Customs and import duties in six South American markets: one guide from a Paraguay base.

Brazil can take two-thirds of a shipment’s value at the border; Chile a quarter. Here are the six customs systems side by side — tariffs, taxes, the same shipment in each, Paraguay’s trade agreements, who can import, small parcels, special regimes, routes and what changed in 2025–2026.

Six markets, six customs systems, one base.

Companies that set up in Paraguay usually do so to sell beyond it. Paraguay sits between South America’s two largest economies, belongs to Mercosur and has trade agreements with the four Pacific and Andean markets. From Asunción or Ciudad del Este, a business can reach Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador — but each of those countries taxes imports in its own way, and the differences are bigger than most business plans assume.

Brazil can take two-thirds of a product’s value in taxes at the border; Chile takes a quarter. Argentina asks for three advance payments on top of VAT; Peru for one; Ecuador charges 5% on the payment to the supplier. Paraguayan goods enter all six with zero or near-zero duty — if their origin is proved. This guide compares the six systems side by side, shows what the same shipment costs in each, maps Paraguay’s trade agreements, and links to a full country guide for each market: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.

The six systems in one table.

Three patterns stand out. First, tariffs fall as you move west: the Mercosur pair charge the common external tariff, averaging around 12%, while Chile and Peru are among the most open economies in the world. Second, the border bill is driven more by internal taxes than by duty — VAT, sales taxes and prepayments dwarf the tariff almost everywhere. Third, in every one of the six, the importer of record must be a local entity: no foreign company imports in its own name.

Law and practice: Averages from the WTO tariff profiles (2025–2026) and Peru’s Ministry of Economy; rates as of October 2026. Details and sources in each country guide.

Mercosur on one side, the Pacific on the other.

Brazil and Argentina apply Mercosur’s common external tariff on the eight-digit NCM nomenclature, with lists of national exceptions (150 codes each until 2028) that both use actively: Argentina to cut tariffs on clothing, phones and machinery in 2025, Brazil to raise them on capital and IT goods and electric vehicles in 2026. Within Mercosur, originating goods — including Paraguayan goods — move duty-free, with sugar excluded and autos governed by bilateral deals.

Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador set their own tariffs and rely on dense networks of trade agreements: Chile has more than 30, Peru 24, Colombia 18, Ecuador a growing list including China and the EU. Colombia, Peru and Ecuador use the Andean NANDINA nomenclature and share the Andean price band on sensitive farm goods. Paraguay reaches each of them through separate agreements negotiated by Mercosur with Chile and with the Andean countries.

The practical consequence for a Paraguayan exporter: inside Mercosur, the question is how to manage taxes and credits; outside it, the question is mostly logistics and origin paperwork, because the duty is low or zero anyway.

The same shipment in six countries.

The examples use each country’s typical rate for a manufactured good and are not identical products, but the orders of magnitude hold. The first row is the cash an importer must have available at clearance; the second is what remains a cost once VAT and prepayments are credited. Two conclusions follow. For a non-Mercosur supplier, Brazil and Argentina are expensive in cash and in duty; the Pacific markets are cheap. For a Paraguayan supplier, the duty disappears everywhere, and only Ecuador leaves a real cost — the 0.5% levy and the 5% outflow tax on the payment.

Law and practice: Brazil: II, IPI, PIS, COFINS and ICMS grossed up, excluding AFRMM and fees. Argentina: duty, statistics fee, VAT and three prepayments. Peru: 3.5% prepayment. Ecuador: ISD paid separately on the transfer to the supplier.

Why importers in Brazil and Argentina need financing.

Most of what an importer pays at the border is recoverable, but recovery takes time. In Brazil, ICMS is calculated “por dentro” — included in its own base — so an 18% rate costs about 22% of the pre-ICMS amount; credits depend on the importer’s tax regime and the state, and a company in the simplified Simples Nacional regime recovers little. In Argentina, VAT is joined by three prepayments — 20% additional VAT, 6% income tax and about 2.5% provincial turnover tax — that are credited later, tying up roughly 30 points of the goods’ value. Peru adds a 3.5–10% IGV prepayment. Ecuador’s 5% ISD is not recoverable at all since 2025.

For an exporter selling to distributors, this matters as much as the price. A Brazilian or Argentine buyer that must fund 50–80% of the goods’ value at the border will ask for longer payment terms or a lower price. A Paraguayan product that removes the duty and, in Argentina, the statistics fee is easier to finance — a commercial argument worth putting in the offer.

Zero duty almost everywhere — with conditions.

The table hides two details. In the Andean markets, preferences are very high but not universal: Colombia grants Paraguay preferences on 99.5% of tariff lines and Ecuador on about 98%, but a handful of lines carry only partial preferences, as low as 14.3% in Colombia and 10% in Ecuador. And in Mercosur, goods must actually qualify as Mercosur origin: Paraguay may use up to 60% non-Mercosur materials until 31 December 2038 (Brazil and Argentina only 45%), which is what makes Paraguayan maquila competitive in Brazil.

Law and practice: ALADI fact sheets for ACE 35, 58, 59 and 72; Mercosur CMC Decision 06/23; ACE 74.

The certificate decides the duty.

Every preference depends on proof of origin. For Paraguayan goods, certificates are issued by Paraguay’s authorised bodies on the basis of the exporter’s declaration of how the product was made. Under the Andean agreements they are typically paper with a handwritten signature and valid 180 days; digital certificates are in use on some routes, notably within Mercosur and between Brazil and Colombia. Third-country invoicing — selling through a trading company in another country — is allowed under ACE 59 and ACE 72 if properly documented.

• ✓

  Match the documents

  The certificate, the invoice and the transport document must describe the same goods, quantities and parties.

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  Check the rule

  Each agreement has product-specific rules; a change of tariff heading or a regional content threshold.

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  Mind the dates

  A certificate issued too early or expired at clearance means full duty.

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  Watch reforms

  Chile and Mercosur adopted new origin rules (Protocol 69) in 2025, with self-certification; Paraguay had not yet ratified.

Most disputes are not about whether a product is Paraguayan but about paperwork. An importer that has never handled a Paraguayan certificate may simply pay full duty to avoid delay; sending a sample certificate and the tariff classification with the first quotation avoids that.

No foreign company imports in its own name.

In all six markets the importer of record must be locally registered: a company with RADAR in Brazil, an entity in ARCA’s register in Argentina, a RUT in Chile and Colombia, a RUC in Peru and Ecuador. Ecuador states it most plainly: only residents may import. A Paraguayan exporter therefore chooses between three models, market by market.

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  Sell to a local importer

  The buyer clears, pays and credits the taxes; you sell FCA, CPT or DAP. Simplest everywhere.

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  Own company in the market

  A Ltda (Brazil), SA/SRL/SAS (Argentina), SpA (Chile), SAC (Peru), SAS (Colombia) or SAS (Ecuador) that imports, holds stock and sells locally.

• ✓

  Trading company or free zone

  A licensed trading company imports on your account (common in Brazil), or stock waits in a free zone or bonded warehouse until sold.

Delivered duty paid is only possible if someone in the market acts as importer. That is why the first sale into a new market almost always goes through a distributor, and why our country guides on company formation — Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador — matter once volumes grow.

Who files, and how.

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  Brazil

  No broker required; DUIMP replaces the old declaration, with road imports moving in December 2026.

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  Argentina

  A licensed despachante files in practice; import licences (SEDI) abolished in 2025.

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  Chile

  Broker mandatory above US$1,000 FOB; declaration (DIN) through the SICEX single window.

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  Peru

  Simplified procedure without a broker up to US$2,000 FOB; broker above.

• ✓

  Colombia

  Direct filing allowed since 2019; permits through VUCE.

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  Ecuador

  Agent not legally required; ECUAPASS registration and an electronic signature are.

Across the region the trend is the same: electronic single windows, risk-based selection, fewer physical inspections and more data shared with the tax authority. The flip side is that inconsistencies between the declaration, the invoice and the payment are easier to spot. In Ecuador, where the bank withholds ISD on the payment, the payment and the import end up in the same file.

Six answers to e-commerce.

Every country changed its small-parcel rules in 2024–2026, mostly in response to Asian platforms. Brazil introduced a 20% tax on purchases up to US$50 and removed it two years later; Chile abolished its US$41 exemption and made platforms collect VAT; Argentina changed its courier regime twice; Ecuador introduced a flat US$20 fee. None of these regimes is a channel for commercial stock; a business selling to consumers in several countries needs a platform registered for VAT where required, or local fulfilment.

Paying less, or later.

For a Paraguayan group, the most useful regimes are those that match a regional production chain: temporary admission and drawback for processing inputs before export, and free zones for distribution hubs. Ecuador’s free zones stand out because they also remove the outflow tax; Colombia’s because they combine customs suspension with a 20% income tax for exporters.

From Paraguay, the route sets the cost.

Inside Mercosur, Paraguay’s advantage is proximity: trucks reach São Paulo or Buenos Aires in days, with no ocean freight and, for Paraguayan goods, no duty. Westwards, logistics dominates. Chile is reached by road across Argentina and the Andes today, and through the Bioceanic Corridor once it is completed later this decade; Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are mostly reached by sea, with long transit times. In those markets, the duty saving under the agreements is real but small next to freight.

See our Bioceanic Corridor guide and our guide to selling into Brazil for the two main routes.

2025–2026, country by country.

• ✓

  Brazil

  Capital and IT goods up to 7.2%; EV duties to 35%; e-commerce tax up to US$50 removed; DUIMP rollout; CBS/IBS test year.

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  Argentina

  Licences and reference values abolished; tariffs cut on clothing, phones, machinery; excise on cars and luxury goods repealed; day-0 payment for imports.

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  Chile

  US$41 exemption abolished; platforms collect VAT up to US$500; tougher customs penalties; modernisation bill planned for 2027.

• ✓

  Peru

  More importers in the 10% prepayment group; drawback kept at 3%; customs law amendments.

• ✓

  Colombia

  New penalty law (110 infractions instead of 357); 35% on cheap footwear; 30% tariff on Ecuador imposed and lifted.

• ✓

  Ecuador

  Security fee on Colombian goods up to 100% and repealed; reduced ISD for listed inputs; US agreement awaiting Assembly approval.

The lesson is not that the region is unstable — most changes went towards openness — but that customs rules move every few months. Any landed-cost model older than a quarter should be rechecked.

Ranking the six for a Paraguayan exporter.

For most Paraguayan manufacturers, the order follows proximity and duty advantage: Brazil and Argentina first, then Chile, then the Andean markets. For services, the calculus is different — customs does not apply, but withholding taxes and VAT on services do; see our services export guide.

Before you quote any of the six.

Straight answers.

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