|
Customs Information
Argentina
- CUSTOMER'S PRESENCE AT CLEARANCE IS RECOMMENDED IN ORDER TO SIGN PAPERS AND SUPPLY THEIR PASSPORT TO CUSTOMS
- Foreigners with a permanent residence visa and/or returning Argentine citizens who have been living abroad for over one year can import used household goods and personal effects duty-free
- Foreigners without a permanent residence visa may import used household goods and personal effects on a temporary basis
- One air and one sea shipment allowed
- Shipment must arrive within six months after customer or three months before
- If shipment arrives over six months after customer, a special permit has to be obtained from the Director General of Customs in Argentina
- These and other regulations may vary according to the customer's immigration status
- All items must be USED and have been in possession of the shipper for at least one year. New items are subject to high duties and cause delays in customs clearance
Application of a rule at customs for air shipments has been changed recently which requires an added procedure to clear goods for foreign shippers entering the country with 90-day tourist visas. Such clearances can still be performed (duty free), but a special permit must now be issued if the shipment contains anything other than clothing, books, toys for the children, or basic personal effects. Shipments over 150 kilos would more likely be problematic. We are still seeing the effects of this new application of the rules, and will adjust our published customs regulations in a more permanent fashion when the situation becomes more clear.
Returning Argentine shippers will undergo a more rigid review in order to bring in household goods shipments duty-free. The rules have always stated that the shipper may not have spent more than 60 days within Argentina in the year prior to re-entry to be classified in the category of "duty free". Shippers must now present their passport with no exceptions, even if they may come from bordering countries. Shippers unable to produce clear proof of their entries and exits will be required to obtain a certificate from Immigrations to enable their goods to be admitted. If shippers do not comply with these requirements, their moves can be imported but they will have to pay duties and taxes of 50 % on the value determined by Argentina Customs.
| Transportation |
Argentina |
| Railways: |
total: 34,091 km (167 km electrified)
broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified)
standard gauge: 2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 10,375 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2004)
|
| Highways: |
total: 215,471 km
paved: 63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways)
unpaved: 152,123 km (1999) |
| Waterways: |
11,000 km (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km; refined products 2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004) |
| Ports and Harbors: |
Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, San Nicolas |
| Merchant Marine: |
total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 149,007 GRT/212,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 2 ( Chile 1, Uruguay 1)
registered in other countries: 23 (2005) |
| Airports: |
1,334 (2004 est.) |
Airports -
with paved runways: |
total: 144
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 62
914 to 1,523 m: 44
under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
Airports -
with unpaved runways: |
total: 1,190
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 50
914 to 1,523 m: 569
under 914 m: 567 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
| Geography |
Argentina |
| Location: |
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
| Geographic Coordinates: |
34 00 S, 64 00 W |
| Map References: |
South America |
| Area: |
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km
|
| Area Comparative: |
slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
| Land Boundaries: |
total: 9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km |
| Coastline: |
4,989 km |
| Maritime Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
| Terrain: |
rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
| Elevation Extremes: |
lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza ) |
| Natural Resources: |
fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium |
| Land Use: |
arable land: 12.31%
permanent crops: 0.48%
other: 87.21% (2001) |
| Irrigated Land: |
15,610 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural Hazards: |
San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast; heavy flooding |
| Environment - current issues: |
environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography - Note: |
second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere |
|
