The Ministry of Economy and Public Finance Abrogated Import Certificates

In 2004, Argentina introduced a non-automatic licensing procedure that created an Import Certificate for Textiles. An importer of a product subject to an Import Certificate could not import the product without obtaining the Import Certificate prior to entering the product to Argentina. The Import Certificate for Textiles covered products in 29 tariff code positions. The Import Certificate for Textiles was soon followed by an Import Certificate for Domestic Appliances (CIAH), in 2004, and an Import Certificate for Footwear (CIC) and for Toys (CIJ) in 2005. The Import Certificates, together with the tariff code positions covered by them increased over the years. When Resolution 11/2013 was enacted, 18 different Import Certificates were in place covering products in almost 650 tariff code positions.

The importers of products subject to Import Certificates faced long delays, since the authorities could take months after the application was filed to grant the licenses, even when all the information and documents requested had been submitted.

As more products became subject to Import Certificates and the delays in granting them increased, the Import Certificates became a pressing issue to a larger number of importers. Many importers filed legal actions to address this situation.

The courts, almost unanimously, sided with the importers and granted hundreds of injunctions allowing importers to import their products without Import Certificates. However, recently the Supreme Court in re. “El Brujo” upheld the non-automatic licensing system. The Supreme Court held that the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures grants the right to any country to impose non-automatic licenses to establish quantitative restrictions on imports and that the requirements for obtaining the Import Certificate were not burdensome.

The government’s decision to eliminate the Import Certificates, even when the Supreme Court has confirmed their validity, does not seem to be related to a change in the foreign trade policy but aimed at simplifying the proceedings. The government is expected to continue to rely on its main foreign trade policy instrument, the Prior Import Statement (“Declaración Jurada Anticipada de Importación” or “DJAI”).

Since February 2012, importers must submit a DJAI electronically prior to issuing the Purchase Order, Production Order or similar document used for transactions abroad. The DJAI System is managed by the Argentine Tax Authority (“AFIP”) and the DJAI is available to all agencies that have adhered to the DJAI System. If a DJAI is objected by any of these agencies, the import cannot be made until the importer has the approval from the agency that had objected the DJAI. The most active agency in the DJAI System is the Secretary of Domestic Trade.

The government considers that the DJAI System has been successful and has used it as a model for the authorization of other payments abroad. In April 2012, the Service Prior Statement System (“DJAS”) was implemented for payment of services, and in February of this year the Payment Abroad Prior Statement (“DAPE”) was implemented for payments under different concepts such as interest, dividends and certain imports that are not reached by the DJAIs.

The Import Certificate was an additional requirement to the DJAI, since the Import Certificate could not be obtained until the DJAI was approved. The Import Certificates required a complex administration system by the authorities and, from a foreign trade policy standpoint, did not grant significant additional benefits to those already obtained with the DJAI system. The Import Certificate imposed additional delays to the importer when the import had already been subjected to the DJAI authorization.

The Argentine foreign trade policy will likely follow the same orientation and will focus on maintaining a trade surplus to favor the equilibrium of the balance of payments. This policy will be supported mainly by the DJAI System that requires all imports to Argentina to have prior authorization from the authorities. However, the elimination of the Import Certificates would considerably speed up the products’ import processes that were subjected to such Import Certificates.