New Ruling on How Interest on Customs Duties’ Claims Accrues

The case relates to summary proceedings seeking to collect taxes and apply a fine to an importer due to a breach of the temporary import regime. The appellant is the insurance company who had provided the guarantee required for the temporary import regime and, thus, was also notified of these proceedings because it could have been held liable for the tax claim thereto.

There was no contradiction on the fact that the insurance company could have been held liable for the taxes and duties claimed by Customs as a result of the insurance policy granted. However, the insurance company challenged the conversion of the claim amount in USD to ARS at the exchange rate of the date before payment because it considered that this is against the general prohibition on usury provided in Law 23,928 and 25,561. The company also questioned that interest on these sums accrued in USD and that their exchange rate was the same as the capital.

In connection with the first argument, the Court disregarded the appellant’s arguments as it considered that the claim would be directly against the ‘ad valorem’ feature of customs duties that are applicable on goods valued in USD. This argument would result in a calculation contrary to the application of Section 20 of Law 23,905, which in turn states that customs duties are assessed in USD. Judicial precedent supports the argument that the assessment of these duties in USD and their conversion on the exchange rate of the payment day does not entail an illegal expansion of the debt. Indeed, if this was not the case then the amount of the duty of tax would be frozen and would not represent a true proportion of the goods’ value.

The Court did accept the other claim posed by the appellant related to the calculation of interest accrued on the amounts of customs duties assessed in USD.

The Argentine Court of Appeals analyzed how amounts expressed in USD and its interest accrued should be calculated and paid by evaluating the wording of General Resolution No. 3217/12. Considering Section 1.b) of said Resolution, the Court decided that the amounts related to interest accrue in ARS in any case, thus, it should be converted at the exchange rate applicable to the day they started to accrue. In practice, this means that interest on amounts expressed in USD must be converted at the exchange rate applicable at the accrual date, which may be the eleventh day after a claim on customs duties was notified or when a waiting period for paying customs duties ended.

In sum, the Argentine Court of Appeals decided that a tax claim notified by Customs has two parts: a) the amount of capital that is expressed in USD and must be converted at the exchange rate applicable upon payment, and; b) interest, that must be converted to ARS when it starts to accrue.