Colombia: Legislative setback for consumer protection reform — key amendments under review

19 Jun 2025    2 minute read

In brief

Senate Bill 173 of 2024 — Chamber Bill 490 of 2025 ("Bill of Law"), which proposes a comprehensive reform of Colombia's Consumer Protection Statute (Law 1480 of 2011), was not approved during its third debate in the Third Commission of the Chamber of Representatives. The rejection stemmed from the introduction of substantial amendments to the version previously approved by the Senate. As a result, the bill will now require a new legislative debate to evaluate these changes before it can proceed further.

Contents

Key takeaways

The proposed amendments include the following:

  • Exclusion of e-commerce from local jurisdiction: The Third Commission amended Article 62 of the Bill of Law to limit the authority of mayors in consumer protection matters, explicitly excluding e-commerce operations. This jurisdiction would remain solely with the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), acknowledging the technical complexity and cross-border nature of such transactions.
  • Technical adjustments to the repairability index: Article 23-1 of the Bill of Law proposes that the repairability index, which aims to inform consumers about how easily a product can be repaired, be calculated based on four factors:
  1. Technical documentation provided by the manufacturer
  2. Ease of disassembly
  3. Availability of spare parts
  4. Proportionality between the cost of spare parts and the original product

The Third Commission expanded the scope of responsibility to include both the manufacturer and the producer, and it granted regulatory authority to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

  • Strengthening regulation against greenwashing: The Bill of Law introduced specific fines for false or misleading claims about environmental benefits, commonly known as "greenwashing." The Third Commission subsequently added a transitional provision granting the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development a 12-month period to issue the corresponding regulation.
  • New provisions on compliance and early termination: The Bill of Law introduced the implementation of a consumer protection compliance or self-regulation program as a mitigating factor. Moreover, the Third Commission added Article 61A, which establishes mechanisms for early termination of administrative investigations when companies have certified compliance programs in place. This measure aims to encourage early redress for affected consumers.
  • Suspension of the statute of limitations for sanctions: Under Article 52 of the Administrative Procedure and Contentious Administrative Code, the authority to impose sanctions expires three years after the incident. The Third Commission has proposed that the filing of charges suspend this statute of limitations for up to one year. This amendment would expand the administration's capacity to act in complex investigations, particularly those involving compliance programs.

Additional information

Please do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any questions or require our advice.

The updated text of the Bill of Law is available at the following link.

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Contact Information
María Carolina Pardo Cuéllar
Partner
Bogota
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carolina.pardo@bakermckenzie.com
Angelica Navarro Acevedo
Partner
Bogota
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angelica.navarro@bakermckenzie.com
Carlos Arboleda
Associate
Bogota
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carlos.arboleda@bakermckenzie.com
Julieth Sanclemente Perez
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Bogota
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julieth.sanclemente@bakermckenzie.com

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