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Exporting services from Chile: Customs qualification, VAT exemption, input VAT recovery and the export declaration

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

Services provided by a Chilean business to people with no domicile or residence in Chile are exempt from 19 percent VAT when the National Customs Service qualifies them as exports, which covers services performed wholly or partly in Chile to be used abroad. Customs keeps a list of services already qualified; a service not on the list needs a reasoned request, which Customs must decide within 35 business days. Each export is then formalised with an export declaration (a simplified one up to US$2,000 FOB), and the provider recovers the VAT on its inputs through the VAT credit or a refund, as goods exporters do.

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

VAT on exported services	Exempt when qualified as exports by Customs textDL Nº 825 art. 12 letter E Nº 16, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Authority that qualifies services as exports	Servicio Nacional de Aduanas textDL Nº 825 art. 12 letter E Nº 16, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Customs deadline to decide a qualification request	35 business daysCustoms Res. Ex. Nº 2.511 of 2007 Nº 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Ceiling for the simplified export declaration (DUSSI) for services	2000 USDCustoms Res. Ex. Nº 2.511 of 2007 Nº 6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Recovery of input VAT by service exporters	Yes, by credit or refund textDL Nº 825 art. 36, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Income from services provided to persons without domicile or residence in Chile is exempt from VAT, as long as the National Customs Service qualifies those services as an export. The exemption covers services provided wholly or partly in Chile to be used abroad.
Cost to do it: No VAT charged to the foreign client.
Example: A Chilean firm invoicing CLP 98,658,000 of qualified engineering services to a foreign client charges no VAT, instead of CLP 18,745,020. / On a US$100,000 invoice, US$19,000 of VAT is not charged.Decreto Ley Nº 825 of 1974, VAT law, as amended by Ley Nº 20.956, Art. 12 letter E Nº 16, 2016-10-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Providers of services to persons without domicile or residence in Chile that are qualified as exports receive the same treatment as goods exporters: they may recover the VAT charged on goods and services used in the export activity, by setting it off against VAT on domestic sales or by a refund under articles 80 and following. Providers of services rendered and used wholly abroad may also use this regime if the services would have been subject to VAT in Chile and the other country levies a similar tax, proven as the SII determines.
Cost to do it: Input VAT is a temporary cash cost until credited or refunded.
Example: A provider that pays CLP 9,500,000 of VAT on CLP 50,000,000 of inputs for its export services can recover the CLP 9,500,000. / About US$9,629 of VAT recovered on about US$50,680 of inputs.Decreto Ley Nº 825 of 1974, VAT law, as amended by Ley Nº 20.956, Art. 36, 2016-10-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Customs Resolution Nº 2.511 of 2007 sets the requirements for a service to be qualified as an export: it must be performed in Chile and provided to a person without domicile or residence in Chile, be used exclusively abroad (except services to goods in transit through Chile) and be verifiable in its existence and value. The provider must carry out the activity in Chile, keeping a domicile or residence in Chile or acting through a company under article 41 D of the Income Tax Law. Services on the annexed list of services qualified as exports need no new qualification; for others, Customs must decide within 35 business days of a complete request, may ask for more information within the first 10 business days and then decide within 25 business days of receiving it. Resolution Nº 2.976 of 2016 replaced the list and set how services must be described in the export declaration, mandatory from 15 June 2016.
Cost to do it: No Customs fee is stated for qualification; the cost is preparing the request and evidence.Servicio Nacional de Aduanas Resolución Exenta Nº 2.511 of 2007, as amended by Resolución Exenta Nº 2.976 of 2016, Res. Nº 2.511 Nº 1 and Nº 4; Res. Nº 2.976, 2016-05-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. The export of a qualified service is formalised with a single exit document (Documento Único de Salida, DUS); where the FOB amount does not exceed US$2,000, a simplified exit document (DUSSI) may be used. To use the VAT recovery of article 36, the exporter must be a VAT taxpayer and its services must be subject to VAT.
Cost to do it: Customs agent or internal processing costs for each export declaration.Servicio Nacional de Aduanas Resolución Exenta Nº 2.511 of 2007, Nº 6 and Nº 9, 2007-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. For the duty refund law, services provided abroad are treated as exports, and the exporter must meet the formalities for exports. The refund of duties on imported inputs used for an exported service cannot exceed the general customs duty rate applied to the value of the exported service, as determined by Customs.
Cost to do it: Refund capped at 6 percent of the exported service value under the current general rate.
Example: On CLP 98,658,000 of exported services, the duty refund cannot exceed CLP 5,919,480. / At most US$6,000 on US$100,000 of exported services.Ley Nº 18.708, refund of customs duties to exporters, as amended by Ley Nº 18.768, Art. 1 second paragraph, 1988-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Item	Qualified as export CLP	Qualified as export USD	Not qualified CLP	Not qualified USD
VAT charged to the client	0	0	18,745,020	19,000
Input VAT paid	9,500,000	9,629	9,500,000	9,629
Input VAT recovered	9,500,000 by credit or refund	9,629	9,500,000 as credit against output VAT	9,629

VAT on a US$100,000 (CLP 98,658,000) service contract with a foreign client, with US$50,680 (CLP 50,000,000) of taxed inputs (DL Nº 825 art. 12 letter E Nº 16 and art. 36).

Worked example

A Santiago software company builds a platform for a client in the United States for US$100,000 (CLP 98,658,000). Development of computer systems is among the services Customs lists as qualified, so the company invoices without VAT, files an export declaration (DUS) and recovers the CLP 9,500,000 (about US$9,629) of VAT it paid on inputs through its VAT return or a refund (DL Nº 825 art. 12 letter E Nº 16 and art. 36).
If the service were not on the list, the company would file a reasoned request with Customs, which must decide within 35 business days (Res. Nº 2.511 of 2007).

Step by step

1. Confirm the client has no domicile or residence in Chile and that the service will be used abroad.
2. Check the Customs list of services qualified as exports; if the service is not there, file a reasoned qualification request with the service's description, stages and value.
3. Register for VAT with the SII, since recovery under art. 36 requires being a VAT taxpayer.
4. Issue the export invoice without VAT and file the DUS (or DUSSI up to US$2,000 FOB) describing the service with the list code.
5. Recover input VAT through the monthly VAT return or a refund request to the SII.
6. Keep a record of each operation proving the service was provided and sent abroad, and keep the supporting documents for 5 years, as Customs guidance requires.

Common traps

Invoicing without VAT before the service is on the list or qualified: the exemption depends on Customs qualification.
Services consumed in Chile, even if paid by a foreign company, do not meet the requirement of use abroad.
Forgetting the export declaration: qualification alone is not enough, each export must be formalised with a DUS or DUSSI.
Leasing capital goods to foreign clients: Customs guidance states that it does not qualify as an export of services.

Sources

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