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Free Trade Zones are efficiently surrounded and isolated areas of the national territory, in which all kind of industrial, commercial and service activities are developed with tributary exemptions and other benefits.
- Commercialization of goods (except arms, gun powder, ammunition and other matters destined to warlike uses), storage, preparation, selection, classification, division, manipulation, assemble, disassemble or mixture of merchandise or raw materials of foreign or national origin.
- Installation and operation of manufacturing establishments.
- Benefit of all type of services, as much within the free trade zone as from it to other countries.
Also Users of Free Trade Zones will be able to give certain services in communications or computer information from Free Trade Zones towards national territory, respecting the state monopolies exclusive features and/or public concessions:
- International Call Centers, excluding those that have as only or main destiny the national territory.
- Electronic post-office boxes.
- Distance learning.
- Certificate emission of electronic company signature.
- Others that, in opinion of the Executive authority, will be beneficial for the national economy, or economic and social integration from the States.
Objective Exemptions
Objective exemptions are those which consider the activity, not who does it. The main exemption, is the non application of import taxes. As the merchandise is sent to free trade zone, these tributes will not be due to pay until the owner decides to nationalize the merchandise into Uruguay. The main benefit is financial, since import taxes will not be due to pay on merchandise that is not expected to be sold in the short term. The merchandise sale is not taxed with internal taxes of Uruguay (IVA, COFIS, IMESI), because the territorial aspect of these taxes is not fulfilled. It must be emphasized that these taxes will have to be paid at the time of the nationalization of the merchandise from the free trade zone by the importer of the goods.Who Can Operate?
Any physical or legal person registered in DGI (Dirección General Impositiva) and in DNA (Dirección Nacional de Aduanas) can operate at a free trade zone. There are two ways of operating, with two different tributary and operational treatments. On the one hand, a society is constituted with the only objective of operating as a user in the Free Trade Zone and on the other hand, it is possible to operate directly as an Uruguayan constituted company, as well as a residing abroad company.- Related Links
- Zonamerica
- Area of Free Trade Zones
- Downloads
- Law 15.921
- Law 19.566
