (MW) or monthly consumption (MWh) exceeds the threshold levels set by the CREG. (...)
A differentiated tariff mechanism was temporarily employed in 2016 to encourage regulated users to save energy. Discounts were granted to users that saved electricity, while an additional charge was introduced for users consuming an excessive amount of electricity.

The authorities reported that electricity production in Colombia grew steadily between 2012 and 2017, climbing from 59,890 to 64,142 GWh. Electricity is chiefly generated in hydroelectric power stations, which accounted for 86% of total production in 2017. (...)

(…) Revenues from ecotourism services are exempt (for 20 years) from income tax. Since 2013, the sale of certain packages of tourist services has been exempted from VAT. (…)