E-commerce in Argentina Regulatory Changes Analysis

Potential Regulatory Changes

The e-commerce value chain in Argentina is subject to an evolving regulatory landscape, with several recent and potential changes poised to impact its various stages. These changes span areas from cross-border trade and taxation to consumer protection, data privacy, and labor regulations.

One significant area of change is in cross-border e-commerce. As of December 2024, Argentina has announced a major shift in its policies, aiming to simplify market entry for international brands and provide consumers access to a wider range of products at more competitive prices. This includes the elimination of taxes on overseas purchases up to $400 per shipment for personal use and an increase in the import limit for courier shipments from $1,000 to $3,000. Previously, a series of taxes and duties, including customs duties, statistical fees, and VAT, could inflate prices by up to 67% and the import process was complex. The removal of the de minimis value for courier shipments meant duty and tax were charged on all courier imports unless exempted by trade agreements, while postal shipments had a USD 50 de minimis. The increase in the informal import value threshold to US$3,000 for both courier and small shipments facilitates clearance for low-value shipments.

In taxation, beyond the cross-border changes, Argentina has been implementing measures related to electronic invoicing and tax transparency. Since January 1, 2025, large companies are required to itemize VAT and other indirect national taxes on electronic invoices, with this obligation extending to all other taxpayers, including SMEs, by April 1, 2025. This Fiscal Transparency Regime aims to provide consumers with a clear view of the tax burden in prices. Additionally, a new regulation mandates that exchange rate information must be included in certain types of electronic invoices when invoicing in foreign currency. Regarding VAT on digital services provided by non-residents, while a withholding VAT requirement on payment providers was in place, the requirement for payment providers to withhold the VAT element on electronic payments for foreign digital services is set to end on September 1, 2024.

Consumer protection laws are also undergoing shifts, although a comprehensive draft Consumer Code that proposed significant changes, including expanded consumer protection measures and new rules on digital transactions, has stalled. Under the current administration, there is a trend towards deregulation and simplifying compliance requirements. However, existing regulations require e-commerce providers to ensure clear and accurate information, display terms and conditions, privacy policies, and mandatory links to consumer protection resources. Online marketplaces, in particular, must comply with specific consumer protection rules, including providing clear information about the supplier, product, service, and transaction. There are also established recall procedures for products that may pose a risk to consumers. Mercosur resolutions also establish consumer protection rights in e-commerce transactions for providers operating within member states.

Data protection and privacy regulations in Argentina are governed by the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) enacted in 2000. While considered a pioneering law in Latin America, it is seen as outdated and in need of reform to keep up with digital transformation and surging e-commerce. A new data protection bill is being considered to address shortcomings and align with international standards like GDPR. The PDPL emphasizes principles like legality, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, and confidentiality. Businesses must obtain explicit consent for data collection and processing and ensure the security of personal data. Consumers have rights to access, rectify, and request deletion of their personal data. Recent sanctions, such as one against an online platform in November 2024 for failing to provide adequate responses to data access requests and processing personal data in disregard of the PDPL, highlight the enforcement of existing regulations, even with relatively low fines. Authorities are also addressing issues related to data scraping and recommending safeguards for personal data on online platforms.

Labor laws in Argentina are comprehensive and generally pro-employee, regulating working conditions, hours, salaries, vacations, and severance pay. While not specific to e-commerce in its entirety, these laws impact e-commerce businesses in their hiring and employment practices, including for roles in warehousing, customer service, and increasingly, last-mile delivery. The Labor Contract Law is fundamental, and while written contracts are not always required for permanent roles (except for teleworking), they are for temporary or fixed-term contracts. A recent Urgent and Necessary Decree in December 2023 introduced significant changes to labor regulations, aiming for more flexibility, but it has faced legal challenges. For workers on digital platforms, such as delivery couriers often considered self-employed ("monotributistas"), there are ongoing discussions and analyses regarding their labor status and the need for adequate protection and social security coverage, as their participation in the business organization of platforms blurs traditional employment lines.

Potential Impact of Regulatory Changes

The identified regulatory changes have the potential to significantly impact various steps of the e-commerce value chain in Argentina:

Value Chain Step	Potential Regulatory Changes	Potential Impact on the Value Chain Step
1. Online Platform/Marketplace	- Elimination of taxes on overseas purchases up to $400 and increased import limit for courier shipments. - Potential reforms to consumer protection laws (though a comprehensive code stalled). - Enhanced data protection regulations and enforcement.	- Opportunity: Increased cross-border sales volume and wider product availability on platforms, attracting more customers. Marketplaces facilitating cross-border trade (like Tienda Mia) could see significant boosts. - Challenge: Need for platforms to adapt systems to handle new import regulations and potentially manage increased volume of international returns. - Challenge: Increased compliance burden and potential costs related to stricter data protection and consumer information requirements. Platforms facilitating user data processing will need robust security and consent mechanisms.
2. Customer Acquisition & Engagement	- Enhanced data protection and privacy regulations. - Fiscal Transparency Regime requiring itemization of taxes on invoices.	- Challenge: Potential limitations on targeted advertising and personalization strategies due to stricter data collection and usage rules, requiring more emphasis on consent and data anonymization. - Opportunity: Increased consumer trust due to greater transparency in pricing through tax itemization, potentially improving conversion rates. - Challenge: Marketing materials and pricing displays may need to be updated to reflect tax transparency requirements.
3. Payment Processing	- Ending of withholding VAT requirements for electronic payments for foreign digital services. - Potential new rules on consumer credit and digital transactions (part of the stalled Consumer Code). - Increased use of digital wallets and real-time payment systems. - Enforcement of data protection related to financial data in online transactions.	- Opportunity: Simplified VAT compliance for payment providers processing payments for foreign digital services. - Opportunity: Continued growth and adoption of digital payment methods may be supported or influenced by potential regulations around digital transactions. - Challenge: Increased scrutiny and compliance requirements regarding the security and privacy of financial transaction data. Payment processors must ensure robust identity verification and data protection measures.
4. Logistics & Fulfillment	- Increased import limit for courier shipments and elimination of taxes on low-value cross-border purchases. - Ongoing discussions and potential changes to labor regulations for digital platform workers (couriers). - Potential changes to import/export duties (though recent changes focused on goods, not services).	- Opportunity: Increased volume of international shipments requiring handling and delivery, potentially boosting business for logistics providers specializing in cross-border e-commerce. - Challenge: Need to adapt logistics processes and potentially invest in infrastructure to handle increased volume and complexity of cross-border deliveries and returns. - Threat/Challenge: Potential changes in labor classification or regulations for delivery couriers could impact operational costs and the business model of last-mile delivery services. - Challenge: Changes in import/export duties, though not currently impacting e-commerce services directly, could affect the cost of goods being imported or exported by e-commerce businesses in the future.
5. Customer Service & Post-Sale	- Potential reforms to consumer protection laws. - Enhanced data protection regulations and enforcement. - Requirements for clear information and handling of returns and complaints under consumer protection laws.	- Challenge: Increased requirements for transparency and handling of customer data in line with stricter privacy regulations. - Opportunity: Potential for improved customer trust and satisfaction by proactively complying with consumer protection laws regarding information disclosure, returns, and complaint handling. - Challenge: Need to ensure customer service processes and systems are compliant with data access and deletion requests.

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