The New Importation Measures in Argentina

12/02/2022

Which are the restrictions to the importations that BCRA regulated?

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) made official last June 27 a series of measures that limit the sale of dollars of the entity for importing companies and, in particular, on some consumer goods.

The measure implies that the BCRA will not sell dollars to companies that exceed the amount of purchases made in 2021 by more than 5% or that acquire certain goods that are already produced in the country or that are considered by the Government as luxurious. Those who anyway want to carry on these operations must apply for a loan in dollars or ask their parent companies (if any) to rotate the necessary currency to face the operation.

El BCRA compró más de US$ 40 millones tras la implementación del SIRA

Through the new regulation "A"7532, the Central Bank provided that until September 30, companies that make imports classified within category "A" in the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (SIMI) will be able to have access to official dollars for an amount that does not exceed 105% of the monthly average of imports registered in 2021 or 70% of 2020. If in 2021 they did not exceed one million dollars in imports, the limit will be 15%.

Not all companies have the same rules

SMEs, on the other hand, will have differential access: they will be able to import up to 115% of the average registered in 2021, provided that the amount is less than one million dollars. Purchases of energy and medicines are exempt from the aforementioned measure.

On the other hand, it was provided that, regardless of the previous conditions, certain consumer goods may only be imported by accessing the official foreign exchange market only 180 days after their entry. That is, companies that carry out these operations must wait up to 6 months to pay for them, or resort to another type of financing. According to the BCRA, these are goods that companies could incorporate locally, but decide to do so from abroad.

Finally, the import of goods considered "luxury" will be restricted for 365 days to access the official exchange market.

What products entered the non-automatic import regime?

An analysis carried out by the “Chequeado” Data Center shows that the list of restrictions includes, among others, different by-products of beef, pork and poultry. Also different types of fish, including salmon; alcoholic beverages, such as whiskey, liqueurs and champagne, tobacco and nuts, etc.

What are the 15 most imported products among those that entered the list of restrictions?

Of the more than 350 products included in the list of restrictions, only 148 registered imports in 2021 and only 23% consumed more than US$ 500 thousand. In total, payments for this type of imports were made for US$ 817 million, only 1.3% of the total US$ 63 billion imported that year.