A foreign Mission or civil servant may transfer (sell) a car to another beneficiary satisfying certain requirements.
Imported cars must fall within the framework of Articles 6 or 14 of Decree 25/70.
The transfer may take place between two civil servants (even when they are from different Missions); between two Representations or; between a Representation and a civil servant (even when they are from different Missions).
A civil servant may acquire (purchase) the car with a tax exemption, but only if he/she is accredited before Argentina through the National Protocol Department and if all the requirements established for the import or acquisition of a car imported with a diplomatic tax exemption are satisfied (see Authorization to import a car), in particular the following:
- Number of imported cars that have entered Argentina with a diplomatic tax exemption.
- Principle of reciprocity
- The value of the car must not exceed the maximum values stipulated for the applicant's position within the Mission.
- Members of the administrative staff and of cooperating agencies that have signed cooperation agreements with Argentina may purchase a car only within the first 6 months of their arrival in Argentina.
If the purchaser is a foreign Mission (whether it be the same Mission to which the civil servant transferring the car belongs or any other embassy or organization), it may purchase the car with a tax exemption only if all the requirements established for the import or acquisition of a car imported with a tax exemption are satisfied (see Authorization to import a car). In particular, the following must be taken into account:
- Number of imported cars.
- Principle of reciprocity.
The total quantity of Number Plates that the Tax Exemption Office can issue per foreign Mission consists of:
- Those issued to national cars purchased with the benefit of Law N°19.486
- Those issued to imported cars within the framework of Decree N°25/70
- Those issued to cars with Courtesy Number Plates
This shall not exceed a reasonable quantity according to the necessities of the Mission. For this purpose, the total quantity of number plates is the sum of all the diplomatic and consular Missions of the foreign country throughout Argentina, but it does not include cars that have been authorized as temporary for security reasons.
A reasonable quantity of Number Plates per foreign Mission is considered to be a minimum of (3), up to a maximum of the total quantity of diplomats of the foreign Mission who are accredited before Argentina through the National Protocol Department of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
All car transfer operations of imported cars, whether for personal or official use, must be recorded by the Customs Office via SIM (Sistema Informático María), a computer based system. This registration must be carried by a registered customs broker. To perform import/export operations, the Mission also needs to be registered as an Importer/ Exporter in the Registry of the General Customs Office.
Before the Transfer Certificate can be issued, the Number Plates and ID windshield sticker formerly provided must be returned.
Form PDF Nº 0013 entitled "Devolución de Chapa Patente o Chapa Patente de Cortesía del automotor de un funcionario o de Uso Oficial de la Representación" (Returning the Number Plate or Courtesy Number Plate of the Private Car of a Civil Servant or the Official Car of a Foreign Mission).
PROCEDURE TO TRANSFER A CAR
1. Note from Mission requesting the transfer
This note must be signed by the Chief of Mission (or legal surrogate) of the foreign Mission selling the car; by the selling civil servant and; by the purchasing civil servant.
Should two Missions be involved, the note must be signed by both Chiefs of Mission (or legal surrogates).
Each of the signed notes must also bear the signatory's full name and position within the Mission.
The purchasing party and selling party may present their acceptances together in a single note, or alternatively two notes can be presented with the acceptances expressed separately.
2. Appended to the Note or Notes requesting for the transfer, and depending how many Representations are involved, the following forms must be presented:
- Form for transfer between beneficiaries within the same Representation Form FDF N° 0023 entitled “Transferencia de un automotor entre beneficiarios – Una Representación”
- Forms for transfer between two different Representations:
- Selling Representation or Civil servant: Form FDF N° 0021 entitled “Transferencia de un automotor entre beneficiarios – Representación Vendedora”
- Purchasing Representation or Civil servant: Form FDF N° 0022 entitled “Transferencia de un automotor entre beneficiarios – Representación Compradora”
If the purchaser is a Foreign Mission, at lease one designated driver is needed to obtain the "Certificado de Libre Circulación" (Free Circulation Certificate) in order to be able to complete the procedures required before the Number Plate can be issued.
3. For an imported car, please attach a NON-CERTIFIED COPY of the Import Tax Exemption document and a NON-CERTIFIED COPY of the Customs Clearance Receipt.
4. For a car manufactured in Argentina, please attach a NON-CERTIFIED COPY of the Purchase Authorization and a NON-CERTIFIED COPY of the purchase invoice.
5. For imported cars, once the Transfer Authorization has been granted by this Office, the transfer must be registered in the María computer system (SIM) of the General Customs Office. This procedure must be carried out by a registered Customs Broker of the purchasing party, in behalf of the Mission.
6. The purchaser must file the application for the Number Plate within less than 30 days in order to obtain the definitive Number Plate and the Vehicle Identification Cards (See APPLICATION FOR A NUMBER PLATE procedure).