Regulatory updates - Chile

Law No. 21,713, published in the Official Gazette on 24 October 2024, implemented changes regarding Value-Added Tax (VAT) among various measures focusing on tax compliance.

The key changes are as follows:

• The law removes the VAT exemption for imported goods under USD 41;
• For sales up to USD 500 of tangible goods located abroad and purchased remotely by the buyer, who is not a VAT taxpayer, the new law considers these items to be located in Chile for tax purposes. Therefore, the transaction is subject to VAT, to ensure tax is applied in cases where individuals import goods for personal use. However, the VAT exemption would apply if the seller or the digital platform has already paid VAT;
• Additionally, imports under USD 500 are exempt from additional customs duties, while goods valued above this threshold will be subject to standard VAT and customs rules.

The amendments mentioned above will take effect 12 months from 24 October 2024 with some provisions, such as the customs duty exemption on imports below USD 500, taking effect already from 1 November 2024.

The Internal Revenue Service of Chile (SII) has modified the minimum amount set required for the issuance of simplified invoices (Sp.: Boletas).

According to Exempt Resolution N°60, the documents affected are simplified invoices for goods and/or services, even for those affected and/or exempted from VAT (IVA), which shall be issued under the new minimum amount, which is 1 CLP, instead of the old 180 CLP (ca. 0,21 EUR).

For those transactions with an amount equal to 0 CLP due to the application of discounts and/or other conditions, the simplified invoice must be issued informing the amount of the discounts applied in the document, in accordance with the provisions of resolutions N ° 74 and N ° 176, and their subsequent modifications as the case may be.

The new requirement entered into force on 1 July 2023.  

According to Exempt Resolution No. 53 published by the SII, the RVD (Sp.: Resumen de Ventas Diarias) obligation will be eliminated as of 1 August 2022. Hence, the last report will have to be issued on 31 July 2022 and submitted to SII by the latest in the early morning of 1 August 2022.

Starting from August, all e-receipts sent to SII and the information contained in these receipts will be filled automatically and daily in the RCV of the taxpayer (Sp.: Registro de Compras y Ventas - Registration of Purchases and Sales).

According to the earlier regulations, this requirement was to enter into force on 1 September 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this has been changed to:

• 1 January 2021 for electronic taxpayers (i.e. those already issuing electronic documents);
• 1 March 2021 for non-electronic taxpayers.

The timeline change will provide some relief to businesses operating in Chile, a nation hit hard by the current worldwide pandemic.