On July 1 and 11, 2016, the Central Bank of Argentina issued Communiqués "A" 6003 and "A" 6011, respectively, through which foreign exchange access and settlement regulations have been simplified.

Communiqué "A" 6003, in force since July 1 2016, has provided an extension of up to 365 calendar days of the term to repatriate proceeds in the following cases:

  1. the foreign currency proceeds received by Argentine residents for the export of services and claim collections related to insurance policies hired from non-Argentine residents, provided that they are not for international trade of goods; before, this term could not exceed 15 business days as from the date of receipt abroad or in Argentina, or from the date of accreditation in foreign accounts, of the export proceeds.
  2. the foreign currency proceeds received by Argentine residents from the sale or transfer of non-produced and non-financial assets (such as trademarks, patents, copyrights, among others); before, this term could not exceed 30 calendar days as from the date of receipt abroad or in Argentina, or from the date of accreditation in foreign accounts, of the export proceeds.

The above-mentioned measures shall apply to amounts collected from the date of entry in force of this Communiqué, as well as to the amounts previously received the settlement term of which were not expired.

This Communiqué authorizes access to the Argentine foreign exchange market in order to prepay, total or partially, import debts without limitation.

Furthermore, requirements to prepay principal of financial debt also have been simplified. This regulation states that: (i) in the case of prepayments (more than 10 calendar days in advance) of bonds or other debt securities, access to the foreign exchange market is allowed for redemption and prepayment for amounts exceeding the nominal value, as long as this transaction reflects market conditions; and (ii) prepayment of financial debts with multilateral credit agencies and foreign banks may be carried out through the foreign exchange market as long as the respective financial entity evaluates the reasonableness of the amounts.

On the other hand, Argentine residents are authorized to access the foreign exchange market, without any limits, to purchase foreign currency to make capital contributions or acquire shares of companies provided that they qualify as direct foreign investments, and are related to the development of productive activities of goods and non-financial services.

Moreover, this regulation eliminated the requirement to settle foreign debt proceeds for purposes of accessing the foreign exchange market to repay them, provided that the proceeds of the new foreign debt were applied by the Argentine resident debtor to the repayment abroad of other foreign debts only if such debtor would have had access to the foreign exchange market to repay it.

Lastly, the Central Bank has established specific provisions related to the issuances of bonds and other debt securities carried out jointly by two or more agents that act as joint debtors. It also enables local financial entities to access the Argentine foreign exchange market not only for the primary subscription of bonds, but also for other debt instruments denominated in foreign currency.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.