Global Forum on Transparency an - OECD

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Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information GLOBAL FORUM ON TRANSPARENCY AND EXCHANGE
for Tax Purposes
OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES
PEER REVIEWS, COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2
ARGENTINA
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the Peer Review Report
multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of
information is carried out by over 100 jurisdictions which participate in the work of the Global
Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2
Forum on an equal footing.
The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation
of the standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These
standards are primarily refl ected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of
Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax
Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004, which has
been incorporated in the UN Model Tax Convention. ARGENTINA
The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant
information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting
party. “Fishing expeditions” are not authorised, but all foreseeably relevant information must
be provided, including bank information and information held by fi duciaries, regardless of the
existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard.
All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identifi ed by the Global Forum as
relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 Pe
e
reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange r R
of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. ev
Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 plus Phase 2 – reviews. iew
The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards R
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of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. o
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All review reports are published once approved by the Global Forum and they thus represent t Co
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agreed Global Forum reports. b
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For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of ed
Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review reports, please visit Ph
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www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org. s
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Please cite this publication as: se
2
OECD (2012), Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Peer A
Reviews: Argentina 2012: Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2, OECD Publishing. R
G
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181946-en E
N
This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical TIN
databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org, and do not hesitate to contact us for more information. A

ISBN 978-92-64-18193-9 -:HSTCQE=V]V^X^:
23 2012 37 1 P
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Global Forum
on Transparency
and Exchange
of Information for Tax
Purposes Peer Reviews:
Argentina 2012
COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2
October 2012
(reflecting the legal and regulatory framework
as at June 2012)
This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the
OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not
necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD or of the governments of its
member countries or those of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange
of Information for Tax Purposes.
This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status
of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers
and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
Please cite this publication as:
OECD (2012), Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Peer
Reviews: Argentina 2012: Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181946-en
ISBN 978-92-64-18193-9 (print)
ISBN 978-92-64-18194-6 (PDF)
Series: Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes Peer Reviews
ISSN 2219-4681 (print)
ISSN 2219-469X (online)
Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda.
© OECD 2012
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3
TABLE OF CONTENTS –
Table of Contents
About the Global Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Information and methodology used for the peer review of Argentina. . . . . . . . . . 9
Overview of Argentina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Recent developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Compliance with the Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
A. Availability of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
A.1. Ownership and identity information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
A.2. Accounting records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A.3. Banking information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
B. Access to Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
B.1. Competent Authority’s ability to obtain and provide information. . . . . . . . 44
B.2. Notification requirements and rights and safeguards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
C. Exchanging Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
C.1. Exchange of information mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
C.2. Exchange of information mechanisms with all relevant partners . . . . . . . . 66
C.3. Confidentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
C.4. Rights and safeguards of taxpayers and third parties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
C.5. Timeliness of responses to requests for information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – ARGENTINA © OECD 2012
4
– TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary of Determinations and Factors Underlying Recommendations. . . . 83
Annex 1: Jurisdiction’s Response totheSupplementaryReport . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Annex 2: List of Exchange of Information Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Annex 3: List of Laws, Regulations and Other Relevant Material. . . . . . . . . . 95
Annex 4: Persons Interviewed During the On-Site Visit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Annex 5: Flow Diagram of the Process of Management Applicable to
Incoming Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – ARGENTINA © OECD 2012
5
ABOUT THE GLOBAL FORUM –
About the Global Forum
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax
Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax
transparency and exchange of information is carried out by over 100 jurisdic-
tions, which participate in the Global Forum on an equal footing.
The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of
the implementation of the international standards of transparency and exchange
of information for tax purposes. These standards are primarily reflected in the
2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters
and its commentary, and in Article26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on
Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004. The standards
have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention.
The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably
relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax
laws of a requesting party. Fishing expeditions are not authorised but all fore-
seeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information
and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic
tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard.
All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by
the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is
undertaken in two phases. Phase1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s
legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase2
reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global
Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase1 and Phase2 – reviews. The
Global Forum has also put in place a process for supplementary reports to follow-
up on recommendations, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of jurisdictions
following the conclusion of a review. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to
effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange
of information for tax purposes.
All review reports are published once adopted by the Global Forum.
For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and
Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review
reports, please refer to www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org.
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – ARGENTINA © OECD 2012

7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY –
Executive Summary
1. This report summarises the legal and regulatory framework for
transparency and exchange of information in Argentina as well as the practi-
cal implementation of that framework. The international standard, which is
set out in the Global Forum’s Terms of Reference to Monitor and Review
Progress Towards Transparency and Exchange of Information, is concerned
with the availability of relevant information within a jurisdiction, the compe-
tent authority’s ability to gain access to that information, and in turn, whether
that information can be effectively exchanged in a timely manner with its
exchange of information partners.
2. The Argentine Republic is the second largest country of South America,
with a population of 40.6million and an economy driven by its export-oriented
agriculture.
3. The legal and regulatory framework for the availability of informa-
tion in Argentina is in place. All information about the owners and other
stakeholders of relevant entities or arrangements is available at any time
through the tax administration, as a result of a well developed systematic
information gathering system. In 2012 the tax administration strengthened
existing measures that ensured the reporting of identity information related
to domestic trust-like fideicomisos to the tax administration, and introduced
similar reporting obligations for any foreign trust with a resident trustee.
Companies, like all other commercial entities, must keep their accounting
documents and underlying documentation for at least ten years. Banks and
other financial institutions are subject to know-your-customer obligations and
must keep information about transactions carried out by their customers for
10years (PartA of the report).
4. The Argentinean authorities make use of their broad powers avail-
able for domestic taxation purposes in order to exchange information.
The Argentinean tax administration can access accounting and banking
information and data on the ownership of legal entities, pursuant to the Tax
Procedure Law.
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – ARGENTINA © OECD 2012
8
– EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
5. Argentina has a network of agreements for exchange of informa-
tion in tax matters with 52 partner jurisdictions pursuant to double tax
conventions (DTC), tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) and the
Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
(the Multilateral Convention). Only half of these are in force, but Argentina
ratified the Multilateral Convention on 30 May 2012 and has indicated
that the ratification instrument will be deposited shortly in order to bring
the Convention into force in respect of Argentina. Argentina continues to
expand its network of exchange of information instruments, with negotiations
underway with additional jurisdictions. However, Argentina has recently ter-
minated its DTCs with Chile and Spain, two of its main EOI partners, with
effect from 1January 2013. This entails a de facto termination of the accom-
panying inter-institutional TIEAs with the respective EOI partners. Whilst
Argentina and Spain will be able to exchange information for tax purposes
under the Multilateral Convention once it enters into force in both jurisdic-
tions, there will be no EOI mechanism between Argentina and Chile from
2013. Accordingly, element C.2 is found to be “in place, but certain aspects
of the legal implementation of the element need improvement”.
6. The authority in charge of exchanging information for tax purposes is
located within the Federal Administration of Public Revenue. The organisa-
tion of the exchange process and the resources devoted to this activity were
completely revamped in 2010 and important progress in the handling of
requests received from partner jurisdictions has been pursued since 2011. In
particular, response times have started to decrease and further improvements
are expected with the development of new IT tools and internal guidelines.
Local tax auditors in charge of gathering the information that is not already
contained in the central tax database of Argentina are also increasingly aware
of the importance of EOI, which should further improve the response times
of Argentina.
7. It remains that Argentina does not receive a large number of requests:
21 for the period 2009-2011 (on 273 persons), from seven treaty partners,
mainly Brazil, Chile and Spain. Argentina globally sends more requests than
it receives and the number of outgoing requests has been increasing over the
last two years.
8. Ultimately, several EOI partners of Argentina praised the quality of
its co-operation since the restructuring of its EOI system. Argentina should
monitor the functioning of the new EOI Division and internal procedures for
answering EOI requests as practice develops, and improve them as necessary.
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – ARGENTINA © OECD 2012