In depth

Exemption

1. The Decree exempts from 90% VAT the definitive imports of new or used tangible goods indicated in Appendix I of the Decree and carried out by public administration entities or by individuals or legal entities using their own resources.
2. The Decree waives the total payment of import duties and VAT on imports of tangible personal property made by the following: (i) the Ministry of the People's Power for Energy, or entities attached to the ministry, as classified in the tariff codes indicated in Appendix II of the Decree; (ii) the Ministry of the People's Power of Water, or entities attached to the ministry, as classified in the tariff codes indicated in Appendix III of the Decree; (iii) the Ministry of the People's Power for Ecological Mining Development or entities attached to the ministry, and the Corporación Venezolana de Guayana or its attached companies, which are classified under the tariff codes indicated in Appendix IV of the Decree; and (iv) the Corporación Socialista de Cemento or its attached companies (tariffs: 2520.10.11.00, 4010.19.00.00, 4010.39.00.00, 6902.10.90.00 y 7325.91.00.00.). It is clear that due to the possibility of obtaining the exemption, the tariff subheadings will not be able to claim the exemptions that were previously granted to them.

You can access the appendices of the Decree containing the tariff codes subject to each exemption here.²

Documents for the exemption

The beneficiaries must submit the following documents in electronic format to the customs office to benefit from the exemption:

1. Descriptive list of the tangible personal property to be imported
2. Commercial invoice issued in the name of the beneficiary of the acquisition of the goods
3. The legal regimes indicated in column 5 of Article 37 of the applicable customs tariff

Loss of the benefit

The Decree establishes that beneficiaries who fail to comply with the following conditions will lose the exemption benefit:

1. Any of the conditions established in the Decree (In such cases, the imported goods subject to the benefit will be taxed without prejudice to the penalties that may apply in accordance with the Organic Tax Code and the Organic Customs Law.)
2. The periodic evaluation established in the Decree in accordance with the VAT Law (Article 66) and the parameters determined by the Venezuelan tax authority
3. The obligations established in the Organic Tax Code and the Organic Customs Law
4. The declaration of goods at customs in any of the cases sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Article 177 of the Organic Customs Law³

SIDUNEA system

Circular No. 0001377⁴ issued by SENIAT sets out the steps for adapting the SIDUNEA system to implement the established exemptions:

1. For the tariff codes in Appendix I, Definitive Import Regime 4000 and additional code 584 must be selected.
2. For the tariff codes in Appendix II, Definitive Import Regime 4000 and additional code 599 must be selected.
3. For the tariff codes in Appendix III, Final Import Regime 4000 and additional code 593 must be selected.
4. For the tariff codes in Appendix IV, Final Import Regime 4000 and additional code 591 must be selected.
5. For the tariff codes in Article 7, Final Import Regime 4000 and additional code 592 should be selected.

We remain at your disposal should you require further details or explanations on the general aspects of the Decree that were highlighted in this alert and for any related queries.

Click here to read the Spanish version.

1 Published in Official Gazette No. 6,918 of 30 June 2025.

2 The Decree establishes exemptions for approximately 1,409 tariff subheadings.

3 This article establishes fines when the goods do not correspond to the declared tariff classification, the declared value does not correspond to the customs value and the goods do not correspond to the declared units of the metric system.

4 Circular issued by SENIAT on 2 July 2025.