PAIS Tax Reduced for Imports of Goods

Through Decrees 777 and 779/2024, published today in the Official Gazette, the tax rate applicable to acquisition of foreign currency to pay for overall import of goods and transportation services was reduced, and the advanced payment on the tax on temporary imports destined for industrial processing was modified.

By means of Decree 777/2024 (published September 2, 2024), the new rate of the PAIS tax applicable to the acquisition of foreign currency to pay for imports of non-luxurious and non-exempted goods and to pay shipping, freight, and other transportation services when the concept codes for foreign exchange purposes are S04, S30, and S31, comes down from 17.5% to 7.5%. This will apply to taxable events starting September 3, 2024.

There are no changes to the tax rate applicable to the payment of luxury imported goods (30%) and to the payments of imports of other services (25%). These taxable events had been set by Decree 377/2023, which we described here.

Article 5 of Decree 779/2024 (published September 2, 2024) establishes an advanced payment of the full rate of the PAIS tax applies to the nationalization of goods that had previously been imported on a temporary basis under the industrial transformation regime (Decree 1330/2004) or the Aduana en factoría regime (Decree 688/2002), which the automotive sector uses.