To send judicial notices to the BCRA

Know how to send judicial notices to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), the requirements, the applicable tariff, the modalities of filing, the processing deadlines and the consultation channels.

What is it about?

The Judicial Administrative Management of the BCRA processes judicial documents that order precautionary measures or request reports related to the financial system, sent electronically by courts and tribunals.

This procedure allows for the registration and channeling of judicial documents addressed to the BCRA before the Judicial Administrative Management.

The procedure manages, among others:

– requests for reports related to the financial system, and
– precautionary measures (e.g. seizures or general inhibitions of property), as well as their lifting.

The BCRA receives the official letter, verifies the formal requirements, registers the presentation and, when appropriate, communicates the measure or request for reports to the financial system through confidential communications.

Who is it intended for?

The procedure is aimed at:

– Courts and tribunals that order precautionary measures or requests for reports addressed to the BCRA;
– Authorities and personnel of competent judicial bodies;
– legal representatives acting as sponsors or attorneys-in-fact;
– Security forces acting within the framework of court orders.

Modality

– The procedure is carried out exclusively online.
– Letters are not received on paper.

Referral is made through the following channels:

– DEOX platform, for offices ordered by National or Federal Courts.
– BCRA web form, for offices ordered by other jurisdictions (provinces, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, etc.).

Cost of the procedure

The procedure is fee-based.

The tariff is equivalent to 10% of the Tariff Measure Unit (UMA) established by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, in accordance with Law 27,423, with the exceptions provided for in Board Resolution 173/19.

The current value of the UMA can be consulted on the website of the Public Bar Association of the Federal Capital.

Payment method

The fee is paid only by electronic funds transfer to the following account:

– Bank: 030 – Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
– CUIT: 30-50001138-2
– Account number: 246000 – Judicial Administrative Management Deposits
– CBU: 0300000711000002460000
– Alias: BCRAJUDICIALOF
– Type of account: Savings bank
– Currency: Pesos

There are no other forms of payment enabled.

If it is not possible to make the transfer from online banking, it can also be made at ATMs, using the immediate or deferred transfer options / in favor of third parties offered by the financial institution.

Rationale for the tariff

The fee-based nature of this administrative procedure arises from Decree 1757/90.
The exceptions are contemplated in Board Resolution 173/19.

Conditions for submission

In order for a judicial official document to be processed by the BCRA, a judicial official letter in PDF format is required, which meets the formal requirements:

– addressed to: “Central Bank of the Argentine Republic – Judicial Administrative Management”;

– Clear indication of the purpose of the letter (for example, request for reports, blocking or lifting of precautionary measures);

– identification of the person requested or executed with name, surname and DNI or CUIT;

– Proof of payment of the fee, with the value in force on the day the official letter is uploaded to the website or sent by DEOX, except in cases reached by exceptions.

– Contact details of the court:

- – email address where the reply notes should be sent,
- – Cover page of the process, file number and court order number.

– signature of the judge, or of the competent judicial official, with the procedural formalities of the corresponding jurisdiction and of Law 22,172;

In precautionary measures: identification of the amount of the precautionary measure in pesos, or the amount determinable in pesos in the case of foreign currency;

In requests for reports: transcript of the court order ordering the measure, unless signed by the judge or an authorized judicial official;

In requests for reports on banking operations, express mention of the lifting of bank secrecy in accordance with Article 39 of Law 21,526 and the order to circulate the measure to the financial system.

In case of more than one required, identification of each of them and their separate upload in the web form.

How to proceed

1. Define the sending channel

Identify the type of court that orders the office:

– If it is a National or Federal Court, send the official letter through the DEOX Platform.
-If you are dealing with other jurisdictions, use the web form available on this page to upload judicial documents.

Verify that the judicial letter is addressed to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic – Judicial Administrative Management and that it meets the formal requirements.

Transfer the fee and keep the proof of payment in electronic format (PDF).

2. Upload the official letter to the web form (other jurisdictions)

For the official documents that are not sent by DEOX:

Access the BCRA’s judicial official letters web form, available in the button below.

Read and accept the legal notice and privacy policy.

Complete all required fields indicated with an asterisk (*), including:

– details of the court and the file;
– contact details (contact email);
– “Name of those requested”: upload the data of the person on whom the report, the precautionary measure or its lifting is requested. To add more than one required, use the “+” button on the form.

Attach in PDF format:

– the judicial office, and
– Proof of payment of the fee, when applicable.

Verify the uploaded information and press the “Save” button to register the procedure.

Upon completing these steps, the system registers the official letter and generates a proof of filing, which is sent to the email box provided in the form.

3. Confirmation and follow-up

Within 24 hours after registration, a confirmation email is sent to the informed box, with the procedure number generated.

If the mail is not displayed in your inbox, it is recommended that you check your spam folder.

If you do not receive news on the progress of the procedure, you can consult by writing to consultaoficios@bcra.gob.ar, indicating in the subject:

– electronic file number,
– court order number, and
– Cover page of the process.

Additional information

Processing times

Judicial documents are processed, in principle, within 10 business days from the date of their registration on the BCRA website, unless the officiating court establishes a different deadline.

As in all cases there is intervention in the financial system, it is suggested to consider an additional period of at least 20 business days for financial institutions:

– receive communication from the BCRA, and
– Inform the court of the request or comply with the measure.

If, after these deadlines, the court does not have information about the measure, the consultation must be channeled through the corresponding judicial filings.

Reasons for rejection or return

The BCRA may refuse treatment or return an unprocessed official letter when:

– The formal requirements detailed above are missing or deficient;
– The BCRA is not competent to respond to the request.

Some frequent cases of returns are:

– requests for detailed information on deposit accounts, banking products and their movements (this information is only in the possession of financial institutions, within the framework of the banking secrecy of Article 39 of Law 21,526);
– requests for information on people’s addresses;
– requests for registration of general inhibition of assets (the BCRA does not administer a registry of precautionary measures);
– orders that seek to assign to the BCRA responsibility to avoid the multiplicity of seizures in the system, since the Agency does not have a registry that allows this effect to be avoided.

Type of response and competition

The BCRA issues response notes only in relation to judicial documents related to matters within its competence.

When the official letter only orders the blocking of a precautionary measure or requests information from financial institutions, it is the authorized entities (banks and other affected subjects) that are responsible for responding to the officiating court.

The BCRA’s response notes are sent exclusively in electronic form.

Lifting of precautionary measures

The lifting of precautionary measures notified through the BCRA must be requested before the same court that ordered the measure.

Once the lifting has been ordered, the court must notify the BCRA by means of a new official letter, which is disseminated to the financial system through a Communication “D”.

From that point on, the administrative intervention of the BCRA ends; compliance with the order corresponds to the financial institutions and other subjects covered.

Multiplicity of seizures

If a person observes that a seizure notified through the BCRA was multiplied in several deposit accounts in his or her name, exceeding the amount to be seized, it is suggested:

– send a note to the BCRA (a mesadeentrada@bcra.gob.ar) addressed to the Judicial Administrative Management;
– attach an original or certified copy of the financial institution that proves that the seizure was blocked for the total amount to be executed;
– In the case of legal persons, attach a copy of the power of attorney that accredits the representation.

The BCRA will inform the financial system of this situation. The eventual lifting of embargoes will continue to depend exclusively on court orders.

Injunctions and requests for account reports

For requests for reports on deposit accounts, the most efficient way is to require the BCRA to circulate the request for reports to the financial system. The measure is communicated by means of a Communication “D”, of a confidential nature, addressed to the authorized entities.

In order to block seizures or general inhibitions of assets on funds in deposit accounts, the BCRA must receive a judicial letter with this instruction and communicate the measure to the financial system, without assuming responsibility for the execution of the precautionary measure or for the multiplicity of seizures.

Other special cases

Precautionary measures ordered in enforcement proceedings processed by organizations such as ARCA, ARBA, AGIP, ATM, AFIP, among others, are notified through the Judicial Offices System (SOJ), without the intervention of the BCRA, in accordance with the agreements and communications in force.

With respect to funds from insurance companies, it is suggested that the provisions of the National Insurance Superintendence (for example, the possibility of opening a specific account at the Banco de la Nación Argentina to deal with seizures) are taken into account, which may help to avoid multiplier effects of precautionary measures.