The AFIP modified the criteria applied to online purchases abroad, in order to strengthen controls on this type of import operations. Thus, the limit per shipment made through private mail was lowered from US$3,000 to US$1,000, according to General Resolution 5260/2022 published in the Official Gazette.
Through this rule, the agency established the operating guidelines applicable to shipments that enter through the Import Regime by PSP/Courier Postal Service Providers, destined for human or legal persons, made up of up to three units of the same kind and that do not presume commercial purpose, where the total weight of the shipment is up to 50 kilos and the value of the merchandise consigned to the same recipient does not exceed US$1,000 per flight.
In addition, it provided that providers may apply for import or export for consumption in a simplified manner, provided that:
— The FOB value of the merchandise to be exported does not exceed US$3,000 for each sender of the shipment.
— The FOB value of the merchandise to be imported, consigned to the same recipient, does not exceed US$1,000 per flight and the total weight of the shipment is up to 50 kg.
To make purchases online, it is necessary to have certain means of payment, such as credit card, PayPal system, Western Union, among others.
The AFIP justified this decision by pointing out that as a result of control and inspection actions carried out in the different import regimes, including the Import Regime by PSP/Courier Postal Service Providers, “irregularities were detected which led to infraction complaints and / or criminal, as the case may be, a circumstance that evidences the need to adopt measures aimed at the due protection of fiscal income.
For this reason, he stressed that the measure “is adopted for reasons of opportunity, merit and convenience in terms of economic policy.”