Argentina's government makes official the restrictions in new slot machine import regime

The Argentine government has decided to modify the import regime for slot machines from automatic licenses to non-automatic licenses, within the larger framework of measures to increase control over the goods arriving in the country for commercialization.

The Ministry of Economy, through the Secretariat of Commerce, issued Resolution 1/2022 this Thursday, in which it pointed out that "a series of goods have been identified which, in view of the current economic situation, make it essential to evaluate their respective commercial flows."

The provision makes amendments to Resolution 523-E-2017, which establishes automatic licenses and non-automatic licenses for different imported goods.

Among the products for which the import regime will change, according to the tariff positions of the MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature, are the goods identified with code 9504.30.00. These are "games activated with coins, bank bills, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment."

The recent resolution issued by the Ministry led by Sergio Massa states that "in order to formalize the non-automatic licenses in the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (SIMI), the interested parties must be duly registered in the registry" created by the former Ministry of Production, an entity that was recently absorbed by the Ministry of Economy.

Moreover, this resolution states in Article 3 that "for goods subject to the processing of non-automatic import licenses, the Authority of Application may require the importer, at any stage of the process, additional information and/or documentation listed in Annex III of this measure, as well as request the intervention of the competent technical agencies or collect information from its own or third-party sources and request, if it deems it necessary, the clarifications it deems appropriate."

It should be noted that, on Tuesday, the possibility of the Argentinean government implementing these changes regarding the import regime of slot machines had already been announced, based on proposals made by the Federal Administration of Public Revenue (AFIP) and the General Customs Bureau.

Cristian Galarza, ASAP's director

Effects of the measure

In conversation with Yogonet, the director of the logistics company ASAP, Cristian Galarza, stated that this decision of the government "could be a serious problem" and "a very important change in the rules of the game."

"The problem with non-automatic licenses is that they are uncertain. There is no rule that clearly states that in order to obtain the license, the import must meet this or that requirement. Its management is absolutely discretionary," he said.

"It implies entering a world of uncertainty, in which it is impossible for suppliers to ensure delivery to the casinos because they don't know if they will be able to import the agreed equipment," Galarza concluded.

See Resolution 1/2022 issued by the Argentinean Ministry of Economy here.