The disposition contains the rules eligible companies applying for the knowledge-based-economy regime must follow to obtain and maintain their registration and benefit from the regime. Taxpayers should evaluate the new regime and determine whether their operations would qualify for the regime.

On February 18, 2021, Argentina's Sub Secretary of the Knowledge-Based Economy (the Sub Secretary) published, in the Official Gazette, Disposition 11/2021 (Disposition 11), which contains the regulations with which companies must comply to register with the promotional regime for the knowledge-based economy, maintain their registration and access the regime's benefits. For more information on this regime, see Tax Alerts 2020-2576 and 2021-0018.

Background

On October 26, 2020, Argentina enacted Law 27,570, which amended the promotional regime by imposing new requirements to qualify for the regime and modifying certain benefits. The regime's objective is to promote knowledge-based and digital activities in Argentina that result in the manufacturing of goods, the provision of services or the improvement of processes. Decree 1034, issued on December 21, 2020, clarified the requirements for qualifying for the regime, the regime's tax benefits and the fees to be paid by companies participating in the regime.

Disposition 11

Disposition 11 requires companies to file all forms, and the Government to issue all notifications, through the Remote Procedures Platform (Trámites a Distancia or TAD, in Spanish) approved by the Argentine Government.

Registration

Eligible companies must register for the regime by completing and filing a form established by the Argentine federal tax authorities (AFIP) (not yet available). Subsequently, those companies will have to complete and file additional forms and affidavits through the TAD platform and attach the required documents to prove compliance with the required conditions to access the regime. The Sub Secretary will analyze each case and approve the registration if all required conditions are met by the eligible companies.

Registration for beneficiaries of Special Software Promotion Law 25,922

Companies that benefitted from the expired software promotion regime established by Law 25,922 must confirm their election to participate in the knowledge-based economy regime within 30 days of February 18, 2021. The companies must comply with the obligations in Law 25,922, which must be confirmed by the National Direction of Development for the Knowledge-Based Economy. In those cases, the benefits of the knowledge-based-economy regime will apply retroactively from January 1, 2020.

Fees

Micro enterprises participating in the regime must contribute 1% of their tax savings obtained from the regime to the Knowledge-Based Economy Promotion Trust Fund. Small and medium-sized companies must contribute 2.5% of their tax savings obtained from the regime, while large companies must contribute 3.5%. The disposition establishes that the contributions are due 15 business days after the due date of the companies' annual income tax return. Additionally, companies must pay a 2% fee for verification of the tax savings obtained from the regime. The 2% fee may be paid monthly or annually, depending on the circumstances.

For companies that benefitted from the software promotion regime and opted to continue with the knowledge-based-economy regime, the fees corresponding to the tax savings obtained in 2020 may be paid in 10 monthly installments.

Tax credit bonds

On a monthly basis, the National Direction of Development for the Knowledge-Based Economy will issue electronically the tax credit bonds for which companies that qualify for the regime are entitled. Companies will use the tax credit bonds to offset federal taxes.

Other provisions

The disposition establishes that companies benefitting from the regime will have to comply with the annual reporting obligation by filing a form to be established by AFIP and filing certain other forms and documents through the TAD.

Implications

Companies doing business in Argentina and multinational groups interested in the Argentine market should evaluate the new promotional regime and assess the potential benefits to their operations and activities.

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