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Duty drawback for exporters in Chile: refunding duties on imported inputs under Ley Nº 18.708

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

Chilean exporters can get back the customs duties paid on imported raw materials, semi finished goods, parts and pieces that were incorporated into or consumed in producing the goods they export, whether they imported the inputs themselves or bought them from others. Customs sets the refund, must answer within 15 business days for a first request and 8 for later ones, issues a certificate in US dollars and the Treasury pays within 5 business days; claims must be at least US$100, filed within 9 months of export and based on import declarations no older than 18 months. Antidumping and countervailing duties are not refunded, and sales of goods with imported inputs to free zones can also qualify.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026. UTM based amounts use the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 and UF amounts the UF of CLP 41,205.16 for 23 October 2026, both published by the SII. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Refund of import duties on inputs of exported goods	Yes, excluding antidumping and countervailing duties textLey Nº 18.708 art. 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum drawback claim	100 USDLey Nº 18.708 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to claim, from the export	9 monthsLey Nº 18.708 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum age of the import declarations used, from the export	18 monthsLey Nº 18.708 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Customs decision time on a first request	15 business daysLey Nº 18.708 art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Treasury payment time after the certificate	5 business daysLey Nº 18.708 art. 5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Exporters may obtain a refund of the customs duties and other customs charges paid on raw materials, semi finished goods, parts or pieces imported by the exporter or by third parties, when those inputs were incorporated into or consumed in producing the exported good. The refund does not cover surcharges and antidumping or countervailing duties under the import law. Services provided abroad are treated as exports for this law, but their refund cannot exceed the general customs duty rate applied to the value of the exported service, as determined by Customs.
Cost to do it: No fee in the law; the refund equals the duties paid on the inputs used, so with the 6 percent general rate it is up to 6 percent of their CIF value.
Example: Inputs with a CIF value of CLP 197,316,000 that paid CLP 11,838,960 of duty at 6 percent give a refund of that amount if fully incorporated into exports. / US$200,000 of imported inputs, US$12,000 of duty refundable.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 1, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Raw materials include every substance or material needed to obtain the product, including those consumed in production or used to preserve it, and labels, containers and other items needed to preserve and transport the exported product. Fuels and other energy sources whose main function is to generate heat or energy, and spare parts consumed in production, are not raw materials. Waste without commercial value is treated as incorporated in the exported good.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 2, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Customs Regional Directors or Administrators set the refund in proportion to the inputs incorporated or directly consumed, under requirements and controls set by the National Director of Customs, and may require studies by qualified external experts at the applicant's cost. Customs must decide on a first request within 15 business days and on later requests for the same product and exporter within 8 business days. Rejections must be reasoned and can be reconsidered by the National Director on new evidence. Each claim must be at least US$100; smaller amounts must be grouped.
Cost to do it: Possible cost of external technical studies when Customs asks for them.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 3, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. A refund cannot be claimed on import declarations more than 18 months old, counted from the date of export, and must be claimed at the latest within 9 months from the export. The National Director of Customs may extend both periods in qualified cases.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 4, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. The refund is set by a certificate issued by Customs and expressed in US dollars. The Treasury must settle and pay it within five business days of receiving the certificate, at the exchange rate used for customs purposes on the date the certificate was issued.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 5, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Exporters using this refund may not also claim the simplified refund of Ley Nº 18.480 for the same product. Fraudulently obtaining the refund is punished with the penalties of article 470 Nº 8 of the Criminal Code, and the amount must be returned adjusted for consumer price inflation.
Cost to do it: Repayment of the amount with inflation adjustment, plus criminal penalties in case of fraud.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 6 and art. 7, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Persons selling to the free zones Chilean goods that incorporate or consumed nationalised imported inputs worth, in CIF value, at least 10 percent of the sale value may obtain the refund of the duties paid on those inputs. If those goods later re enter the rest of Chile, they follow the rules for imports, and duties are payable only on the inputs that benefited from the refund.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, Art. 8, 1988-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Step	Deadline	Article
Imports of inputs usable for the claim	No more than 18 months before the export	Art. 4
File the claim	Within 9 months of the export	Art. 4
Customs decides	15 business days (first request), 8 business days (later requests)	Art. 3
Treasury pays	5 business days after receiving the certificate	Art. 5

Drawback timeline under Ley Nº 18.708.

Worked example

A Chilean manufacturer imports US$200,000 (CLP 197,316,000) CIF of steel parts from a country without a trade agreement and pays 6 percent duty, US$12,000 (CLP 11,838,960). It uses all of them in machines exported eight months later and claims the drawback within nine months of export. Customs issues a certificate for US$12,000 within 15 business days of a first request, and the Treasury pays within 5 business days (Ley Nº 18.708 art. 1, 3, 4 and 5).
The VAT paid on the same parts is recovered separately, through the VAT credit or the exporter VAT refund (DL Nº 825 art. 36), not through the drawback.

Step by step

1. Keep the import declarations for every input, and evidence of how much of each input goes into each exported product.
2. After each export, match the inputs used against import declarations no older than 18 months.
3. File the claim with Customs within 9 months of the export, for at least US$100 (group smaller amounts).
4. Provide any technical study Customs asks for.
5. Present the Customs certificate to the Treasury, which pays within 5 business days.

Common traps

Claiming antidumping or countervailing duties: they are excluded from the refund.
Including fuel or spare parts used in production: the law excludes them from raw materials.
Missing the 9 month claim deadline or relying on import declarations more than 18 months old.
Claiming both this refund and the simplified refund of Ley Nº 18.480 for the same product, which is sanctioned as fraud.
Expecting the drawback to return VAT: VAT on inputs is recovered under the VAT law, not this law.

Sources

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