Uruguay

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General information: Doingbusiness , Business indicators and data.
Worldservicesgroup, Business indicators and data.
Opening hours and days: Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 12 AM to 5 PM.
Businesses open from monday to friday from 9 am to 7 pm and saturday from 9 am to 2:30 pm
Offices open from 12:30 pm to 7 pm during winter and from 7 am to 2:30 pm during summer

Holy week

March

Tax year: The fiscal year begins on January 1-st and ends on December 31 of the same year.
Accounting standards: Adoption of IFRS, International Financial Reporting Standards, in 2004.
Accounting regulation bodies: National General Accounting
Central Bank of Uruguay
Publication requirements: Companies must inform the government of their economic and financial situation by publishing documents controlled by chartered accountants : balance sheet, profit and loss account.
Professional accountancy bodies: Board of Uruguayan accounters, economists and administrators.
Ernst & Young
Certification and auditing: Companies have to apply the International Accounting Standard which have force of law. To control accounting and the accounting documents published by the companies, an external auditor is required.
Accounting news: National General Accounting

Nature of the tax: Value Added Tax (VA)
Tax rate: The standard rate is 22%.
Reduced tax rate: Certain essential goods and medicines are subject to the minimum rate of 10%. Land, buildings, cattle and non-industrial agricultural products are exempted.
Other consumption taxes: Port taxes are perceived by the Administracion Nacional de Puertos (National Port Authority). They apply in USD per ton. An import control fee of 1% (TCI) of the CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight) is perceived by the Central Bank of Uruguay. There is a custom fee (TSA) of 0.2% of the CIF value, and a special service fee in USD depending of the value of the goods.
Uruguay implements furthermore a commercialization tax: IMESI (Impuesto Especifico Interno, Specific Internal Tax). It is applying only to the first sale. Depending on the good, it is computed on the real sale price or on the official price set by the state. It is set on a semester basis and reviewed every second month to take in account inflation. The computing basis discriminates local products from imported products.

Company tax: 25%
Capital gains taxation: Capital gains are subject to the same fiscal treatment as normal taxable income.
Other corporate taxes: Specific Internal Tax
Tax for the Health Inspection Fund
Tax for the Control of Public Companies
Property tax
Value Added Tax
See specificities on the General Tax Office website

Personal income tax	Progressive rate based on a reference wage: The BPC (Base de Prestaciones y Contribuciones). 1 BPC equals UYU 1,944.
Up to 60	0%
61 to 120	10%
121 to 180	15%
181 to 600	20%
601 to 1,200	22%
Over 1,200	25%

Allowable deductions and tax credit: Children to support
Children to support having a handicapor disbled
Contribution health fund
Contribution solidarity fund
Special expatriate tax regime: Tax for non residents, variable rate on general tax administration website DGI

Countries with whom a double taxation treaty have been signed: Uruguay has signed two double taxation treaties with Germany and Hungary.
Whithholding taxes: Dividends: 7%, Interest: 12%, Royalties: 12%

National organizations: Uruguay signed the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property along with the agreement establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Regional organizations: Regional property right regulation in the Mercosur agreements framework.

Type of property and law	Validity	International agreements signed
Patent Patent Law	Period of validity of 15 years
Trademark Trademark law	period of validity of 10 years	Trademark law treaty Nice agreement Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement
Design Industrial Design Law	Period of validity of 5 years. Period renewable every 5 years.
Copyright Law Nº 9.739 form décembre 17th 1937, updated en 2003	Author: All his life 40 years after the author's death for his inheritors	WIPO copyright treaty
Industrial Models Law number 17.164, directing rights and obligations relating to invention patents, utility models, designs and industrial models.	20 years

Independence of justice: The judiciary is largely independent, but has become increasingly inefficient in the face of escalating crime and backlog of cases. The main source of the law is 1967 constitution (modified in 1989 and 1997). The judicial system is based on the Spanish civil right system. Uruguay recognizes the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners: Uruguay is largely ruled by law; however discrimination against the country’s black minority and violence against women is a problem. Foreign nationals cannot be always guaranteed an impartial trail from the country’s judicial system. Though a certain degree of corruption exists in the corporate sector and the government departments, government is taking necessary measures to curb it. It is one of the least corrupt nations in Latin America.
The language of justice: Spanish is the judicial language used in the country.
Recourse to an interpreter: Having an interpreter is possible.
Sources of the law and legal similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1967 (modified in 1989 and 1997). The legal system is based on Spanish civil law system. Uruguay accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Checking national laws online: Legal information website

National standards organizations: Uruguayan Technical Standards Institute.
Integration in the international standards network: The conformity certification bodies are the Uruguayan Technical Institute of Standards (UNITES) and the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU). The standards ISO is recognised.
Except for food, there are no specific Urugayan standards. When necessary, the country applies the European or North American standards.
Classification of standards: Certification UNIT- ISO
Online consultation of standards: See UNIT catalogue
Certification organizations: Uruguayan Technical Standards Institute.

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