These forest products may not be auctioned for a value lower than that set by the State Forest Administration.
If after that period the timber or forest resources have not been auctioned, any person may utilize them upon deposit, with the court, of the value assigned by the Forest Administration.
The proceeds from the auction shall be deposited in the account of the corresponding judicial authority, while the respective process is being determined. If the defendant is acquitted, the money shall be delivered to them; otherwise, fifty percent (50%) shall go to the State Forest Administration and the other fifty percent (50%) to the municipalities of the place where the property from which the raw material was extracted is located or where the industry is located, or to the indigenous community authority, if it is an indigenous territory, to be used for the development of projects for the benefit of the community; all without prejudice to the criminal liabilities that are determined for the offenders.
In the case of timber that comes into the possession of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae) as a result of a natural disaster or from the expansion or maintenance of roads, whether these are national or cantonal routes, provided that the owners of the forest resource are unknown, or of confiscated timber that has not been awarded at auction or acquired according to the provisions of this article, once the conviction is final, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is authorized to:
- a)Utilize said timber in works required for the improvement of infrastructure in protected wilderness areas.
- b)Donate said timber to the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), upon request of the interested parties.
- c)In the event that there are remnants of timber not required by the Ministry of Public Education, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is authorized to donate this remnant timber to non-profit organizations that request it.
Donation requests by non-profit organizations must meet the following requirements:
- 1)Provide their valid legal status (personería jurídica).
- 2)Submit a detailed plan on the specific use to which the timber or forest resources will be subjected.
- 3)Provide a note stating they have no ties to political parties.
- 4)If they have previously received any donation of this type, they must provide an accountability report on the use given to said donation.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy must verify that the requesting organization is up to date with its tax obligations and obligations with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) and the Social Development and Family Allowances Fund (Fodesaf).
Non-profit organizations that have received this type of donation and fail to comply with the specific use of the timber or forest resources cited in the request must reimburse the commercial value of the donation to the State.
The Ministry of Public Education shall allocate this timber to manufacture furniture or repair infrastructure in public schools and high schools, or to use it as raw material in the subjects of cabinetmaking, lathe work, carpentry, and others taught by state schools and high schools, while non-profit organizations shall allocate it to the fulfillment of their objectives.
It shall take effect upon its publication.
Given at the Presidency of the Republic, San José, on the eighteenth day of the month of December of the year two thousand twenty.