In brief

The National Executive of Venezuela issued Decree No. 4,821 on 1 July 2023 (“Decree“)[1], exempting definitive imports of tangible personal property from Value Added Tax (VAT) and import tax.

The Decree establishes that the periodic evaluation of VAT exemptions will be carried out in accordance with the determinations of the National Integrated Customs and Tax Administration Service (SENIAT) and the Ministry with competence in Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade,[2] which are the competent authorities in charge of implementing the Decree’s provisions.

The Decree entered into force on 1 July 2023 and will apply for the exemption until 31 December 2023.

The National Executive has kept up a policy of issuing decrees to exempt certain goods from VAT and other taxes since 2018. For more information on these measures, click here.

Exemption

The Decree exempts from 90% VAT the definitive imports of the new or used tangible goods indicated in Appendix I of the Decree and made by entities of the Public Administration or by individuals or legal entities with their own resources.
The Decree exempts, from VAT and import tax, definitive imports of the new or used tangible goods classified in Appendix II of the Decree and made by entities of the Public Administration or by individuals or legal entities with their own resources. In order for this exemption to apply, it is necessary to obtain a Certificate of No National Production or Insufficient National Production (CPN or CPNI), issued by the ministry with competence in matters of industries and national production, and the relevant customs declaration.
The Decree exempts, from VAT and import tax, definitive imports of new or used tangible goods that are made by: (i) the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) or its affiliated companies (tariff codes described in Appendix III); (ii) the Ministry for Water Management or its related organs and entities (tariff codes described in Appendix IV); and (iii) the Corporación Socialista de Cemento (CSC) and its attached companies (tariff codes 2520.10.11.00 (natural gypsum, anhydrite in irregular pieces (stones)); 4010.19.00.00.00 and 4010.39.00.00 (conveyor or transmission belts of vulcanized rubber); 6902.10.90.00 (bricks, plates and tiles); and 7325.91.00.00 (balls and similar articles for mills — cast articles of iron or steel)).

To see the Appendices of the Decree containing the tariff codes subject to each exemption, click here.

Documents for the exemption

The beneficiaries must submit the following documents in electronic format to the customs office in order to benefit from the exemption

Descriptive relation of the merchandise to import
Commercial invoice issued in the name of the beneficiary of the acquisition of the goods
Notice. Imports must be made through the same customs office chosen by the beneficiary of the exemption. In the event that imports are required to be made through customs offices other than the one selected, the customs office of entry must be notified. Said office will keep a record of operations exempted from taxes.

Loss of the benefit

The Decree establishes that beneficiaries who fail to comply with the following conditions will lose the exemption:

Any of the conditions established in the Decree. In such cases, the imported goods subject to the benefit will be taxed without prejudice to the penalties that may apply in accordance with the Organic Tax Code and the Organic Customs Law.
The periodic evaluation established in the Decree in accordance with the VAT Law (Article 66) and the parameters determined by the SENIAT
The obligations established in the Organic Tax Code and the Organic Customs Law
The declaration of goods at customs in any of the cases sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Article 177 of the Organic Customs Law.[3]

Click here to access the Spanish version.

1 Official Gazette No. 6,750 on 1 July 2023.

2 This periodic evaluation is established in Article 66 of the Constituent Decree of Partial Reform of the Decree with Rank, Value and Force of Law that establishes the VAT, published in Official Gazette No. 6,507 of 29 January 2020.

3 This article establishes fines when the goods do not correspond to the declared tariff classification, the declared value does not correspond to the customs value, and the goods do not correspond to the declared units of the metric system.