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Argentina: Oil and gas – Regulation to accelerate the import process for Vaca Muerta

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In brief

Argentina has passed Resolutions AFIP 16/2022 and 19/2022 to create a “Vaca Muerta” customs corridor. The purpose of these resolutions is to accelerate the customs clearance process for imports of goods to be used in the construction of the “Gasoducto Presidente Néstor Kirchner” gas pipeline as well as in the development and exploitation of the Vaca Muerta oilfield. 

Once the resolutions are implemented, they will substantially reduce the amount of time it takes to import covered goods. 
 

In focus

Resolutions AFIP 16/2022 and 19/2022, passed on 4 October by the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP), create a priority system for the clearance of goods to be used in the construction of the “Gasoducto Presidente Néstor Kirchner” as well as in the development and exploitation of the Vaca Muerta oilfield. This system applies to imports for consumption, temporary imports and goods in transit. 

Goods subject to this regime shall enjoy preferential treatment when entering the territory of Argentina. To enjoy the benefits of the Vaca Muerta customs corridor, importers must have previously registered to operate in the corridor. The conditions for such registration will be published on the “Corredor Aduanero Vaca Muerta” page of the AFIP website. 

The resolutions instruct specific customs offices to implement the operational rules of the system, securing agile and efficient processes for the clearance of goods through customs without jeopardizing the fiscalization duties of customs. 

After customs operationalizes the resolutions, the clearance process should not take more than 48 hours. In addition, it is expected that this system will substantially reduce the bureaucratic hurdles currently facing goods to be used in the Vaca Muerta oilfield. 

Click here to download the Spanish version.

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Adolfo has been a member of the Management Committee of Baker McKenzie’s Buenos Aires office since 2013 and the managing partner of that office since 2021. He has extensive experience working on corporate and commercial transactions for companies in the oil & gas, mining and natural resources industries. Adolfo has authored several reviews for various publications — including Sweet & Maxwell — usually involving Argentinean investments and mining.

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Esteban Rópolo is a member of the Buenos Aires Bar Association. He was a professor in leading universities in Argentina — including University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Catholic University and Universidad del CEMA — where he taught political economy, foreign trade legal regime and private law. Mr. Rópolo has written a book on competition law and also contributed articles related to his areas of practice.

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Ezequiel Artola is a partner in the Energy, Mining and Infrastructure Practice Group in Buenos Aires. He advises clients on a variety of complex transactional, general commercial and regulatory matters, with emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, commercial agreements and corporate practice. Ezequiel was assistant professor of commercial and civil contracts at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and has written articles related to mining, oil and gas, and distribution and agency agreements.

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