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VAT exemption on imported capital goods for projects of US$5 million or more: eligible goods, Ministry of Finance procedure, timeline and clawback

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Imports of machinery, vehicles, equipment and tools with a useful life of at least three years are exempt from Chile's 19 percent import VAT when they go to a mining, industrial, forestry, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, research, medical or scientific project, among others, involving US$5 million or more. Any investor qualifies, Chilean or foreign, through a digital application to the Ministry of Finance, which must decide within 60 calendar days of a complete file or the request is deemed approved, with the resolution due five business days later. The benefit is a cash flow gain rather than a permanent saving for most VAT taxpayers, and the SII can claw the tax back with interest and penalties if the exemption rested on wrong documents.

USD figures use the dólar observado of CLP 972.60 per US dollar for 1 October 2026, the latest value shown in the SII dólar observado table on the verification date. UTM amounts use the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 and UTA of CLP 865,812, and UF amounts the UF of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026, all published by the SII. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum project investment for the import VAT exemption	5000000 USDDL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Ministry of Finance decision deadline from complete file (silence means approval)	60 calendar daysDL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to issue the resolution after deemed approval	5 business daysDL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum useful life of an eligible capital good	3 yearsDS Nº 991 of 2020, article second, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Months after first import within which the project must generate income	2 monthsDL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Ministry completeness review	15 business daysDS Nº 991 of 2020, article seventh, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Standard VAT rate	19 %DL 825 art. 14, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Exempt from VAT on imports are individuals or legal persons resident or domiciled in Chile, foreign investors and companies receiving foreign investment under art. 3 of the framework law, for imported capital goods used to develop, explore or exploit in Chile mining, industrial, forestry, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, research or technological, medical or scientific development projects, among others, involving investments of US$5,000,000 or more.
Example: A wind farm with a CLP 48,630,000,000 budget (US$50,000,000) qualifies on size; a CLP 3,000,000,000 workshop expansion does not. / Size test: US$5,000,000 or more of total project investment, not of imported goods.Decreto Ley Nº 825 (Ley sobre Impuesto a las Ventas y Servicios), text replaced by Ley Nº 20.848 and amended by Ley Nº 20.899 and Ley Nº 21.210, Art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, first paragraph, 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.210 (Diario Oficial 24 February 2020) opened the exemption to any natural or legal person, not only investors, and replaced "twelve" with "two" months in the income generation test.

2. The exemption applies only to capital goods for projects that, by their nature, generate income taxed, not taxed or exempt from VAT at least two months after the import or local purchase of the first capital goods for which the exemption is requested, or after the environmental qualification resolution issued by the Environmental Assessment Service under Ley Nº 19.300, or after a paid land use concession granted by the Ministry of National Assets under DL Nº 1.939.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, second paragraph, 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The Ministry of Finance must decide within 60 calendar days from receipt of all the information needed to check the requirements. If it does not, the request is deemed approved and the Ministry must issue a resolution granting the benefit, without further steps, within five business days after the 60 days end. For projects built in stages, or that complement or expand a project already exempted, a new request needs only a copy of the original resolution and evidence that the goods belong to a stage, an expansion or a complement, or replace a defective good of identical nature and value. The Ministry sends the resolution and file to the SII within 20 calendar days.
Cost to do it: No government fee. VAT saved is 19 percent of the customs value plus duties of each exempt import (DL 825 art. 14).
Example: Complete file filed on 2 March: decision due by 1 May; if none, the resolution must issue within five business days. / For US$8,000,000 of equipment the VAT not paid at the border is US$1,520,000 (CLP 1,478,352,000), before duties.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, third to sixth paragraphs, 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A capital good is a machine, vehicle, item of equipment or tool used directly or indirectly to develop, explore or exploit the project, whose productive capacity does not disappear with first use and whose useful life is three years or more. Parts, pieces, spares and accessories of those goods are included, in the same or a separate customs document, provided the main good meets the test. Projects may be carried out in Chile by the applicant or by a third party.Decreto Supremo Nº 991 of 2020, Ministerio de Hacienda (regulation of the capital goods VAT exemption, which repealed Decreto Supremo Nº 2.038 of 2015), Art. 1 (articles second and third of the regulation), 2020-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. The application is a digital form on the Ministry of Finance website stating the applicant's name, RUT, line of business, address, representatives and their identification, contact details and a general description of the request. Attachments: identification documents (for Chilean companies: RUT, incorporation deed and amendments, Commercial Register certificate with marginal notes no older than 30 days, representatives' ID and powers; for foreign investors: bylaws, good standing and powers in Spanish or English, apostilled or legalised and protocolised); a list of each capital good with technical name, specifications, tariff heading, useful life, quantity and unit FOB value; project information (description, commune, province and region, products or services, total investment, financing sources and their share with currency and exchange rate, and projected investment flows, income and expenses before tax); and a sworn statement that the project involves US$5,000,000 or more on the filing date. Applicants without the technology may file on paper at the Ministry's records office.Decreto Supremo Nº 991 of 2020, Ministerio de Hacienda, Article fourth of the regulation, 2020-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. The Ministry checks completeness within 15 business days of filing, without ruling on the merits. If something is missing it notifies the applicant, who has 10 business days to complete the file, failing which the request is treated as not filed. That notice interrupts the 60 day period, which restarts when the file is completed; if nothing is missing, the 60 days run from filing. On request, the Ministry certifies within 10 business days the date on which the complete file was received. The Ministry may ask other bodies for reports, and its resolution may grant the exemption for all or only some of the goods, stating the applicant's status, each good with its tariff heading and quantity, and the project. Notices go to the email address in the form unless the applicant opts out.Decreto Supremo Nº 991 of 2020, Ministerio de Hacienda, Articles fifth to eleventh of the regulation, 2020-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. If the SII finds in an audit that the exemption was granted on the basis of wrong documents, after a formal summons under art. 63 of the Tax Code it assesses the VAT that should have been paid, with inflation adjustment and the penalty interest of art. 53, and may apply the fine of art. 97 Nº 20; the taxpayer can challenge under the general procedure. VAT paid because the exemption was revoked is VAT credit for the period of payment if the taxpayer is a VAT taxpayer. Where the exemption was obtained maliciously with wrong, incomplete or false documents, the tax fraud penalties of art. 97 Nº 4 second paragraph apply, and the VAT paid is not creditable.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, seventh to ninth paragraphs, 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. VAT is levied at 19 percent on the taxable base, which for imports is the customs value plus duties.Decreto Ley Nº 825, Art. 14, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Foreign investors that sign a tax invariability contract from 1 January 2027 can freeze, for the period it takes to make the agreed investment, the VAT and customs treatment of imported machinery and equipment that are capital goods under DL 825 art. 12 letter B Nº 10, as in force when the contract is signed; receiving companies enjoy the same stability for that investment.Ley Nº 21.850, Art. 26 Nº 2 letter B, fourth paragraph, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New option created by Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026), available from 1 January 2027.

Step	Deadline	Effect if missed
Completeness review by the Ministry	15 business days from filing	If no notice of gaps, the 60 days run from filing
Applicant completes missing items	10 business days from notice	Request treated as not filed
Decision on the merits	60 calendar days from the complete file	Deemed approved
Resolution after deemed approval	5 business days after day 60	The law requires issue without further steps
Copy to SII and Customs	20 calendar days from the resolution	Internal deadline
Certification of complete file date, on request	10 business days	Internal deadline

Timeline of a request under DS Nº 991 of 2020 and DL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10.

Worked example

A Chilean SpA owned by a German group builds a US$50,000,000 (CLP 48,630,000,000) packaging plant and plans to import US$8,000,000 (CLP 7,780,800,000) of production lines. Before shipping, it files the digital form with the list of each line, its tariff heading, useful life and FOB value, the project description and financing, and the sworn statement on size.
The Ministry flags a missing Commercial Register certificate on day 12; the company files it on day 18, and the 60 day period restarts from that day. With the resolution in hand, the lines are cleared without paying 19 percent import VAT of about US$1,520,000 (CLP 1,478,352,000) on the FOB value alone, before freight, insurance and duties enter the base.
For a VAT registered company that sells taxed output, the saving is mainly working capital: without the exemption it would recover the import VAT as VAT credit against its output VAT. The value is highest in long construction phases with no output VAT and for exempt or non taxed activities.

Step by step

1. Confirm size: total project investment of US$5,000,000 or more on the filing date, supported by a sworn statement.
2. Check each item: machine, vehicle, equipment or tool, not consumed on first use, useful life of three years or more; parts and spares only together with an eligible main good.
3. Check the two month income test, or that income will start within two months of the environmental qualification resolution or the land use concession.
4. Build the goods list with technical name, specifications, tariff heading, useful life, quantity and unit FOB value.
5. File the digital form with identification, goods, project and financing information, and track the 15 business day completeness review.
6. Answer any gap notice within 10 business days; ask the Ministry to certify the complete file date so the 60 days are clear.
7. Import only after the resolution, presenting it to Customs; keep the file for SII audits.
8. For later stages or expansions, file a short request with the original resolution and evidence of the link.

Common traps

Shipping before approval. The exemption applies to goods listed in the resolution, so goods cleared earlier pay VAT at the border.
Including consumables or short life items. Goods with a useful life under three years or consumed on first use are not capital goods under DS Nº 991.
Letting the file sit incomplete. A gap notice restarts the 60 days and an unanswered one ends the request.
Overstating project size or misdescribing goods. The SII can assess the VAT with penalty interest and fines, and malicious cases are tax fraud with no VAT credit for the tax later paid (DL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10).
Assuming the exemption covers duties. It is a VAT exemption only; customs duties follow the tariff or the relevant trade agreement.

Sources

← The foreign investor certificate and InvestChile: who qualifies, what it unlocks, documents and the 15 day deadlineTax stability contracts under Ley Nº 21.850: 10, 15 or 20 years for projects of US$50 million or more, what is frozen, the 1.5 point price and how it is lost →