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Invoices must be paid within 30 days

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

Abroad, large buyers often impose 60 to 120 day payment terms; in Chile an invoice must be paid within 30 calendar days of receipt. Longer terms are allowed only in exceptional, written, non abusive agreements registered with the Ministry of Economy within 5 business days, and are barred when a smaller company sells to a large one, save narrow cases. Late payers owe statutory late interest plus a fixed 1 percent recovery fee, and clauses that delay payment have no effect.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UF amounts use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026 and UTM amounts the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum invoice payment term	30 calendar daysLey Nº 19.983, art. 2, as amended by Ley Nº 21.131, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Fixed recovery fee on late invoice payment	1 %Ley Nº 19.983, art. 2 ter, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Late interest on invoices (current rate, non readjustable peso loans over 90 days, 200 to 5,000 UF)	20.02 % a yearLey Nº 19.983, art. 2 bis; CMF Certificate Nº 10/2026, as of 2026-10-15 · in force
Deadline to register an exceptional payment term	5 business daysLey Nº 19.983, art. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Smaller company ceiling (medium company annual sales)	100000 UFLey Nº 20.416, art. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The unpaid balance of an invoice must be paid effectively within a maximum of 30 calendar days from receipt of the invoice. If the invoice states no term, the 30 days apply.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: An invoice received by the buyer on 1 November must be paid by 1 December. / Applies equally to a US dollar denominated invoice paid in pesos.Ley Nº 19.983, as amended by Ley Nº 21.131 (DO 16 January 2019), Art. 2, first and last paragraphs, 2019-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.131 of 16 January 2019 replaced freely agreed terms with the 30 day maximum, in force from the fourth month after publication; public health services and municipalities were phased in later under its first transitory article.

2. In exceptional cases the parties may agree a longer term, if the agreement is written, signed by the parties and not abusive for the creditor. Such agreements cannot be made where a smaller company (as defined in Ley 20.416) sells to a company above the highest annual revenue threshold of that law, save where the longer term benefits the smaller seller and only for tests, advance, partial or progress payments. The agreement must be entered in the Ministry of Economy registry within 5 business days; buyer, existence of the agreement and term are public. Unregistered or non compliant terms are treated as not written and the 30 day term applies.
Cost to do it: Registration in the Ministry of Economy registry; no fee stated in the law.
Example: Under Ley 20.416 a medium company has annual sales above 25,000 UF and up to 100,000 UF. A buyer with sales above 100,000 UF cannot agree 60 day terms with a supplier selling 20,000 UF a year. / 100,000 UF is about CLP 4,122,108,000 or US$4,178,179 of annual sales.Ley Nº 19.983, as amended by Ley Nº 21.131 and Ley Nº 21.217 (DO 3 April 2020); Ley Nº 20.416, Ley 19.983 art. 2, second to fifth paragraphs; Ley 20.416 art. 2, 2020-04-03 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.217 of 3 April 2020 barred exceptional terms between smaller sellers and large buyers, save the listed cases.

3. Whatever the agreed term, clauses that unduly delay payment have no effect, in particular those that let the buyer cancel or modify the contract at will, impose absolute limits of liability, set late interest below the legal rate, count the term from a date other than receipt of the invoice, or split payments to delay them.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A purchase order clause saying payment runs 30 days from the buyer's internal approval date has no effect; the term runs from receipt of the invoice. / Applies to global standard terms used in Chile.Ley Nº 19.983, Art. 2, sixth paragraph, 2019-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A buyer that does not pay on time is in default from the first day, and owes interest equal to the current rate for non readjustable peso loans of more than 90 days between 200 and 5,000 UF in force during the delay, plus a fixed recovery fee of 1 percent of the unpaid balance. The current rate for that segment from 15 October 2026 is 20.02 percent a year.
Cost to do it: Late interest at 20.02 percent a year (linear, 360 day base) plus 1 percent of the balance.
Example: An invoice of CLP 11,900,000 (CLP 10,000,000 plus 19 percent VAT) paid 15 days late costs CLP 99,266 in interest plus a fee of CLP 119,000, CLP 218,266 in total. / About US$221 on an invoice of about US$12,062.Ley Nº 19.983; CMF Certificate Nº 10/2026, Art. 2 bis and art. 2 ter; Certificate item 2.c, 2026-10-15 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Public bodies subject to the public procurement law must pay suppliers within 30 calendar days of receiving the invoice, or up to 60 days if justified in the tender rules or contract and reported in the procurement system; late payment triggers the same late interest and fee.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A supplier to a ministry whose tender rules say nothing on payment is paid within 30 days of the invoice, after certification of receipt. / Same in US dollar terms.Ley Nº 19.983, Art. 2 quáter and art. 2 quinquies, 2019-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Days late	Late interest (CLP)	1 percent fee (CLP)	Total (CLP)	Total (US$)
15	99,266	119,000	218,266	221
30	198,532	119,000	317,532	322
60	397,063	119,000	516,063	523

Cost of paying a CLP 11,900,000 invoice late (CMF rate 20.02 percent a year; CLP at 986.58 per US dollar).

Worked example

A buyer that habitually pays at 60 days on CLP 1,000,000,000 of monthly purchases from Chilean suppliers is 30 days late on every invoice: fees of CLP 10,000,000 a month plus about CLP 16,683,333 of interest.
That is about US$27,046 a month.

Step by step

Map supplier contracts and purchase orders to a 30 day term from invoice receipt.
Classify suppliers as smaller companies or not using Ley 20.416 revenue bands.
Where a longer term is legitimate, sign it in writing and register it with the Ministry of Economy within 5 business days.
Configure payables to calculate late interest and the 1 percent fee automatically.
Review global standard terms for clauses listed in art. 2 that have no effect in Chile.

Common traps

Unregistered extensions are void even if both parties signed them.
The term runs from receipt of the invoice, not from approval, delivery acceptance or month end.
Registered agreements are public, so the market can see buyers with long terms.
The 1 percent fee is fixed and applies from the first day of delay.

Sources

← Interest is capped by lawAccepted invoices become tradable, enforceable titles →