Importing Dollars

[JonnyDucth]

I am posting this in the hopes that it will clear up at least some of the confusion that I encountered when researching the issue of bringing currency into the country.

I found a property in March that I wanted to buy in Buenos Aires and signed the 'boleto' for a price in dollars. Then all the restrictions came and it became impossible to transfer the money via legitimate banking channels.(I actually could have transfered the dollars that I needed but they would have been changed into pesos. However, I was told -- both by the banks and AFIP -- that I would not be allowed to buy back the dollars.) So I started researching simply withdrawing cash from my US bank and carrying it down.

I was warned by everyone that it was 'illegal' and that my money would be taken from me at the airport. That there were specially trained money sniffing dogs. I was sent links to the many well documented cases of people trying to smuggle money, etc...

After speaking to several aduana officials I decided to take the 'risk' and actually follow the protocol. When I arrived at Ezeiza I went right to the customs officials and let them know that I had currency to declare. They were very friendly(!), prompt and discrete without being shady.

They took me to their office, had me show the currency but did not count it. I had documentation with me -- withdraw slips from the bank, bannk statements to show the sources of the income and the declaration from the US customs showing when and where the money left from. They asked for none of it.

They entered my details into the AFIP's system, took a copy of my passport and gave me a document stating the time and date of the declaration, the amount, and the intent for bringing the currency in -- buying a property. There were many other options to choose from, including the very vague description of 'investment'.
This document is referred to in the 'escritura' and removes any problems that I could have with AFIP wanting to know where the money came from.

I hope this helps anybody in similar circumstances that I found myself in.

Saludos.

 

[nicoenarg]

I wasn't aware that importing dollars into the country was ever a problem. Am I missing something here?

 

[sesamosinsal]

It is important to note that you were entering the country. Bringing dollars into Argentina is not a problem, and nor is it illegal to bring more than $10,000 if they're declared.

I suspect there would be more of a hassle if you were leaving the country with more than $10,000 USD, even if it were all in "blanco."

One major risk you run by "importing" more than $10,000 is an "entregador," a person who finds out that you have cash > $10,000 USD on hand and does something about it as you travel down Ricchieri.

Too risky, in my opinion.

 

[ElQueso]

Yeah, it's not a problem importing the money. It's always been a problem for people who have dollars here to get them out into another country. That's why they had the drug-sniffing dogs (which I didn't see at the Paraguayan/Argentine border at Clorinda on my trip a couple of weeks ago).

The other problems that people run into here with buying property are the proving the origins of funds, which have become a lot more difficult now as AFIP is trying to keep people from investing their dollars, taking them from one mattress and putting them into another (from buyer to seller).

There has never been an illegality to bring more than $10K dollars into the country (or any country, as far as I know) - that limit is the limit at which you do not have to declare it. As long as you declare the money, it is perfectly legal to bring it in.

I have heard, in the past, that people were reluctant to bring money in because they had fear that AFIP would take a 30% withholding if there was a question as to the origin or purpose of the money.

Also, people fear (probably rightly so) that anyone bringing in great sums of money and declaring it could conceivably be targeted by a customs official calling his buddy and watching out for the foreigner carrying a few hundred thousand dollars with him into the city.

 

[EricM]

There are restrictions (really rules) around importing dollars into the country, but they relate to investment in businesses or securities. It is possible to do so for other reasons if you have the right documentation. If you transfer investment money (or potentially any money) incorrectly the Bank of Argentina can hold it for 1 year at no interest, and then tax it 30% so it pays to be careful. A good banker and accountant can help you avoid this. Given the central banks current appetite for dollars, I would rather take my chances on Riccieri too...

 

[nodux]

Ask your realtor about it, they usually have a reliable cueva to deal with so you can wire the moeny to them and get cash.

 

[allcraz]

Morning. Does this situation of bringing in +10,000 dollars and going up to customs at EZE and declaring them change at all if I'm a permanent resident? What could the implications be? I posted in another thread last week but got no replies. We have recently received interest in our property from more than one foreign buyer preferring to do the transaction abroad. If we wire it in, we lose between 3 and 5% if I understand corrrectly. And then you have the problem of not being able to explain the origin of the funds because the money went through a cueva, correct? And we would need to use the money to buy another property. But if I'm flying in with all that cash and then declare it, will I not then be taxed in some way? I can't begin to believe that there would be no implications. Like the OP, I've heard a lot of different stories and not sure who has the right info. Thanks in advance.

 

[citygirl]

Allcraz - you are going to be on the radar if you bring it in and declare it as a permanent resident. IE - AFIP is going to want to know where you got that money. And if you have accounts overseas and havent' been declaring them (since Argentine residents are supposed to pay taxes on worldwide income and declare offshore accounts), you are probably setting yourself up for some problems.

 

[allcraz]

Allcraz - you are going to be on the radar if you bring it in and declare it as a permanent resident. IE - AFIP is going to want to know where you got that money. And if you have accounts overseas and havent' been declaring them (since Argentine residents are supposed to pay taxes on worldwide income and declare offshore accounts), you are probably setting yourself up for some problems.

This was my assumption. Thanks citygirl.

 

[citygirl]

What I posted on the other thread, we've been looking at properties and it's very, very common for the white portion to be in pesos and done here and the rest done outside Argentina and in dollars (normally).

So if you have a property for sale here, you could have the white portion paid here by a foreign buyer (who wouldn't have any issues bringing the money in) and then the rest paid to your accounts overseas. The white portion is usually not that high, it's what the declared value of the property is. Then the rest can be paid in dollars/euros/whatever to your account overseas from a buyers account overseas. And if you wanted to buy a property here, same thing. You pay a white portion here to the seller with the money you have declared from your home sale and then pay the difference to the seller's overseas account.