Wine Law

508 WINE LAW Institute by law; and g) proceed to delegate, on a provisional or well-founded basis, to public or private institutions the powers and duties of the Institute for their full compliance. Concerning the Institute’s powers, INAVI is empowered to 1) establish, in each harvest, prior technical opinion, the date of sale and circulation of the wines produced in the country, subject to compliance with the regulatory requirements; 2) establish the maximum grape production yield per variety and per hectare for winemaking for the domestic market or other destinations; 3) determine, in each harvest, the minimum alcoholic strength for the circulation of wines according to their classification; 4) determine the oenological products authorised for corrections; and 5) automatically update, every six months, the wine promotion and control tax created by section 149 of Law 15.903, as amended by section 1 of Law 16.757 and by the only section of Law 17.458. Notwithstanding, certain matters that from article 144 of Law 15.903, which are dictated by the Executive Power, with INAVI acting as a mandatory advisor: a) the fixation of minimum prices for the commercialisation of grapes and their by-products; b) the typification, composition, quality, potability and aptitude for consumption of the products within the Institute’s competence; and c) the establishment of rules regarding the extraction of samples, their conservation and the period of validity. The Advisory and Consultative Council of the Board of Directors, created by article 8 of Law 18.462, is honorary and must meet at least twice a year with the Board of Directors. Accordingly, it must receive information, plan questions and discuss the strategic plans of the sector. Under article 1 of Regulatory Decree 279/09 of 08 June 2009, the Council is composed by: a) two delegates from each first-degree trade association of the viticultural order and two from the winemaking order (these delegates must come from trade associations with at least two years of seniority); b) two delegates from the Association of Oenologists of Uruguay; c) two representatives of the University of the Republic; d) a representative of the National Institute of Agricultural Research; e) a representative of the General Directorate of the Farm (DIGEGRA – Dirección General de la Granja ); and f) a representative of the Viticulture School in El Colorado.