New Foreign Exchange Restrictions for Cross-Border Payments

Through General Resolution No. 3252/2012 as amended, the Federal Tax Authority (“AFIP” for its Spanish acronym) created the “Single Electronic Window of Foreign Trade” for the purpose of generating a new electronic tool that facilitates the transfer of commercial information about foreign trade transactions between government bodies. In order to produce that information, the AFIP created the regime of Import Prior Sworn Statement (Declaración Jurada Anticipada de Importación or “DJAI”), through which the obliged individuals must produce the required information.

Through General Resolution No. 3417/2012 (“G.R. 3417”), which shall be effective as of February 1, 2013, the AFIP establishes that those who perform the transactions specified in the resolution, will be required to introduce the corresponding information through the Single Electronic Window of Foreign Trade.

The transactions listed by R.G. 3417 are, among others: financial debt payments for the purchase of goods not entered into the country and sold to third countries, interest payments made abroad for debts, profits and dividends paid abroad, and operations related to the Courier Regime.

Accordingly, the Argentine residents that make payments abroad in relation to such transactions shall be required to deliver such information through an electronic data transfer, with a new service called “Foreign Payment Affidavit" (Declaración Anticipada de Pagos al Exterior or “DAPE”).

In addition, R.G. 3417 specifies that, to deliver the information, the obliged individuals shall have a "Fiscal Code" with a safety level of 3 or higher, and establishes the data that, depending on the transaction involved, must be filled with the DAPE.