Argentina
Principal exports
Petroleum and gas, vehicles and grains – corn,
soybeans, wheat.
Documentation
Imports
Commercial invoice (original plus three
copies in Spanish, with complete description
of goods to be imported), bill of lading and,
sometimes, packing list and a certificate of
origin.
Exports
Commercial invoice (with complete
description of goods to be exported), bill
of lading, packing list and, sometimes, a
certificate of origin.
Licences
Imports
There are two types of licences in Argentina:
automatic and non-automatic.
Non-automatic licences are required for
bicycles.
Import licences with quotas: automotive-
related products from Brazil.
Argentina requires that importers request
and receive approval from AFIP prior to
importing consumer goods from abroad.
Exports
Armaments, sensitive goods and military
equipment.
Export licences with quotas: endangered
animal species.
Tariffs/Taxes
Imports
Tariffs are applied, ad valorem, on imports
from outside Mercosur at rates between
zero and 20 percent. A maximum tariff of
35 percent may be levied on imports not listed
in the Mercosur Common Code. Argentina
is allowed to keep a list of exceptions to the
common external tariff until December 2015.
Following an agreement to restrict Brazilian
imports that threaten local industries, imports
in excess of quotas are taxed at 90% of the
rate applied to goods outside Mercosur.
Although capital goods, including computers
and telecommunications products, are
generally zero-rated, imports of some
computer and telecoms products are
charged at a rate of 16 percent.
All goods, except those imported from
other Mercosur countries, are subject to a
0.5 percent statistical import tariff surcharge.
Exports
Export taxes are levied on all goods. Rates
range between 5 and 35 percent.
A fluctuating rate based on international
reference prices, with a minimum threshold
of 45 percent, is levied on crude petroleum.
Financing requirements for imports/
exports
None.
Prohibited items
Imports
Items that may harm public health or national
security, tyres, certain used capital goods
and second-hand clothing.
Exports
Items that are restricted include some
fish species and exports of natural gas to
Uruguay and Chile.
