Argentina

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Business Environment

Business Practices

General information: Iberglobal, export assistance in Argentina
Opening hours and days: Saturday and Sunday in the capital, from Saturday afternoon in the provinces.

Public holidays

New Year's Day	1 January
Good Friday	the Friday before Easter Sunday.
National Memory Day	24 March
Falklands War Day	2 April
Labor Day	1 May
May Revolution Day	25 May
General Belgrano Day	June
Independence Day	9 July
General San Martin Day	August
Minorities' Day	12 October
The Immaculate Conception	8 December
Christmas Day	25 December

Holiday compensation: If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Monday is a holiday instead.

Periods when companies usually close

Summer holidays

January

Accounting Rules

Tax year: The tax year begins on 1 January and finishes on 31 December of the same year.
Accounting standards: Argentina is inspired by the American model for company accounting, but with some nuances.
Accounting regulation bodies: Contaduria General de la Nación
Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Economicas
Accounting reports: All commercial companies in Argentina have to draw up certain accounting documents yearly:
- the journal
- the ledger
- the follow up of stock evolution.
Companies are obliged to draw up a balance sheet and a profit and loss account, and to submit them for approval by auditors from within or outside the company.
Publication requirements: Reporting is carried out annually.
Professional accountancy bodies: Professional Council of Economic Sciences
Contador Publico
Argentine Federation of Economic Sciences Professional Councils
Certification and auditing: KPMG Argentina
Deloitte
Price Waterhouse Cooper
Accounting news

Tax Rates

Consumption taxes

Nature of the tax: Value Added Tax (VAT)
Tax rate: The general rate of VAT is 21%, but certain public services or subsidiaries of telecommunications companies are subject to a rate of 27%. .
Excise duties, levied as a federal tax, are also collected on some products and services: tobacco, drinks whether they are alcoholic or not, beer, some electronic goods (television, radio, etc.), mobile telephone services, insurance premiums, luxury goods, etc.
Reduced tax rate: Equipment or production goods, public transport, beef, fresh vegetables, accommodation, interest on loans acquired by Argentine financial institutions, some goods of ownership and equipment, newspapers and magazines are subject to VAT at 10.5%.
Other consumption taxes: The tax called Ingresos Brutos is a federal tax which is paid to the province for each invoicing. In Buenos Aires province, it is 3%. For more details in the other provinces, consult the Argentina Tax Guide 2009.

Corporate taxes

Company tax: 35%
Tax rate for foreign companies: Foreign companies and resident companies are taxed on profits they make in the country.
Capital gains taxation: The tax rate on long-term capital gains is 35%.
Main allowable deductions and tax credit: Expenses are deductible for depreciation or amortization, reserves, rents for premises and equipment, wages, etc.

Individual taxes

Tax rate

Natural persons resident in Argentina are liable for income tax.

A progressive tax on their worldwide income from 9 to 35%.

Allowable deductions and tax credit: There are several types of allowances or tax reductions. The amounts vary from 1 200 ARS to 18 000 ARS.
Special expatriate tax regime: No.

Double taxation treaties

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: See the list of the double taxation treaties.
Whithholding taxes: Withholding tax rates are 0% for dividends, 15.05/35% for interest and 21/28/31.5% for royalties.

Sources of fiscal information

Tax Authorities: AFIP
Other domestic resources: The AFIP library

Intellectual Property

National organizations: The organization in charge of the protection of patents and trade marks in Argentina is the National Institute for Industrial Property (NIIP).
Argentina has signed the Paris Convention relative to the protection of designs and industrial models.

As Argentina is not a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), a company wishing to use a patent is obliged to make a direct request in Argentina within a maximum time limit of one year after the registration of the initial request.

The organization in charge of intellectual property is el Registro Nacional de la Propiedad Intelectual (the National Register of Intellectual Property). Other organizations are also involved in intellectual property: Ministry of Justice ; National Directorate of Royalties ; Argentine Society of Authors and Composers (SADAIC) ; General Society of Argentine Authors (Argentores) ; Argentine Association of Interpreters (AADI) ; Argentine Chamber of Producers ; Cámara Argentina de Editores de Música, CAEM (Argentine Chamber of Music Editors) for royalties.
Regional organizations: The Mercosur Standardization Association is working on cooperation between various institutes of its members to achieve harmonization within the Mercosur.
International membership: Member of the WIPO
Signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

National regulation and international agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent Patent Law 1966	Initial period of validity of 3 years. Extension, in the choice, of period in 20 years in the term of initial period.	Strasbourg agreement concerning the International Patent Classification
Trademark Marque Trademark Law (1980)	10 years renewable on condition of being marketed within 5 years of registration.	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement
Design Dessin Industrial Model And Design Law (1983)	5 years renewable once.
Copyright Ley 11.723 (235), Propiedad intelectual	Valid for the entire life of the author and 30 years after his death.	Berne convention Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against unauthorized duplication of their phonograms Rome convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and Broadcasting organizations WIPO copyright treaty WIPO performances and Phonograms treaty
Industrial Models Dessin Industrial Model And Design Law 1983	5 years renewable once.

Legal Framework

Independence of justice: The judicial power is mostly independent. Argentina is considered to be a State of law, even if there is a certain degree of corruption in a few provinces.
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Foreign nationals can benefit from equivalent treatment in judicial matters as citizens can, including when it is a question of commercial disputes. The level of corruption in the country is quite high.
The language of justice: Spanish
Recourse to an interpreter: Possible, advised
Sources of the law and legal similarities: The country's legal system is a combination of the American and Western European systems. Each province also has its own constitution, which mirrors the broad lines of the structures of the federal constitution. The country has not accepted the obligatory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Argentina belongs to the MERCOSUR which has some supranational legislative functions.
ICJ)
Checking national laws online: Library of the Ministry of Justice

Standards

National standards organizations: Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM)
Asociación Electrotécnica Argentina (AEA)
Integration in the international standards network: At the regional level, Argentina is member of:
- The Pan American Standards Commission;
- The Mercosur Standardization Association ;
At the international level, Argentina is member of:
- The International Standards Organization (ISO) ;
- The International Electrotechnical Commission ;
- The International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Classification of standards: Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM) standard for product marking.
Online consultation of standards: You can consult the IRAM website, the only organization accredited for product certification.
Certification organizations: Argentine Institute of standards and certification
Argentine accreditation organization (OAA)

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