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Argentina Court Applies New Tax Law to Dismiss Case, Free Defendant

A Rosario ruling using a more lenient statute signals a pivot to higher thresholds alongside incentives for voluntary regularization.

Overview

  • The Federal Oral Tribunal in Rosario dismissed tax evasion charges against two businessmen under Law 27.799, ordering one man’s immediate release and lifting the travel ban on the other.
  • Judges cited the Penal Code’s more‑lenient‑law principle because the case lacked a final sentence, overruling a prosecutor who opposed the defense request.
  • Law 27.799 took effect on January 2 and sharply raised criminal thresholds, including lifting simple evasion to ARS 100 million per tax and fiscal year and aggravated evasion by amount to ARS 1,000 million, with automatic updates.
  • The underlying case began in 2020 from an AFIP (now ARCA) complaint against a father and son totaling about ARS 17.1 million, which the court found now falls outside punishable ranges.
  • As accountants press ARCA to clarify technical details for the new regularization regime, their trade body warns that ambiguity on issues such as valuation, residency and foreign income could deter participation.