Extension of Terms to Repatriate Export Proceeds

Resolution No. 30/2016 of the Secretariat of Commerce (“Resolution No. 30/16”), dated March 11, 2016, amended Resolution No. 269/2001 as amended (“Resolution No. 269/01”), eased and extended the terms imposed to certain exporting companies of different industries.

Resolution No. 30/16 states that exporters of goods must transfer foreign currency proceeds into the local financial system within a period counted from the accomplished bill of lading. The applicable term depends on the tariff code under which the goods are classified pursuant to the Common Nomenclature of Mercosur (“NMC” for the Spanish acronyms of Nomenclatura Común del Mercosur). Furthermore, Resolution No. 30/16 provides that if the term the exporters had for certain products were longer than the current one, the longer one would prevail.

Resolution No. 269/01, which established shorter terms and the chance to request the extension of the terms from the Evaluation Unit were quite restrictive for many exports sectors. Moreover, the previous terms were incompatible with the international market, which provides longer payment terms than those required by Resolution No. 269/01 (see “Special Terms for the repatriation of foreign currency proceeds from the export of goods” in Marval News #120 dated August 31, 2012).

In addition, Resolution 30/16 benefits small and medium-sized exporters by establishing a 360 consecutive-day term from the accomplished bill of lading to repatriate export proceeds for those exporters registering exports below US$ 2,000,000 during 2015.

Finally, Resolution No. 30/16 eliminated the Evaluation Unit and the special term of 30 consecutive days for the repatriation of export proceeds for related party transactions.