OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES

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OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES

Peer Review Report

Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings

ISBN 978-92-64-20549-9

for Tax Purposes

PEER REVIEWS, COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings – ARGENTINA

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information is carried out by 120 jurisdictions, which participate in the Global Forum on an equal footing.

The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

These standards are primarily refl ected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004. The standards have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention.

The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting party. Fishing expeditions are not authorised but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information and information held by fi duciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard.

All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identifi ed by the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases.

Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 and Phase 2 – reviews. The Global Forum has also put in place a process for supplementary reports to follow-up on recommendations, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of jurisdictions following the conclusion of a review. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

All review reports are published once approved by the Global Forum and they thus represent agreed Global Forum reports.

For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review reports, please refer to www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org.

ARGENTINA

Peer Review Report Combined Phase 1 + Phase 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings ARGENTINA

Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264205505-en.

This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases.

Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information.

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Global Forum on Transparency

and Exchange

of Information for Tax Purposes Peer Reviews:

Argentina 2013

COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2, INCORPORATING PHASE 2 RATINGS

November 2013

(reflecting the legal and regulatory framework

as at August 2012)

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the official views of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries or those of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

ISBN 978-92-64-20549-9 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-20550-5(PDF)

Series: Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Peer Reviews ISSN 2219-4681 (print)

ISSN 2219-469X (online)

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OECD (2013),Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Peer Reviews: Argentina 2013: Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings, OECD Publishing.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264205505-en

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About the Global Forum

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information is carried out by over 120 jurisdictions, which participate in the Global Forum on an equal footing.

The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These standards are primarily reflected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004. The standards have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention.

The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting party. Fishing expeditions are not authorised but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard.

All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 and Phase 2 – reviews. The Global Forum has also put in place a process for supplementary reports to follow- up on recommendations, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of jurisdictions following the conclusion of a review. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

All review reports are published once adopted by the Global Forum.

For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review reports, please refer to www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org.

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Executive Summary

1. This report summarises the legal and regulatory framework for transparency and exchange of information in Argentina as well as the practical implementation of that framework. The international standard, which is set out in the Global Forum’s Terms of Reference to Monitor and Review Progress Towards Transparency and Exchange of Information, is concerned with the availability of relevant information within a jurisdiction, the competent authority’s ability to gain access to that information, and in turn, whether that information can be effectively exchanged in a timely manner with its exchange of information partners.

2. The Argentine Republic is the second largest country of South America, with a population of 40.6 million and an economy driven by its export-oriented agriculture.

3. The legal and regulatory framework for the availability of information in Argentina is in place. All information about the owners and other stakeholders of relevant entities or arrangements is available at any time through the tax administration, as a result of a well developed systematic information gathering system. In 2012 the tax administration strengthened existing measures that ensured the reporting of identity information related to domestic trust-like fideicomisos to the tax administration, and introduced similar reporting obligations for any foreign trust with a resident trustee.

Companies, like all other commercial entities, must keep their accounting documents and underlying documentation for at least ten years. Banks and other financial institutions are subject to know-your-customer obligations and must keep information about transactions carried out by their customers for 10 years (Part A of the report).

4. The Argentinean authorities make use of their broad powers available for domestic taxation purposes in order to exchange information.

The Argentinean tax administration can access accounting and banking information and data on the ownership of legal entities, pursuant to the Tax Procedure Law.

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5. Argentina has a network of agreements for exchange of information in tax matters with 52 partner jurisdictions pursuant to double tax conventions (DTC), tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) and the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Multilateral Convention). Only half of these are in force, but Argentina ratified the Multilateral Convention on 30 May 2012 and has indicated that the ratification instrument will be deposited shortly in order to bring the Convention into force in respect of Argentina. Argentina continues to expand its network of exchange of information instruments, with negotiations underway with additional jurisdictions. However, Argentina has recently terminated its DTCs with Chile and Spain, two of its main EOI partners, with effect from 1 January 2013. This entails a de facto termination of the accompanying inter-institutional TIEAs with the respective EOI partners. Whilst Argentina and Spain will be able to exchange information for tax purposes under the Multilateral Convention once it enters into force in both jurisdictions, there will be no EOI mechanism between Argentina and Chile from 2013. Accordingly, element C.2 is found to be “in place, but certain aspects of the legal implementation of the element need improvement”.

6. The authority in charge of exchanging information for tax purposes is located within the Federal Administration of Public Revenue. The organisation of the exchange process and the resources devoted to this activity were completely revamped in 2010 and important progress in the handling of requests received from partner jurisdictions has been pursued since 2011. In particular, response times have started to decrease and further improvements are expected with the development of new IT tools and internal guidelines.

Local tax auditors in charge of gathering the information that is not already contained in the central tax database of Argentina are also increasingly aware of the importance of EOI, which should further improve the response times of Argentina.

7. It remains that Argentina does not receive a large number of requests:

21 for the period 2009-2011 (on 273 persons), from seven treaty partners, mainly Brazil, Chile and Spain. Argentina globally sends more requests than it receives and the number of outgoing requests has been increasing over the last two years.

8. Ultimately, several EOI partners of Argentina praised the quality of its co-operation since the restructuring of its EOI system. Argentina should monitor the functioning of the new EOI Division and internal procedures for answering EOI requests as practice develops, and improve them as necessary.

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9. Argentina has been assigned a rating¹ for each of the 10 essential elements as well as an overall rating. The ratings for the essential elements are based on the analysis in the text of the report, taking into account the Phase 1 determinations and any recommendations made in respect of Argentina’s legal and regulatory framework and the effectiveness of its exchange of information in practice. On this basis, Argentina has been assigned the following ratings: Compliant for elements A.1, A.2, A.3, B.1, B.2, C.1, C.3 and C.4, Largely Compliant for element C.2 and Partially Compliant for element C.5.

In view of the ratings for each of the essential elements taken in their entirety, the overall rating for Argentina is Largely Compliant.

1. This report reflects the legal and regulatory framework as at the date indicated on page 1 of this publication. Any material changes to the circumstances affecting the ratings may be included in Annex 1 to this report.

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Introduction

Information and methodology used for the peer review of Argentina 10. The assessment of the legal and regulatory framework of Argentina and the practical implementation and effectiveness of this framework was based on the international standards for transparency and exchange of information as described in the Global Forum’s Terms of Reference, and was prepared using the Global Forum’s Methodology for Peer Reviews and Non-Member Reviews.

The assessment was based on the laws, regulations, and exchange of information mechanisms in force or effect as at August 2012, other information, explanations and materials supplied by Argentina during the on-site visit that took place on 17-19 April 2012, and information supplied by partner jurisdictions. During the on-site visit, the assessment team met with officials and representatives of the relevant Argentinean public agencies, including the Argentinean Tax Administration and the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance (see Annex 4).

11. The Terms of Reference break down the standards of transparency and exchange of information into 10 essential elements and 31 enumerated aspects under three broad categories: (A) availability of information;

(B) access to information; and (C) exchanging information. This review assesses Argentina’s legal and regulatory framework and the implementation and effectiveness of this framework against these elements and each of the enumerated aspects. In respect of each essential element a determination is made regarding Argentina’s legal and regulatory framework that either:

(i) the element is in place, (ii) the element is in place but certain aspects of the legal implementation of the element need improvement, or (iii) the element is not in place. These determinations are accompanied by recommendations for improvement where relevant. In addition, to reflect the Phase 2 component, recommendations are made concerning Argentina’s practical application of each of the essential elements and a rating of either: (i) compliant, (ii) largely compliant, (iii) partially compliant, or (iv) non-compliant is assigned to each element. An overall rating is also assigned to reflect Argentina’s overall level of compliance with the standards.

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12. The assessment was conducted by an assessment team composed of two expert assessors and a representative of the Global Forum Secretariat:

Ms. Monica Olsson, Senior tax lawyer, Norwegian Directorate of Taxes; Ms.

Oshna Maharaj, Manager, International Development and Treaties, South African Revenue Service; and Ms. Gwenặlle Le Coustumer from the Global Forum Secretariat.

13. The ratings assigned in this report were adopted by the Global Forum in November 2013 as part of a comparative exercise designed to ensure the consistency of the results. An expert team of assessors was selected to pro- pose ratings for a representative subset of 50 jurisdictions. Consequently, the assessment teams that carried out the Phase 1 and Phase 2 reviews were not involved in the assignment of ratings. These ratings have been compared with the ratings assigned to other jurisdictions for each of the essential elements to ensure a consistent and comprehensive approach. The assignment of ratings was also conducted at a different time from those reviews, and the circumstances may have changed in the meantime. Readers should consult Annex 1 for information on changes that have occurred.

Overview of Argentina

14. The Argentine Republic is a South American country bordered by Brazil and Uruguay on the North-East, Bolivia and Paraguay on the North and Chile on the West and South. Argentina covers 2.8 million square kilo- metres (the second largest country in South America) and has a population of 40.6 million, over a third of which is located in the Buenos Aires province.² The currency is the Argentine Peso (ARS; on 8 June 2012 ARS 1 equal USD 0.22 and EUR 0.18).

15. After having suffered a severe financial crisis, Argentina devalued the peso in 2002, which raised the competitiveness of Argentina’s exports.

Argentina also developed a policy of attracting foreign direct investment.

Argentina’s GDP in 2011 was USD 323.4 billion, with a GDP per capita of USD 8 875. It has the third largest economy and the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America. Agricultural products account for over half of Argentina’s export – soybean derivatives comprise the main exports.

Other important exports include corn, wheat, transport and cargo vehicles, 2. Figures are taken from the following sources: www.inversiones.gov.ar/en/

investment-guide/; http://un.data.org; and http://stat.wto.org/CountryProfile/

WSDBCountryPFView.aspx?Language=E&Country=AR. According to WTO figures for 2010, they made up Argentina’s exports and imports as follows: the EU (imports: 17.3%, exports: 16.4%); China (imports: 13.5%, exports: 8.5%); the USA (imports: 10.8%; 5.4%); Chile (exports: 6.6%); and Mexico (imports: 3.2%).

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crude oil and petroleum, sunflower seed oil, ship and airplane fuels and lubricants. Manufactured goods comprise over 80% of Argentina’s imports with machinery parts, organic chemical products and mineral fuel and oils forming significant import categories.

16. Brazil is Argentina’s largest trading partner in terms of both imports and exports; it accounted for over 20% of Argentina’s exports and 30%

of its imports in 2010. Other main trading partners include the European Union (mainly Germany and the Netherlands, but also Spain for exports and Belgium for imports), China, the United States, Chile (for exports) and Mexico (for imports). Investments into Argentina, which amounted to USD 6.3 billion in 2010, originate primarily from the EU; the United States;

China; Hong Kong, China; Brazil; Singapore and Australia.

17. Argentina is active in the international arena: it is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur), the Union of South American Nations, the Organisation of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organisation, and is one of the major G-20 economies.

General information on the legal system

18. Argentina is a representative, democratic, federal Republic compris- ing 24 jurisdictions: 23 Provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Provinces are further divided into municipalities. Provinces are authorised to enact their own constitution and procedural laws. Pursuant to the National Constitution, the 24 jurisdictions preserve the power which is not otherwise delegated by the National Constitution to the Federal Government. Exclusive powers of the Nation which are exercised by the Federal Government include, amongst other things, international affairs and the enactment of the Codes (such as Civil Code, Commercial Code and Criminal Code).

19. The Legislative National Power is exercised by a bicameral National Congress – members of both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are directly elected. The Vice-President, as President of the Senate, is part of the legislature even though he/she is elected on the same ticket as the President.

20. The National Federal Government is headed by a President. Powers, functions and activities of the executive are distributed to auxiliary and administrative organs. Executive power on the provincial level is exercised by the Governor of each Province.

21. The Judiciary Power, on the national level, is in charge of the administration of justice and is a separate and independent branch of the government from the executive and the legislature. The Judiciary Power of the Nation, which has jurisdiction over the entire territory of Argentina, exists in parallel

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with the judicial power of the Provinces. All matters fall under the autonomous jurisdiction of the Provinces apart from those exceptionally designated as under the Judiciary Power of the Nation. Broadly, cases involving the National Government or any of its agencies, or conflicts between neighbour- ing Provinces fall within exceptional matters reserved for the Judicial Power of the Nation. Both the federal and the provincial court systems are made up of a Supreme Court, appellate courts and lower courts. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation is the highest court of the land – it is made up of nine judges who are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional. Courts are competent in tax cases, depending on the tax law at stake: any litigation related to a federal tax is heard by a federal court, whereas litigation related to provincial taxes are heard by provincial courts.

22. The Argentine legal system is based on the civil law tradition. The hierarchy of legal norms in the Argentine legal system ranks as follows:

(i) the National Constitution and International Treaties related to Human Rights;³ (ii) other International Treaties; (iii) the federal and provincial Laws;

and (iv) Decrees of the Executive National Power. The National Constitution states that taxes and exemptions from taxes must be established by law. Laws and decrees can further be complemented by resolutions, for instance from the Federal Administration of Public Revenue. Resolutions are binding rules but cannot contradict laws and decrees nor create new tax obligations.

23. National law, under the Civil Code (Article 33), provides for the creation of public and private legal entities in Argentina. The regulation of commercial companies is governed by national law under Law No 19.550 integrated into the Commercial Code (see section A.1 below).

Argentinean general tax system

24. Under constitutional principles, three levels of government – national, provincial and municipal – are empowered to collect taxes in Argentina.

Taxes collected by the Federal Government include Income Tax, Tax on Personal Estate, Presumed Minimum Income Tax and Value Added Tax.⁴ The Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos or AFIP) is responsible, on the national level, for the col- lection and administration of taxes, social security resources and customs duties. Taxes collected at provincial level include Real Estate Tax, Turnover Tax and Stamp Tax. Municipalities are empowered to collect taxes on Commerce, Industry and Services and contributions on vehicles.

3. National Constitution, s. 75(22)

4. VAT accounts for 47% of Argentina’s federal tax revenue in 2011 whilst income tax accounted for 32%.

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25. Income Tax, collected at the national level, is applicable to both legal and natural persons (Law No 20.628). The rate of Income Tax applicable to legal persons is 35% of total earnings for those considered resident in Argentina and 35% of Argentine source income for non-resident entities.

Natural persons are subject to a progressive Income Tax rate of 9% to 35%, calculated on net income subject to tax. In 2011, the total amount of Income Tax collected amounted to ARS 109 billion (USD 24 billion, EUR 19.1 billion). Presumed Minimum Income Tax, at an annual rate of 1%, is applicable on all worldwide assets of Argentine-resident companies and on assets located in Argentina which belong to non-resident entities and individuals. Amounts paid as Income Tax may be considered payment on account for Presumed Minimum Income Tax and no further amounts will be payable where the Income Tax amount is greater than the Presumed Minimum Income Tax amount otherwise payable. There is also a simplified tax regime (monotributo) for low revenue taxpayers with gross annual incomes of up to ARS 300 000 (USD 66 900, EUR 53 650), which may apply instead of Income Tax, Value Added Tax and Social Security.

26. For Income Tax purposes, a natural person is considered a resident of Argentina when he/she is (i) Argentine (or a naturalised foreigner); or (ii) a foreigner with a permanent residence permit in Argentina or who has legally resided in the country for twelve months (Income Tax Law, s. 119). Argentine nationals lose their Argentine residency if they become permanent residents of a foreign country, or if they stay abroad for 12 uninterrupted months. In relation to legal persons, incorporated business companies and other business forms (such as one-person companies, civil associations, foundations, etc.) are considered resident in Argentina if they are established under the laws of Argentina. Argentine branches of companies established abroad, as well as companies established abroad but with their effective place of management and control in Argentina are also considered resident entities for the purpose of Income Tax. Residents, whether legal or natural persons, are subject to Income Tax on their worldwide income, including their capital gains. Non- residents, such as foreign companies without a branch or other permanent establishment in Argentina, are subject to Income Tax on their Argentine source income only. This review focuses on tax legislation and administration on the federal, national level, as the DTCs of Argentina cover the federal taxes.

27. The AFIP grants every taxpayer (including both natural and legal persons) a unique taxpayer identification number (clave única de identi- ficación tributaria, CUIT) when they register with it. In order to register, taxpayers are required to submit an online application form which contains information including name, address, share capital details, directors and activities performed – this is discussed further in Parts A and B.

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28. The AFIP is the (delegated) competent authority for exchange of information. The AFIP is also empowered to sign TIEAs with other Tax Administrations. In 2010, the International Taxation Directorate under the Sub-Directorate General of Tax Examination was created in AFIP to mod- ernise the control of international transactions. The International Information Management Department was created under this Directorate specifically for the purpose of managing and processing all forms of international information exchanges in tax and customs matters (see section C.5 below).

Argentina and the standards

29. Argentina has been part of the Global Forum since its inception.

Argentina has bilateral or multilateral exchange of information (EOI) relation- ships with 52 jurisdictions, of which 28 are in force (see Annex 2). Argentina is currently negotiating new DTCs and TIEAs. However, Argentina recently terminated its DTCs with Chile and Spain, two of its main EOI partners, with effect from 1 January 2013 (see further Recent Developments).

30. Since 2008, Argentina has received 21 EOI requests relating to 273 persons, from seven of its treaty partners. The main EOI partners of Argentina are Brazil, Chile and Spain.

Overview of the financial sector and relevant professions

31. Banking deposits in the 64 banks in Argentina exceeded USD 110 billion in 2012 with private banking institutions holding around 60% of the deposits and loans. There are 12 state owned and 52 private banks currently operating in Argentina. Banks and financial institutions (as well as exchange institutions, trust funds and institutions in receivership) are supervised by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) and the Superintendency of Financial and Foreign Exchange Institutions. Pursuant to Law No 21.526, s. 7, financial institutions may not carry on business without a licence from the BCRA and are subject to its information, accounting and control requirements.

32. The Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires) operates the primary stock exchange in Argentina. Securities exchanges wishing to operate in Argentina must apply for appropriate authorisation from the National Securities Commission of the National Executive Branch. Pursuant to Law No 17.811, s. 35, only authorised corporations may use the designation of Securities Market and engage in activities pertaining to such institutions.

Securities Markets are legally required to keep a Register of Stockbrokers.

33. Entities carrying out insurance and reinsurance activities in Argentina are regulated by the Superintendency of Insurance, an autonomous entity under the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance. As of June 2011,

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there were 181 insurance entities operating in Argentina. The private pension system, which was established in 1994, was nationalised in 2008.

34. In order to practice law in Argentina, lawyers must register with pro- fessional bodies for the jurisdiction in which he/she will practice. To practice before national courts, lawyers must register with the Bar Association of the Federal Capital. Accountants must be registered in the respective councils of each jurisdiction in which they operate.

Recent developments

35. Argentina signed the amended OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, in November 2011. On 30 May 2012, Argentina ratified the Multilateral Convention and Argentina has indicated that the ratification instrument will be deposited shortly.

36. Argentina recently terminated its DTCs with Chile and Spain, two of its main EOI partners, with effect from 1 January 2013. This entails a de facto termination of the accompanying inter-institutional TIEAs with the respective EOI partners. There will be no EOI mechanism between Argentina and Chile from 2013 (unless a new EOI agreement is negotiated and put in place by then).

37. As Argentina has ratified the Multilateral Convention, despite the abovementioned termination, Argentina and Spain will be able to exchange information for tax purposes under the Multilateral Convention once it enters into force in both jurisdictions.

38. On 18 April 2012, the AFIP passed a new General Resolution n° 3312 establishing a registration regime which reinforces existing obligations regarding information on the operations of Argentinean fideicomisos and sets out similar reporting obligations in relation to foreign trusts (see further discussion in Section A.1.4).

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Compliance with the Standards

A. Availability of Information

Overview

39. Effective exchange of information requires the availability of reliable information. In particular, it requires information on the identity of owners and other stakeholders as well as information on the transactions carried out by entities and other organisational structures. Such information may be kept for tax, regulatory, commercial or other reasons. If such information is not kept or the information is not maintained for a reasonable period of time, a jurisdiction’s competent authority⁵ may not be able to obtain and provide it when requested. This section of the report describes and assesses Argentina’s legal and regulatory framework on availability of information. It also assesses the implementation and effectiveness of this framework.

39. All information about the owners and other stakeholders of an entity or arrangement subject to registration and tax obligations in Argentina is available at any time within the tax administration.

40. The most common entities in Argentina are limited liability companies (SRL) and companies limited by shares (SA). The tax administration maintains information on the identity of all the shareholders of these entities.

There are no longer any bearer shares in Argentina since all bearer shares 5. The term “competent authority” means the person or government authority des-

ignated by a jurisdiction as being competent to exchange information pursuant to a double tax convention or tax information exchange agreement.

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were converted into registered shares 15 years ago. Companies, like all other commercial entities, must keep their accounting documents and underlying documentation for at least ten years.

41. The Argentinean law does not recognise trusts but a similar arrangement called fideicomiso was introduced in 1995. Domestic fideicomisos have been subject to identity information reporting obligations since 2008, which ensures the availability of such information relating back to 2005. These obligations are reinforced by measures taken by the tax administration in 2012 that also ensure the registration with the tax administration of identity information on foreign trusts with a resident trustee.

42. Banks and other financial institutions are subject to know-your- customer obligations and must keep information about transactions carried out by their customers for 10 years.

43. In practice, Argentina’s partners are satisfied with the Argentinean responses to their EOI requests and no partner noted that a particular type of information was unavailable in Argentina. Requests received by Argentina since 2009 concern 273 persons, and information requested related to SA (44%), individuals (24%), SRLs (17%), other commercial entities (10%) and individuals linked to foundations (5%). Statistics provided by Argentina also show that most EOI requests related to ownership information and financial records (especially because of a request on more than 200 persons received from a partner). Other requests related mainly to details of tax registration, real properties, and bank accounts information.

A.1. Ownership and identity information

Jurisdictions should ensure that ownership and identity information for all relevant entities and arrangements is available to their competent authorities.

44. The present section considers the legal and regulatory framework relating to companies, bearer shares in joint-stock companies, partnerships and other legal entities (trusts, foundations, etc.), as well as enforcement provisions to ensure compliance with the laws on the ownership of relevant entities.

45. Entities are classified in two broad categories in Argentinean law:

public and private entities. Public entities are the national government, provinces, municipalities, their autonomous entities and the Catholic Church.

46. Private entities are divided between civil and commercial entities.

Commercial entities are governed by the Civil Code, the Commercial Code and Law 19.550 on Commercial Companies. A commercial company or partnership exists when two or more persons, in an organised fashion, and through one of the corporate types set out in Law 19.550, agree to make contributions

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to produce or commercialise goods or services, sharing profits and losses. A private entity which is not of a commercial nature is a civil entity.

47. Argentinean “companies” and “partnerships” are both legal persons.

The distinction between them is depends on whether the creation of the entity is based around the members’ capital contribution (in companies or socie- dades de capital), or the members themselves (in partnerships or sociedades de personas). In the latter case, the management falls on the members, and equity in the entity cannot be passed freely to third parties.

48. In addition, the notion of “trader” (comerciante) is key in Argentina commercial law. The Commercial Code defines as “traders” or “businessper- sons” all individuals who, having legal capacity to contract, perform acts of commerce on their own account and as a habitual profession (s. 1), and in general all persons engaged in trade, from a grocer to a bank. An act of commerce underlies, for instance, the acquisition and selling of a movable property for profit; manufacturing; exchange, brokerage and auction transactions. It includes investment activities. Commercial entities and merchants (together “traders”) are bound by a number of obligations, including registration in the Commercial Register and the requirement to keep accounting records for a minimum of ten years.

49. The Argentinean authorities indicate that almost all requests for ownership information concern companies (SA and SRL). This is consistent with input received from peers. A few requests were also related to individuals linked to foundations or investments in Argentina. No EOI partner of Argentina indicated that they had not received the information requested because this type of information was not available. Information on beneficial ownership also represents 82% of the information requested from Argentina over the last three years, especially because of a request on more than 200 persons received from a partner. Other types of identity information requested include checking the residence of the person and the registration of individuals.

Companies (ToR⁶ A.1.1)

50. Companies (sociedades comerciales) are incorporated pursuant to Law 19.550, as:

• Sociedad anónima (SA, Joint Stock Company or Public Limited Company): its capital is divided into shares and each shareholder (individual or corporate, Argentinean of foreign) is liable only up to the limit of the issuing price of his/her shares. The minimum capital is ARS 12 000 (USD 2 676, EUR 2 145) and a majority of directors 6. Terms of Reference to Monitor and Review Progress Towards Transparency and

Exchange of Information

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must have their real place of residence in Argentina. SAs can make public offering of securities. (Law N° 19.550, ss. 163-307)

• Sociedad Anónima con participación estatal mayoritaria (SA or Joint Stock Company with State-owned Majority): an SA in which the national government, the provincial governments, municipalities or state agencies legally authorised to that effect, own individually or jointly shares representing at least 51% of the capital, and these shares are sufficient to prevail in the ordinary and extraordinary shareholders’ meetings. The rules on SA fully apply except a few provisions on directors (Law N° 19.550, ss. 308-312).

• Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (SRL, Limited Liability Company): its capital is represented by shares (cuotas) and each shareholder is liable only up to the value of his/her share. Nonetheless, the partners are jointly and unlimitedly liable for the payment of the full contributions to the share capital as regard any corporate obligations undertaken prior to registration (Section 150). There cannot be more than 50 members in an SRL. (Law N° 19.550, ss. 146-162).

• Sociedad en Comandita por acciones (SCA, Partnership Limited by Shares): it is formed by one or more general partners, who are traders and are indefinitely and jointly liable for the partnership’s debts and obligations, and limited partners, who are shareholders and bear losses only up to the amount of the capital they subscribed. Only the capital contributions of limited partners are represented by shares.

These companies are subject to the same regulations as the SA, unless Law N° 19.550 stipulates on the contrary (Law N° 19.550, ss. 315-324).

• Sociedad de Economía Mixta – Mixed Economy Company (Law N° 12.962): it is formed by the National State, the provincial States, municipalities or autonomous administrative entities pursuant to their legal powers on the one hand, and by private capital on the other hand. Their purpose is the exploitation of businesses which aim at satisfying collective needs or implementing, promoting or developing economic activities. They can be public or private entities, depending on their purpose, but the president and at least one third of the directors are nominated by the public authorities. They follow the rules on SA on ownership information.

• Sociedad del Estado – State-owned Corporations exclude all share- holding of private capital. They are exclusively constituted by the National State, the provincial States, municipalities, government agencies legally authorised to such effect. They can also be corporations incorporated under Law N° 20.705 to develop industrial and commercial activities or to exploit public services (e.g. the railway

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company). The only owners of these companies being public institutions of Argentina, their ownership structure is clear.

51. There are around 390 500 companies registered in the tax database of Argentina as of November 2011: 196 235 SA, 188 048 SRL, 3 768 SCA, 51 joint stock company with state-owned majority, and 307 State-owned corporations. None of these entities can be owned by a single person.

52. Companies incorporated abroad may also engage in business in Argentina. 2 456 branches of foreign companies are registered with the AFIP.

The fiscal domicile of a legal person in Argentina depends on its place of legal domicile, or on the place of its effective management and control, when it differs from the legal domicile (Law 11.683, s. 3).

53. Full ownership information on companies is available in Argentina.

The Commercial register contains some information, and the tax administration maintains a significant amount of identity and ownership information in its database, through a network of information statements that taxpayers and third parties must file periodically or upon the occurrence of certain events in the life of the company.

Information held by the Argentinean authorities

54. A company, whatever its form, is created between two or more persons by a public instrument or by a private instrument that must be authen- ticated by a public official or signed in front of a judge (Law N° 19.550, ss. 4 and 5). The instrument must be submitted within the next 15 days to the Public Registry of Commerce of the provincial jurisdiction where the registered office of the company is located (Law N° 19.550, s. 5 in conjunction with Commercial Code, s. 39). A company is considered as properly created once registered with the Registry of Commerce (Law N° 19.550, s 7). If not, the members of the entity are jointly liable for the operations of the entity (s. 23).

55. The instrument of creation of a commercial company must contain, among others: 1) the name, age, marital status, nationality, profession, address and identification number of each member; 2) the firm or corporate name and the address of the entity; … 4) the social capital, which must be expressed in Argentinean currency (ARS), and the contribution of each member; … 7) the rules for distributing the profits and bearing the losses (Law N° 19.550, s. 11). The legal instrument creating a commercial entity therefore must contain the name of all the initial members of the entity, together with their respective share in the capital of the entity.

56. The rules on the updating of the ownership information maintained by the Registrars differ depending of the type of company. The transmission of shares in an SRL or SCA must be registered (IGJ General Resolution

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7/05, s. 35(II)(6)). The rights in rem that may exist over the shares must also be registered with the Registry of Commerce (e.g. co-ownership, usufruct;

s. 156 and a copy or the instrument must be deposited). The obligation to register the transmission of shares does not cover SAs, since their shares are freely negotiable and the ownership structure of an SA is therefore expected to change more often.

57. Any new company must also register with the tax administration, and the registration with the Commercial register cannot be completed until the new company has a tax identification number. In practice, to create a company in Argentina, the founders must first provide information to the AFIP in order to get a temporary tax identification number, and then register with the Registrar of Commerce, before obtaining their definitive tax identification number.

58. All companies must disclose their ownership structure to the AFIP, as well as report on identity information regarding their directors, managers and other representatives (GR 4120 of 8 June 1996, as replaced by GR 2763 of 5 February 2010). A recent General Resolution reinforced the obligations of electronic declaration (GR 3293 of 22 March 2012). Not only are taxpayers required to declare their shares and interests in Argentine companies and partnerships,⁷ but now the companies and partnerships (as well as permanent establishment of foreign companies) must also declare the identity of the holders of their shares, including their tax identification number or identity number, their domicile, and the number and value of their shares. The same applies, whether the person is a tax resident in Argentina or not, and whether the person is an individual, company or other type of shareholder. Pursuant to the same resolution, companies must also provide information on their subsidiaries, parent companies and related companies: corporate name, tax identification number and domicile, whether in Argentina or in another country. Submissions must be made electronically to the AFIP, in July for the preceding year, starting with 2011. Ownership information on companies is available in relation to periods prior to this date pursuant to the reporting obligations set out under the previous General Resolutions mentioned above and the new resolution facilitates cross-checks.

59. In addition, the transfer of shares must also be reported to the AFIP within 10 working days by the seller, the buyer and the company, as well as by any public notary, who might be involved in the transfer. The information to be provided electronically to the AFIP includes the date and type of transaction (purchase, sale, free transfer, etc.), identity information on the company at stake and participants in the transfer, the date and amount of the 7. Individuals domiciled in Argentina must now also declare the shares or interests

they hold in foreign companies or partnerships.

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payment (in the currency used and in Argentinean pesos), as well as the corresponding change of corporate control. The obligation applies to all transfers performed after 1 January 2012. Before this new obligation was introduced, stock brokers were already obligated to report to the AFIP the transactions they were involved in, pursuant to AFIP GR 2386/2007. Pursuant to art. 7 of this resolution, they send to the AFIP a summary of the operations performed, and indicate the amount of the transactions performed for each client when the amount is above ARS 150 000 (USD 33 450, EUR 26 820).

60. With this new 2012 resolution, the AFIP can now cross-check electronically the information provided by the companies and shareholders online.

61. As a result of the various laws and regulations applicable, the AFIP maintains full ownership information on Argentinean companies and the IGJ maintains no information that the tax administration does not also maintain.

In any event, the AFIP has free access to the national and provincial registers (Law N° 26.047, s. 3).⁸

Foreign companies

62. Law N° 19.550 (ss. 118-124) provides that companies incorporated in a foreign country and which carry out activities in Argentina through a branch are regulated pursuant to the law of their country of establishment.

In addition, for a foreign company to regularly engage in Argentina in acts included in its corporate purpose, set up a branch or any other type of permanent representation, it is required to evidence its existence in accordance with the laws of its country, and indicate a domicile in Argentina.

63. Notwithstanding, Law 19.550 also prescribes that a company incorporated under foreign law but the main office or the business of which is in Argentina is considered as a local company for company law purposes, and must follow the same procedure of creation as a local company (s. 124), in which case it falls under the supervisory powers of the IGJ (Law 22.315, s. 8).

In such circumstances, the original incorporation of the foreign company is deemed valid and, under Argentinean law, the company will be treated as legally equal to Argentine companies that have complied with the formalities established in Law N° 19.550.

64. The IGJ maintains a National Registry of Foreign Companies, which registers foreign companies that carry on business in Argentina by means of a permanent representation or participates in local companies (Law N° 19.550, ss. 4, 118 and 123; Law 22.315, s. 4). IGJ Resolution 7/05 rules that the registration with the Register of Companies is subject to the provision of 8. The information contained in the various Registers of Commerce can be con-

sulted by the public physically but not online (Law N° 19.550, s. 9).

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information identifying the members of the company at the time of its deci- sion to do business in Argentina, including, for each one of them their last name and firm or corporate name, address or registered office, number of identity card or passport, or evidence of registration, authorisation or incorporation, and number of equity interests and votes and their percentage in the capital. Exceptions exist for listed companies. No updated information is required on an annual basis.

65. The permanent establishments of foreign companies are subject to the recent AFIP General Resolution mentioned above for domestic companies, which has reinforced the obligations of electronic declaration (GR 3293 of 22 March 2012). They must also declare the identity of the owners, including their tax identification number or identity number, their domicile, and the value of their shares. Submissions must be made electronically to the AFIP, every July for the information concerning the preceding year, starting with 2011.

66. The Argentinean authorities indicate that in practice foreign companies registered in Argentina predominantly come from Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.

Information held by companies

67. The rules regarding the maintenance of ownership information are different for shares of SRLs, and shares of SA and limited partners of SCA.

SRLs do not maintain a register of shareholders, since the name of all their shareholders are already gathered in the deed of the company. The transfer of shares in an SRL is effective against the SRL once a copy of the instrument is provided to its manager, and against third parties once the transfer is registered with the Registrar of Companies (Law N° 19.550, s. 152).

68. SAs must maintain a ledger of shares with mentions of the class of share, rights and obligations attached to each, their original owner and the dates of their successive transfers together with the name of the buyers (Law N° 19.550, ss. 208 and 316). Transfers of registered or book-entry shares must be notified in writing to the issuing company or share registry entity, and must be entered in the ledger or relevant account. The transfer is effective against the company and third parties upon registration (s. 215). SCAs generally follow the rules on SA, except that the transfer of the shares of a general partner must be decided during a general assembly of the shareholders (s. 323).

69. The ledger must be kept “with the formalities corresponding to commercial books”, which means that it must be kept for 10 years and be submitted to the Registrar of the Commercial court for stamping (Law N° 19.550, s. 213 in conjunction with the Commercial Code, ss. 53 and 67). As a result, ownership information is also available with the Argentinean companies.

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Nominees

70. The concept of nominee that exists in some jurisdictions does not exist in Argentinean law. Registered shares issued by companies incorporated in Argentina are in principle held by their beneficial owner.

71. The Argentinean law expressly penalises the existence of hidden and apparent partners (Law N° 19.550, s. 34). Pursuant to s. 34, the hidden partner is an unlimited and jointly liable member of the company. Argentinean case law determines that a contract between a hidden member and an apparent (registered) shareholder constitutes a punishable fraudulent manoeuvre.⁹ The person whose name appears as a member is considered as having the obligations and duties of a member vis-a-vis third parties, but is not considered as such with regard to the normal members, whether or not he/she has a stake in the company’s profits. Hidden partners also entail some tax sanctions.

Within the verification and audit powers established in section 35 of the Tax Procedure Law Nº 11.683, and based on the Economic Reality Principle expressed in section 2 of said law, the AFIP is empowered to pierce the corporate veil and redefine the situation in the light of the underlying facts, establishing the legal presumption of an unjustified increase in net equity for the hidden partner who did not reveal its real taxpaying capacity. In addition, sanctions (interests and fines) are also mentioned in Law Nº 11.683, as well as the possibility of imprisonment according to the Tax Criminal Law. When that is the case, the Financial Information Unit receives a report of suspicious transaction.

72. As a result, nominee ownership or similar arrangements are not allowed and are punishable in Argentina.

Service providers

73. Identity and ownership information of companies and other Argentinean legal entities being fully maintained by the AFIP directly, the AFIP never relies on service providers to provide such information, as service providers subject to the AML/CFT laws and regulations of Argentina do not maintain individually any ownership information that the AFIP does not maintain itself.

74. The AML Law 25.246 as amended and the FIU resolutions set the basic obligations of subject entities to collect identity and other information from their customers and third parties on behalf of which customers may act.

The minimum information requested from customers includes their corporate name, date and company registration number, tax registration number, date of articles of incorporation, copy of updated by-laws, address (street, number, 9. Commercial Court; Juhal, Eduardo J. v. Fumo, Claudio A. Yotros; 9/08/10.

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city, province and postcode), phone number of main office and main business activity. Additionally, personal data is requested on the legal representatives and agents, who carry out transactions on the legal person’s behalf. When the client is a legal person, the service provider must collect information on the owners of the client (Law no. 25 246, s. 21bis(c)). A recent resolution of the FIU clarifies that the term “owner” covers the natural persons that have at least 20% of the capital or voting rights of a legal person ((FIU Resolution 140/2012 of 10 August 2012).

75. The BCRA has at its disposal a range of sanctions to apply against a financial entity that fails to implement AML/CFT provisions. Law 21.526, s. 41 provides that any breach of the communications issued by the BCRA is subject to punishment, and the BCRA has applied sanctions (cautions, warn- ings and fines) for failure to comply with the AML/CFT provisions of its communications.

76. Again the AFIP does not need in practice, and has never relied on, ownership information collected by the entities (such as banks) subject to the AML/CFT laws and regulations in Argentina, since these entities collect no information that the AFIP does not already maintain on the ownership structure of entities in Argentina.

Bearer shares (ToR A.1.2)

77. It has not been possible to issue bearer shares in Argentina since 1995 and the entry into force of Law N° 24.587 on the individualisation of private securities. Pursuant to section 1 of this law, the bearer shares that existed at the date of publication of the law had to be converted into registered shares or book entries within six months. The remaining bearer shares can no longer be converted into registered shares or transferred, and no rights attached to them can be exercised any longer (s. 7), which means that the remaining bearer shares are null and void.

78. Finally, Law N° 24.587 provides that private or government securities issued abroad to the bearer, and that are authorised to be publicly offered in the country, must be deposited with a financial entity, which will deliver non- transferable registered certificates, representative of such securities (s. 5).

Partnerships (ToR A.1.3)

79. An Argentinean partnership is a legal person to which each member agrees to participate, taking into consideration each other member in their personal capacity (intuitu personae). There are several types of commercial partnerships in Argentinean law:

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• asociedad colectiva (general partnership) is a commercial entity with at least two members (considered as traders) who are jointly, person- ally and severally liable for the partnership’s debts (Law N° 19.550, ss. 125-139);

• a sociedad en comandita simple (SCS or limited partnership) is a commercial entity that comprises two classes of members: general partners, who are jointly and severally liable for the partnership’s debts, and limited partners, who incur no liability for the partnership’s debts and whose risk is limited to the amount of their contribution (they are essentially financial backers). Limited partners cannot carry out any act of management (Law N° 19.550, ss. 134-140);

• Sociedad de Capital e Industria (capital and industry partnership):

the general partners are liable to the same extent as partners of general partnerships, and partners who contribute with their industry liable only up to the amount of their share of profits to be received (Law N° 19.550, ss. 141-145). This type of entity is rarely used, and only 88 are registered.

• De facto or irregular partnerships: these are entities not organised in conformity with the legal types of entities under Law N° 19.550 and unregistered entities. Their members are jointly liable for the entity’s operations (Law N° 19.550, ss. 21-26). These entities are by definition not registered with the Registrar of Commerce.

80. As of November 2011, there were 2 612 general partnerships, 2 881 limited partnerships and 88 capital and industry companies registered with the tax administration. There were also 99 767 de facto partnerships registered with the AFIP under the simplified tax regime that are tax transparent.

These are mainly sole traders (kiosks) and small restaurants (as companies and partnerships cannot be created with a single shareholder/owner).

Information held by the Argentinean authorities

81. The Commercial Register and the tax administration have in their files the names of all the partners of general and limited partnerships, and of the members of capital and industry partnerships. The tax administration also has information on de facto partnerships.

82. The procedure for the creation of regular partnerships is the same as for the creation of companies. The name of all the partners as well as their respective contributions to the capital of the entity must appear in their deed of incorporation, which must be amended every time a partner changes, for the changes to be opposable to third parties. The deed must also include the contributions made by each of the founding partners (whether

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individuals or corporations), and their respective interests in the partnership (Law N° 19.550, ss. 11-12). The transmission of quotas or shares in general partnerships, limited partnerships and capital and industry partnerships must be registered with the Commercial Register (IGJ General Resolution 7/05, s. 35(II)(6)).

83. The tax obligations of commercial partnerships are the same as those of companies (see above), even though their taxation regime is not uniform:

limited partnerships have the same tax treatment as corporations and SRLs.

On the other hand, the tax liability related to general partnership, capital and industry partnerships, and de facto partnerships falls on the partners rather than on the entity (Law Nº20.628 on Profits Tax, s. 50).¹⁰ It remains that they all have to inform the AFIP of their creation and provide it with up-to- date information on their ownership structure every year. In addition, as for companies, the AFIP General Resolution 3293 of 22 March 2012 reinforced the obligations of electronic declaration of limited partnerships, which must declare their ownership structure every year, and limited partners and partnerships must also declare all transfers of shares/quotas within 10 working days of the transfer (see section A.1.1).

Information held by the partnership and service providers

84. All the partners of all types of partnerships must be identified in the deed of incorporation, as noted above (Law N° 19.550, s. 11 and 12). For general partnerships in particular, it is impossible to transfer stakes without the consent of all the partners (Law N° 19.550, s. 131). As a result, all partners know the identity of the other partners.

85. Service providers subject to the AML/CFT laws and regulations apply the same preventive and identification measures for partnerships as they do for companies (see section A.1.1 above).

Trusts (ToR A.1.4)

86. The concept of “trust” does not exist under Argentinean Law, and Argentina has not signed The Hague Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition. Argentinean law nonetheless knows the concept of fideicomiso that has some similarities with trusts.

There is, also, no obstacle in Argentinean domestic law that prevents an

10. The main partner (partner with highest participation) must include in its annual income tax return identification details of the partnership (e.g. business name) and of the other partners. The other partners must also include identification details of the partnership and of the main partner in their annual income tax return.

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Argentinean resident from acting as a trustee, or that prevents a trustee of a foreign trust from investing or acquiring assets in Argentina.

87. Measures are in place to ensure the availability of identity information for both domestic fideicomisos and relevant foreign trusts. Since 2008, fiduciarios of domestic fideicomisos have been required to report the identity of their fiduciantes (settlors), fiduciarios (trustees), fideicomisarios (“ultimate” beneficiaries) and beneficiarios, where applicable, to the tax administration. This reporting obligation ensures the availability of such information to the tax administration from 2005 onwards. Further measures taken in 2012 extended the reporting obligation to foreign trusts with a resident trustee, which ensured the availability of information on settlors, trustees and beneficiaries of such trusts.

Argentinean fideicomisos

88. Argentina introduced the fideicomiso in Law 24.441 of 1995 (ss. 1 to 26). Argentinean fideicomisos are created by a contract or will by which a person (fiduciante or settlor) transfers the trust property title to another person (fiduciario or trustee), who is bound to manage it for the benefit of whoever is appointed by the contract (beneficiario or beneficiary), and to transfer it upon a specific period of time or the fulfilment of a term (not exceeding 30 years) to the “ultimate” beneficiary (fideicomisario, who can be the settlor or the beneficiary).

89. The interest in using this type of contract is that the fideicomiso property constitutes an equity separated from that of the fiduciario and of the fiduciante (s. 14). As a result, the fideicomiso property is exempted from any individual or joint action by the creditors of either the fiduciante or the fiduciario (s. 15). The rules of the Civil Code apply to the contract and to the assets subject to a fideicomiso.

90. The contract must contain information on the co-contractors, who are the fiduciante and the fiduciario, as well as on the (ultimate) beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries may be individuals or legal entities, existing or not upon the execution of the contract. In the last case, the contract must contain all the information to enable their future identification (s. 2).

91. There are ordinary and financial fideicomisos. In a financial fide- icomiso the fiduciario is a financial institution or a corporation specially authorised by the National Securities Commission to act as a financial fiduciario, and the beneficiaries are the holders of share certificates of the fideicomiso property or of debt securities guaranteed by the property trans- ferred (ss. 5 and 19). The share certificates and debt securities are regarded as securities and may be subject to public offering. Financial fideicomisos

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are also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The other fideicomisos are qualified as ordinary.

92. Identity information on ordinary and financial fideicomisos has been maintained by the AFIP since 2005 pursuant to requirement for fiduciarios (trustees) to report such information under General Resolution n°2419/08.

On 18 April 2012, the AFIP adopted a new General Resolution n°3312 on a regime of information and registration of the operations of financial and non- financial Argentinean fideicomisos and foreign trusts.¹¹ Accordingly, some operations affecting fideicomisos must be registered with the AFIP within 10 days of their occurrence, and information must be provided on a yearly basis. These obligations apply, whether or not any income may be taxable in Argentina.

93. First, the fiduciario of any financial or non-financial fideicomiso must inform the AFIP, within the next 10 working days of the creation and termination of a fideicomiso, any change of fiduciante or beneficiary, the transfer of participations or rights in the fideicomiso’s, the addition of assets, any modification to the contract, and the allocation of benefits (s. 8 and Annex IV).

94. The General Resolution lists the data that must be provided for each of these events. For instance, when an Argentine fideicomiso is created, the fiduciario must indicate the name of the fideicomiso; its date of creation and term; the tax identification number of the fideicomiso; the type or class of fideicomiso and its object; the details of the fiduciario,fiduciantes, benefi- ciaries, and ultimate beneficiaries; identifying details on the assets and the total amount of the goods or money granted in the contract (Annex IV). In the case of financial fideicomisos, information must also be provided on the beneficiaries, and on the nominal value, type and class of securities issued (Annex IV, para. 1.11 and 2.7).

95. Second, the resident fiduciario,fiduciante or beneficiary of a fideicomiso must annually provide identity information on the fiduciantes, fiduciarios, beneficiaries and ultimate beneficiaries: name and surname or business name, tax identification number and for non residents their nationality, tax domicile and tax identification number (s. 2 and Annex II, para. 1). Full identity information on Argentine ordinary and financial fideicomisos is therefore maintained by the AFIP and available for EOI purposes.

11. The new General Resolution repeals the 2008 resolution and is effective as of 1 July 2012. The annual information obligation must be performed for the year 2011 in relation to domestic fideicomisos and foreign trusts with an Argentinean resident trustee. In relation to domestic fideicomisos, previous reporting obligations set out under General Resolution n°2419/08 ensure the availability of identity information to the tax authority from 2005.

OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES

OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES

Peer Review Report

Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings

for Tax Purposes

PEER REVIEWS, COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2, incorporating Phase 2 ratings – ARGENTINA

ARGENTINA

9HSTCQE*cafejj+

Global Forum on Transparency

and Exchange

of Information for Tax Purposes Peer Reviews:

Argentina 2013

COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2, INCORPORATING PHASE 2 RATINGS

November 2013

(reflecting the legal and regulatory framework

as at August 2012)

Table of Contents

About the Global Forum

Executive Summary

Introduction

Compliance with the Standards

A. Availability of Information