Chile charges a flat 6% and removes it for most suppliers through more than 30 trade agreements. Here is the tax stack with a worked example, who can import, how Paraguayan goods enter under ACE 35, the new rules for online sales, the free zones and what the tighter enforcement means.
Chile is the easiest of the six large South American markets to import into. It applies a single 6% duty to almost everything, and through more than 30 trade agreements covering over 60 economies it removes even that for most goods: about 80% of Chile’s imports enter under a preference. Add 19% VAT, recoverable for registered businesses, and the tax side of a typical import is done.
The complications are elsewhere: proving origin to claim the preference, the requirement to use a customs broker above US$1,000, the new rules for low-value online sales, a few product-specific taxes, and a customs authority that is tightening enforcement. This guide covers each, with a worked example and the Paraguayan angle through ACE 35 and the northern ports.
For a side-by-side comparison of all six markets, see our regional customs guide.
Chile has applied a uniform ad valorem duty of 6% on the CIF value for nearly two decades. There are few exceptions to the rate itself; the variation comes from trade agreements. Chile’s network covers the US, the EU, China, Japan, Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UK, its Pacific Alliance partners and Mercosur, among others, so goods from most major suppliers enter at 0% with proof of origin.
Agreement goods
0% with a valid certificate or origin declaration under the relevant agreement.
Non-agreement goods
6% on CIF.
Used goods
An extra 3% where their import is permitted; used vehicles are restricted.
Trade remedies
Occasional anti-dumping or safeguard duties, notably on Chinese steel products since 2024.
Because the duty is so low, origin errors are cheap to fix but easy to ignore. For a VAT-registered importer the 6% is the only real customs cost, so on high-volume, low-margin goods the certificate of origin is worth getting right.
Law and practice: SII, indirect taxes; US Country Commercial Guide for Chile (updated November 2025); SUBREI. About 80% of imports used preferences in 2021–2022.
| Charge | Rate | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 6% flat, or 0% under a trade agreement | CIF value |
| Used goods surcharge | 3% additional, where import of used goods is allowed | CIF value |
| VAT (IVA) | 19% | CIF + duty |
| Luxury goods tax | 15% (jewellery, precious stones, fine furs); 50% fireworks | Import value |
| Alcohol | 31.5% spirits; 20.5% wine, beer and cider | Import value |
| Non-alcoholic drinks | 10%, or 18% if high in sugar | Import value |
| Tobacco and fuels | Specific and ad valorem taxes | By product |
VAT on imports is collected by customs together with the duty and credited by the importer against VAT on its sales. The special taxes on luxury goods, alcohol, sugary drinks, tobacco and fuels are collected at import for those products and are generally a cost passed on to the consumer.
Timing matters more than the rate. Import VAT is paid before the goods are released and recovered through the importer’s monthly VAT return (Form 29), so a new company with few sales can carry a VAT credit for months. Chilean exporters can claim refunds of VAT on inputs used for exports, and companies starting large investments can apply for early recovery of VAT on fixed assets. For a Paraguayan supplier selling to a Chilean importer, none of this is your cost — but it affects how quickly your buyer can pay.
Law and practice: Decree-Law 825 (VAT law) and Law 20.780 (alcohol rates); Law 18.502 (fuels).
| CIF US$100,000 | Non-agreement origin | Paraguayan origin (ACE 35) |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | 6,000 | 0 |
| VAT 19% | 20,140 | 19,000 |
| Total at clearance | 26,140 | 19,000 |
| Of which pure cost for a VAT-registered importer | 6,000 | 0 |
For a VAT-registered business, the difference between a Paraguayan and a non-agreement product is simply the 6% duty. For a final consumer or a VAT-exempt business, VAT is also a cost. Compared with Brazil or Argentina, where taxes at clearance can reach 60–80% of the value, Chile is in a different league.
The importer needs a Chilean tax number (RUT). A foreign company without a Chilean entity can obtain a RUT for some purposes, but commercial imports are normally made by a Chilean company or by the buyer. For any import above US$1,000 FOB, a licensed customs broker (agente de aduana) must file the import declaration (DIN, Declaración de Ingreso); below that, the importer can clear directly.
Documents
Bill of lading or air waybill, commercial invoice, insurance, the importer’s sworn price declaration, the mandate to the broker and, where relevant, certificate of origin, packing list and sectoral permits.
Permits
Health (food, cosmetics, medicines), agricultural (SAG) and other approvals for regulated goods.
Single window
SICEX connects customs with permit-issuing agencies.
Electronic notices
Customs has notified electronically since January 2025.
Clearance itself is usually quick for compliant goods; the variable is the permit, not the customs declaration.
Law and practice: Customs ordinance (Ordenanza de Aduanas); Law 21.713 (2024) for electronic notifications.
Most foreign exporters do not import into Chile themselves. They sell to a Chilean distributor or customer, who acts as importer, pays the duty and VAT and recovers the VAT. Chile has no exchange controls and pays in dollars without restriction, so the commercial risk is mainly credit risk on the buyer.
Sell to an importer
Price FCA, CPT or DAP; the buyer clears and recovers VAT. Simplest and most common.
Delivered duty paid
Possible only if someone in Chile acts as importer of record; a broker cannot be the importer for you.
Your own Chilean company
A SpA with its own RUT imports, holds stock and sells locally, recovering import VAT against its sales. Worth it for stock, after-sales service or e-commerce fulfilment.
Consignment and warehousing
Stock held in a bonded warehouse defers duty and VAT until each sale.
Our guide to opening a SpA from abroad covers the third option. For services sold alongside goods — installation, maintenance, software — the separate rules for withholding tax and VAT on services apply.
Paraguayan goods enter Chile under ACE 35, the Mercosur–Chile agreement in force since 1996, under which tariffs were phased out years ago: with a valid certificate of origin they pay 0% duty; without one, the general 6%. VAT applies either way.
New origin rules
Protocol 69 to ACE 35, with optional self-certification and a maximum share of non-originating materials, entered into force in September 2025 for Argentina, Brazil and Chile; Paraguay had not yet completed ratification, so Paraguayan exporters still use the old rules.
Special regime for Paraguay
A bilateral protocol signed in 2023 gives listed Paraguayan goods a special origin regime until 2038, once both countries complete notification.
Certificates
Issued by Paraguay’s authorised bodies; check with your broker whether a digital certificate is accepted for your flow.
Transit
Paraguayan cargo can use the Paraguayan free warehouse at Antofagasta and the international road-transport regime through Argentina.
Chile is already one of Paraguay’s main export markets, led by beef. Our Bioceanic Corridor guide covers the road west and the timeline for the new bridge and highways.
Law and practice: ACE 35 (1996); Additional Protocol 69 (in force 30 September 2025 for AR, BR, CL); Protocol 68 (signed 30 August 2023).
| Low-value goods | Since 25 October 2025 |
|---|---|
| Sold online by a foreign seller or platform, up to US$500, to a non-VAT buyer | 19% VAT charged at checkout by the platform registered with the SII; no duty or import VAT at the border |
| Same, but VAT not collected by the seller | Duty and VAT at import |
| Above US$500 | 6% duty (or 0% under an agreement) and 19% VAT on CIF + duty |
| The old US$41 exemption | Abolished |
Since 25 October 2025, Chile treats low-value online sales like digital services: platforms and foreign sellers register with the tax authority (SII) under a simplified regime and charge 19% VAT at checkout on goods up to US$500. If they do, the parcel enters without duty or import VAT. The tax-free threshold of US$41 was abolished. In the first quarter of the new regime Chile collected over US$41 million, most of it from large platforms.
For a Paraguayan or other foreign e-commerce seller, registering for Chilean VAT is now part of selling to Chilean consumers. Our guide to Chilean VAT for foreign sellers explains the regime.
Law and practice: SII Exempt Resolution 103/2025; Customs Exempt Resolution 3507/2025.
Chile has two free-zone regimes. The best known is ZOFRI in Iquique, in the north, which offers exemption from duty and VAT for goods stored, traded and processed within the zone, with normal taxes when goods enter the rest of Chile; it is a regional distribution hub for Bolivia, Peru and northern Argentina as well as Paraguay. The southern free zone around Punta Arenas serves Magallanes. The concession for ZOFRI’s operator was extended early to 2050, a decision challenged in 2026.
For Paraguayan exporters, the free zones are mostly relevant as distribution points for re-export, not for selling into central Chile, where the duty is already low.
Simplified drawback
3% of the FOB value of non-traditional exports, subject to caps and exclusions updated each year.
General drawback
Refund of duties paid on inputs incorporated in exported goods.
Temporary admission
Goods imported for a limited time, for example for processing or exhibition, with a guarantee.
Bonded warehouses
Defer duty and VAT while goods are stored.
Law and practice: Law 18.480 (simplified drawback) and Exempt Decree 8/2025; Law 18.708 (general drawback).
Most sea cargo enters through San Antonio and Valparaíso in central Chile; the northern ports of Antofagasta, Mejillones, Iquique and Arica serve mining regions and transit trade with Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina. By road from Paraguay, cargo crosses Argentina and enters Chile through Andean passes such as Jama in the north or Cristo Redentor towards Santiago, which close in heavy snow.
The customs value is the CIF value under WTO rules, so freight and insurance to the Chilean border are part of the duty and VAT base. On top of the taxes, budget for the broker’s fee — mandatory above US$1,000 FOB — port or terminal charges, storage if permits are delayed and inland transport. For a Paraguayan exporter sending beef or other food, sanitary certification by the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) is usually the real critical path, not customs.
Because the duty is so low and VAT recoverable, the landed cost in Chile is driven far more by logistics than by tax. That is the opposite of Brazil and Argentina, and it changes how a regional distribution plan should be built: for Chile, the question is the route and the time, not the tariff.
Chile’s 2024 tax compliance law changed customs penalties: fines rise by up to 20% if the importer accepts the charge and by at least 20% of the maximum if it contests and loses; breaches of warehouse and temporary-admission regimes can cost up to 25% of the customs value; and customs can adjust a provisional value within 18 months. The same law created advance pricing agreements for related-party imports, approved jointly by customs and the SII.
A broader customs modernisation is in preparation, with a bill to update the customs ordinance expected in 2027: scanners, data-sharing with the tax and police authorities, AI-based risk selection and e-commerce facilitation. For importers the direction is clear — more data, faster for the compliant, harder for the rest.
Law and practice: Law 21.713 (October 2024) as amended by Law 21.716; Ministry of Finance customs plan (August 2026).
Origin paperwork
A missing or defective certificate turns 0% into 6% and may expose earlier entries to review.
Value
Related-party prices must hold up; customs can adjust within 18 months.
Permits
Food, cosmetics and medical goods need approvals before arrival.
Small sellers
Foreign platforms that do not collect VAT push the tax and the delay onto the customer.
Broker threshold
Above US$1,000 FOB a broker is mandatory; plan the cost into small B2B shipments.
Does the origin country have a trade agreement with Chile, and what proof does it require?
Tariff line, special taxes and permits.
Chilean company, buyer, or a RUT for the importing entity.
Mandatory above US$1,000 FOB.
ACE 35 certificate for Paraguayan goods.
Register for Chilean VAT and collect it at checkout up to US$500.
A flat 6% on the CIF value, reduced to 0% for goods from countries with a trade agreement and valid proof of origin.
The duty, 19% VAT on CIF plus duty, and special taxes on luxury goods, alcohol, sugary drinks, tobacco and fuels.
No, with a valid ACE 35 certificate of origin; otherwise the general 6% applies. VAT is due either way.
Yes, for imports above US$1,000 FOB.
No. It was abolished on 25 October 2025; online sales up to US$500 now carry 19% VAT collected by the seller or platform.
Usually the Chilean buyer or distributor is the importer of record. A foreign seller wanting to hold stock or sell to consumers typically sets up a SpA with its own RUT.
The free zone in Iquique, northern Chile, where goods are stored, traded and processed without duty or VAT until they enter the rest of the country.
3% of the FOB value of qualifying non-traditional exports, with annual caps and exclusions.
Paraguay’s road to Chile’s Pacific ports.
Digital services and goods up to US$500.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We confirm the duty, the origin proof and the importer set-up — fixed quote within one business day.
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