The Federal Tax Authority provided for an increase in VAT and Income Tax rates collected by the Customs Administration on imports for consumption.

On August 24, 2012, General Resolution No 3373/2012, issued by the Federal Tax Authority (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos or AFIP) was published in the Official Gazette. This new Resolution provides for an increase in VAT and Income Tax rates collected by the Customs Administration (Dirección General de Aduanas or DGA) on imports for consumption. In addition, the “Certificate of Validation of Importers’ Data – CVDI”, which provided for lower collection rates for importers showing this certificate when making the import, will cease to exist.

With regard to Income Tax, the main changes are as follow:

  1. The 3% collection rate for importers showing the CVDI is no longer in force. Currently, all imports are subject to a 6% collection rate (it should be noted that the collection rate for personal imports for use/consumption will remain at 11%)
  2. Collection rates for goods with a FOB unit value lower than the Customs Value (valor criterio) remained the same, but the range of goods within the scope was broadened. Under former regulations, the goods within the scope were the ones with a FOB unit value lower than 80% of the Customs Value; pursuant to the new regulations, the goods within the scope are the ones with a FOB unit value lower than 95% of the Customs value. The increased range was also extended to the limitations applicable to cases with certain benefits, like promotion regimes and importers showing non-tax collection certificates.

With regard to VAT, the main changes are as follow:

  1. For registered Vat Payers making definitive imports subject to a 21% VAT rate, the collection rate was raised from 10% to 20%.
  2. For registered Vat Payers making definitive imports subject to a 10.5% VAT rate, the collection rate was raised from 5% to 10%.
  3. For importers not showing CVDI that are exempted or out the scope of VAT making definitive imports subject to a 21% VAT rate, the collection rate was increased from 12.7% to 20%.

For importers not showing CVDI that are exempted or out the scope of VAT making definitive imports subject to a 10.5% VAT rate, the collection rate was increased from 5.8% to 10%.