Foreign Trade Measures in the Sanitary Emergency

Amid the sanitary emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many public entities have coordinated different measures to establish priorities to detach customs officers to essential import and export activities. These emergency regulations have been modified and expanded as the situation progressed and as the spectrum of exempted activities was broadened.

 

Imports

Regarding imports, the government has imposed new measures to facilitate the process of importing goods related to the sanitary emergency. Simplifications in the import licensing regime, exceptions to prior interventions and exemptions on import duties have been implemented.

The goods comprised in these measures are mainly ethyl alcohol, face masks and ventilators.

In the import licensing field, SSPYGC Provision N° 5/2020 (in Spanish) excluded several tariff positions from the Schedules of Resolution No. 523/2017, thus exempting them from having to process non-automatic prior import licenses. These goods are now subject to automatic import licensing, which are carried out faster and more easily.

Besides, by means of Decree No.333/2020, the Argentine Executive set a 0%-rate import duty for a group of goods directly related to the ongoing emergency. The list of goods was updated by means of Decree No.455/2020 to include syringes and hospital beds, among other goods. These goods were also exempted from paying the statistical fee also levied on imports. Starting on April 15, 2020, these goods were granted a 60-day term exemption from the additional advance payment on VAT levied on definitive imports according to Resolution No. 4696/2020.

Some goods made from textile fibers (for example, face masks, medical caps and hospital gowns) were exempted from filing the Product Composition Affidavit (Declaración Jurada de Composición de Productos) set forth in Resolution No. 404/2016 by means of Resolution No. 107/2020 and Resolution No. 149/2020.

Finally, Customs released importers from the obligation of presenting the original documentation related to certificates of origin by allowing them to file only a digital copy of the document, according to Circular 2/2020.

 

Exports

Some exports of essential goods have been held back because of the sanitary emergency. (Executive Decree No.317/2020). On April 24, 2020, the list of goods was updated to include ethyl alcohol in lower concentrations by means of Argentine Executive Decree No.405/2020.

Through Argentine Executive Decree 617/2020, the list of goods included in the previous DNU was updated, including denatured ethyl alcohol and diagnostic reagents, among others. On July 29, 2020, in accordance with Argentine Executive Decree 625/2020, it excludes the requirement to obtain an export permit for exports of goods classified under the following tariff positions: 9019.20.10 and 9019.20.10.

Prior to their export, all goods included in those two Decrees must obtain a prior export permit from the Ministry of Production with prior intervention from the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Production may grant them only if the local demand for those goods is already covered. This kind of prior permits are regulated in Resolution No.367/2020.

 

Exempted activities and customs personnel

Executive Decree No. 297/2020 established that public officers would be suspended from usual activity for the remainder of March’s working days, what was repeatedly extended until August 16  by means of Decree No. 641/2020 . It was also instructed that public bodies must detach minimum personnel to carry out the tasks related to the essential activities exempted from mandatory isolation.

Among the exempted activities the applicable regulation described “unpostponable activities related to foreign trade” and “exports of already manufactured goods and imports essential for the economy to work”. The latter exception was added by means of  JGM Administrative Decision No.450/2020.

Decree No. 641/2020 kept the exceptions to the quarantine for productive activities for export purposes when authorized by the Ministry of Productive Development. The Ministry of Production published Resolution MDP No. 326/2020 regulating the exemptions to the most restrictive quarantine measures applicable in certain areas. The Ministry published a list of already exempted firms and set the procedures to include new companies and suppliers of exempted companies.

Under this framework, the Argentine Tax Authority ( the “AFIP” after its acronym in Spanish) regulated its essential activities during the sanitary emergency by means of  AFIP Provision No.  80/2020. The authority determined that “customs controls and inspections related to customs revenue” and “control and inspection of people, goods and means of transport in foreign trade” are essential. On May 29, 2020, in accordance with AFIP Provision No. 102/2020, the processing of the "Single Certificate of Qualification for Emergency Circulation COVID-19" was established for personnel summoned and authorized to perform essential activities and services.

To carry out these activities the AFIP delegated its powers to detach minimum personnel to the highest entities within the tax and customs authorities during the sanitary emergency.

Customs issued General Instruction  SDGTLA No. 2/2020 and determined that it would prioritize imports and exports related to essential activities and services as described in Executive Decree No.  297/2020 and its amendments. It also authorizes other high-ranked officers to clear customs for other imports and exports that may be considered critical or essential due to the specific features of the good or the underlying commercial activity. In all situations, Customs will detach only minimum personnel as long as all the sanitary regulations in place to preserve officers’ health are complied with.

 

Suspension of terms for customs operations

By means of Resolution No. 4726/2020, the AFIP considered that suspending almost all terms governed by the Customs Code needed to be suspended starting on March 20, 2020, and until the suspension of terms for administrative proceedings set by Decree No. 298/2020 is lifted. After that event, all terms will restart from the point that they were frozen after March 19, 2020, as they would not start over.

According to regulation, all operative terms governed by the Customs Code are suspended, except: a) transit importations; b) exports transit; c) cabotage regime (removido); d) all terms related to the good arrival, except for the justification of shortfalls and excesses of goods; e) validity of export permits; f) allowed post-arrival amendments to the import declaration (post-embarque); g) waiting periods for export duties’ payment; h) reports on the delivery of goods to final consignees under the PSP/Courier regime.

In this light, the suspension of terms especially affects temporary imports, temporary exports and warehouse imports, automatically postponing their deadlines until the suspension of terms set out in Decree No. 298/2020 is lifted.