By means of General Resolution No. 5855/2026 (the “Resolution“), published in the Official Gazette on June 3, 2026, ARCA repealed and replaced General Resolution No. 3,497 (DGI), updating the procedure for demonstrating compliance with the requirements necessary to claim the tax benefits available under the Double Taxation Agreements (“DTAs“) entered into by the Argentine Republic.
The new regulations continue to apply to foreign beneficiaries that are residents of jurisdictions with which Argentina has entered into a DTA currently in force, as well as to the Argentine payer of the income and, where applicable, the relevant withholding agent, so that the foreign beneficiary may avail itself of the tax benefits provided under the applicable treaty.
For such purpose, foreign beneficiaries must provide the following documentation:
- Tax Residence Certificate (the “Certificate“): The Certificate must be issued by the competent authority of the relevant contracting state and duly apostilled or legalized by the Argentine consulate in that jurisdiction. This requirement may be waived where the contracting state maintains an official website that allows verification of the validity of the tax residence certificate. Where the Certificate does not specify an expiration date, it must be renewed and resubmitted once twelve (12) months have elapsed from its date of issuance.
- Sworn Statement in the form approved by the Resolution: The statement must include, among other relevant information, the beneficiary’s identification details, tax identification number, tax residence address, information regarding any representatives in Argentina, a description of the underlying transaction, the nature of the income involved, and the characterization of such income under the applicable DTA.
The foregoing documentation must be in the possession of the Argentine payer prior to the payment of the relevant income in order for the reduced withholding tax rates, exemptions, or other preferential treatment provided under the applicable DTA to apply. In the case of successive payments arising from the same transaction, the documentation must be obtained prior to the first payment.
The Resolution further provides that the Argentine payer must obtain and retain the following documentation:
(a) the Tax Residence Certificate;
(b) the foreign beneficiary’s sworn statement;
(c) the relevant agreement or equivalent documentation supporting the transaction giving rise to the payment; and
(d) all supporting documentation and working papers relating to the relevant transaction.
The Resolution authorizes ARCA to request such documentation at any time and, where appropriate, to require that it be translated into Spanish by a certified public translator. Accordingly, the Argentine payer must retain the documentation for a period of ten (10) years in the event it is requested by the tax authorities.
Where the Argentine payer is not the withholding agent, the payer must provide the withholding agent, prior to the payment date, with the documentation referred to in items (a), (b), and (c) above.
Finally, the Resolution provides that if the required documentation has not been obtained prior to payment, the Argentine payer or withholding agent must withhold Income Tax in accordance with the general withholding regime, without applying the benefits claimed under the relevant DTA. In such cases, the corresponding withholding certificate must be issued through the Electronic Withholding Registration System.
The Resolution also addresses situations involving excess withholding where the Tax Residence Certificate is obtained after the payment has been made. In such cases, the withholding agent must first cancel the withholding certificate previously issued under the general withholding regime before refunding the excess withholding to the foreign beneficiary.
Where cancellation of the withholding certificate is not possible, the Resolution authorizes either the foreign beneficiary’s representative in Argentina or the person who can demonstrate that it contractually assumed the tax liability to pursue the remedies available under the Tax Procedure Law, provided that such person can demonstrate that it suffered an actual economic loss.
In this regard, it would appear that, unless the withholding certificate issued through the SIRE system can be cancelled, pursuing a tax refund claim under the statutory reimbursement procedure is unlikely to constitute an efficient alternative. It should also be noted that no specific authorization under the Resolution was required in order to exercise the statutory right to seek a tax refund.
Although the Resolution has been presented as an improvement over the previous regime, it does not appear to significantly simplify the compliance burden or materially improve the position of withholding agents, who remain required to apply the general withholding regime whenever the Tax Residence Certificate is unavailable and, in addition, to retain the foreign beneficiary’s supporting documentation in the event it is requested by the tax authorities.
Likewise, from the perspective of the foreign beneficiary, although the requirement that the sworn statement be certified and apostilled has been eliminated, the obligation to submit such sworn statement remains in place. In addition, the Resolution now requires submission of the Tax Residence Certificate, which, except in the specific circumstances expressly contemplated by the Resolution, continues to require an apostille or consular legalization.