The Federal Tax Authority created the Services Prior Sworn Statement System effective as of April 1, 2012.

The Federal Tax Authority's ("AFIP") Regulation 3276 ("Regulation 3276"), published on February 22, 2012, provides that Argentine residents who contract services from foreign residents must file a DJAS. This Regulation also provides that Argentine residents who render services to foreign residents must file a DJAS, but such obligation has not been regulated yet. An Argentine resident for the purpose of the DJAS system is a person who qualifies as Argentine resident under the Argentine Income Tax regulations.

The information included in the DJAS will be available to the agencies which adhere to the system. The agencies will have to opine on the DJAS within the term to be established in the adherence document. Regulation 3276 does not provide that the prior approval of the DJAS by the agencies is a requirement for contracting the services or paying them. However, the information in the DJAS will be included in the Foreign Exchange Transaction Control System, which has to be consulted by financial institutions prior to selling foreign currency to their clients. Therefore, it is likely that in the near future the Central Bank will amend its regulation to include the approval of the DJAS by the relevant agencies as a requirement for paying services abroad.

In those cases where the Argentine resident receives a service from a foreign resident, a DJAS must be filed if the amount of the service to be provided:

  1. is for an amount of US$ 100,000 or more per year; or
  2. the installments are for the amount of US$ 10,000 or more per month; or
  3. the amount is not precise.

There is no definition of service agreement, but the Regulation lists a broad range of services as being covered by the DJAS system. Those services include, inter alia:

  1. information and computing services,
  2. trademark and patents,
  3. royalties,
  4. copyright,
  5. payments of commercial guarantees for exports of goods and services,
  6. acquisition of rights on foreign movies, video, and audio,
  7. professional services, and
  8. technology transfers.

The information to be submitted in the DJAS includes, inter alia:

  1. date of the agreement;
  2. place of execution of the agreement,
  3. place of execution of the service,
  4. term of the agreement,
  5. data of the service provider, and
  6. information on the amounts of the agreement.

The DJAS will not be required if the price of the service to be provided has been cancelled in full prior to the effectiveness of the Regulation 3276 on April 1, 2012.

Regulation 3276 also provides that the DJAS must be filed for each agreement, and if there is no written agreement, the information should be obtained from the invoice or equivalent document issued by the Service provider. The AFIP could request an electronic copy of the agreement or any other document they may consider relevant.

The DJAS will be effective as from April 1, 2012 and it is expected that it will be further regulated to make it operational. The Regulation will be applicable to services agreements executed prior to the effectiveness of the regulation that have outstanding payments to such date.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.