The Government of Argentina has introduced a modification to a regulatory norm of the Customs Code with the aim of simplifying procedures to reduce “opportunities for corruption”.
The measure consists of facilitating the way foreign trade operators guarantee their obligations before customs, allowing them from now on to present a sworn statement instead of a guarantee, as reported by the Argentine News Agency (NA).
The regulatory simplification was formalized through Decree 838/2025, published this Thursday in the Official Gazette, enabling operators to present a signed document as an “instrument of guarantee when import regimes establish the obligation to guarantee the taxes that may be required for said operations”.
The official text justified the decision by stating that the tool “will allow for the standardization of regulatory treatment, reduce operational costs for companies and simplify procedures, in line with the modernization objectives promoted by the National Government”.
It was also highlighted: “The proposed measure aligns with the need to offer foreign trade operators a less burdensome and more accessible alternative, without compromising the solvency of the system, customs control or the due safeguarding of the fiscal interest.”
The regulatory change was also evaluated and explained by the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, on his X account by clarifying:
“It opens a path to a significant simplification of customs procedures.”
To contextualize the decision, he recalled that “when there is a discrepancy or doubt about the liquidation, or a pending payment, Customs requests a guarantee for the pending or disputed amount”, and considered: “This increases the transit by adding a financial charge to the customs operation.”
“All of this will continue to reduce costs and prices for all Argentines,” he summarized.
“If a client has never failed a payment to Customs, why increase the cost of operating in foreign trade?”
The official emphasized that “the next step is for Customs to identify the operators and operations where it will enable this option”, highlighting that “it opens the door to a great simplification of the operation and a tremendous reduction in opportunities for corruption.”
“Worse still, since the guarantee often has no time limit, the person trading is exposed to having to ‘bribe’ to cancel the guarantee.”
In this scenario, he proposed: “The decree introduces an alternative modality previously prohibited: replacing the guarantee with a sworn statement. If a client is trustworthy, why burden them with a financial cost?”
