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Carbon credits in Paraguay: who owns them, the MADES registry, retention share, fees and VAT exemption

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

Ley 7190/2023 says carbon credits generated by a project in Paraguay belong to the project holder, which can be the landowner, a party that took over the rights by contract or the holder of a forestry surface right, and the State can run its own projects. Projects must prove additionality and be entered in a public registry run by the Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES); issuances and transfers must be registered within 30 business days, holders must keep back between 3 and 10 percent of a project's credits, and registry fees can reach 500 daily minimum wages (indigenous community projects are exempt). Transfers of carbon credits are exempt from IVA, credits are proven by the standard administrator's certificate without notarisation or apostille, and at least 50 percent of the project developer's workforce must be Paraguayan.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation in the planilla for Wednesday 28 October 2026. Amounts set in daily minimum wages (jornales) use PYG 117,077 and those in monthly minimum wages use PYG 3,044,000, both in force since 1 July 2026 under MTESS Resolution 670/2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum share of a project's credits that must be retained	3 %Ley 7190/2023 art. 10, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum retention share MADES can set	10 %Ley 7190/2023 art. 10, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
IVA on transfers of carbon credits	Exempt Ley 7190/2023 art. 10, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum registry fee per act	500 daily minimum wagesLey 7190/2023 art. 16, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Deadline to register issuance, transfer or foreign acquisition	30 business daysLey 7190/2023 art. 17, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum time for registry processes	90 business daysLey 7190/2023 art. 18, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum Paraguayan labour participation for project developers	50 %Ley 7190/2023 art. 8, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum temporary registry ban	5 yearsLey 7190/2023 art. 23, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Owner of credits generated by a project	Project holder Ley 7190/2023 art. 3, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Ownership and project holders. The law sets who owns credits from carbon reduced, avoided or captured by projects in Paraguay and creates an accounting and transaction registry, while safeguarding Paraguay's nationally determined contributions. A carbon credit is a tradeable title or certificate equal to one tonne of greenhouse gas reduced, avoided or captured by a given project. The owner of credits generated by a project is the project holder: the public, private or mixed person or structure that owns the real estate or movable assets linked to the project, or a third party to which that owner contractually transferred the rights to carry out credit activities, or to which it transferred the forest surface under Ley 4890/2013 on the forestry surface right. The State may run projects and own their credits. MADES is the enforcement authority.
Cost to do it: No fee for ownership itself; registry fees apply (see below).
Example: A ranch owner who signs a contract granting a developer the rights to run a reforestation carbon project makes the developer the project holder and owner of the credits, if the contract so provides. / A US$2 million native forest conservation project held through a forestry surface right registered under Ley 4890 gives the surface right holder title to the credits.Ley Nº 7190/2023, de los créditos de carbono, Art. 1, 2 c) and i), 3, 4 and 5, 2023-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Projects, additionality and local content. Projects must prove additionality, meaning they effectively reduce, avoid or capture carbon under the methods of a carbon standard administrator and national rules, and may come from forestry and land use, agriculture and livestock, waste, energy and transport, industrial processes or other sectors MADES accepts. Professionals and companies that develop certification projects must register in the carbon credit registry under MADES requirements. Projects may be executed by Paraguayan or foreign companies or consortia, but for project developers real participation of Paraguayan labour in each project may not be below 50 percent and must include technical professionals.
Cost to do it: Developer registration fee as set by MADES within the 500 daily wage ceiling of art. 16.
Example: A foreign developer with a team of 10 on a Paraguayan project must have at least 5 Paraguayan team members, including technical professionals. / A US$500,000 a year developer budget should staff at least half the project team locally.Ley Nº 7190/2023, de los créditos de carbono, Art. 2 a), b) and d), 7 and 8, 2023-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Issuance, transfer and the retention share. Credits are evidenced by certificates issued by the carbon standard administrators; no notarial certification, legalisation or apostille is needed for them to be recognised. The holder may transfer credits in full or in part, for free or for value, by written agreement registered under the law. To safeguard Paraguay's nationally determined contributions, holders must retain and not transfer between 3 percent and up to 10 percent of the credits of a project, as fixed by MADES, and MADES may raise the share up to 10 percent if transfers abroad put the contributions at risk. Transfers of carbon credits are exempt from IVA. Participation in the voluntary carbon market under the law requires proof of registration of the credits.
Cost to do it: No IVA on the transfer; the retained share is a cost in credits not sold.
Example: A project issued 100,000 credits sold at a price equal to PYG 58,683 each may sell at most 97,000 if MADES fixes 3 percent and 90,000 at the 10 percent ceiling, so retention removes between PYG 176,049,300 and PYG 586,831,000 of sales; no IVA is charged on the sales. / At US$10 a credit, the 3 to 10 percent retention keeps US$30,000 to US$100,000 of credits off the market, while the IVA exemption avoids a 10 percent charge on the US$900,000 to US$970,000 sold.Ley Nº 7190/2023, de los créditos de carbono, Art. 9, 10 and 11, 2023-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Registry, deadlines and fees. The Registro de los Créditos de Carbono, run by MADES, records data on any mitigation project seeking credits in the voluntary market, prevents double counting, accounts for transactions against Paraguay's commitments and identifies buyers. All modifications, transfers, assignments and restrictions must be recorded, and so must credits generated abroad that are bought by persons domiciled in Paraguay. The holder must register all credits within 30 business days after issuance by the standard administrator; the seller must register a transfer within 30 business days after the transaction; and a buyer of foreign credits must register its acquisition within 30 business days. Registry processes must be completed within at most 90 business days, and an interim certificate of the pending procedure can be requested. MADES may issue a certificate of no objection confirming no double counting, subject to availability under the nationally determined contributions. The registry is public and free to consult online. The Executive, through MADES, sets fees of up to 500 daily minimum wages for registration, issuance notice, transfer and modifications; projects held by indigenous communities are exempt. Registration in other registries, national or international, is not prohibited.
Cost to do it: Registry fees of up to 500 daily minimum wages, PYG 58,538,500 (about US$9,975) per act, as set by MADES; indigenous community projects pay none.
Example: A project that gets 100,000 credits issued on 1 March must register them within 30 business days; if it sells 40,000 to a buyer abroad, the seller registers that transfer within 30 business days of the sale. / Each registry act can cost up to about US$9,975, so a project with registration, two issuances and three transfers should budget for six acts at the fee MADES sets.Ley Nº 7190/2023, de los créditos de carbono, Art. 12 to 21, 2023-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Infractions and sanctions. Infractions include failing to register issuance, transfer, assignment or modification of credits within the deadlines, failing to register acquisitions of foreign credits, giving false information or deliberately omitting relevant information to the registry, and transferring credits beyond the retention limits of art. 10. After an administrative proceeding, MADES may impose a warning, a temporary ban of up to five years on registering new projects, credits, transfers or modifications, a permanent ban on transferring or disposing of credits, or fines under Ley 5146/2014. Credits issued, transferred or sold before the law took effect remain lawful, but such projects had to be entered in the registry within one year of publication.
Cost to do it: Fines under Ley 5146/2014; the heavier risk is a ban of up to five years on registering credits.
Example: A seller that forgets to register a sale of 20,000 credits within 30 business days commits an infraction and may be barred from registering new transfers for up to five years. / For a project selling US$1 million of credits a year, a five year registry ban could stop sales worth up to US$5 million.Ley Nº 7190/2023, de los créditos de carbono, Art. 22, 23 and 24, 2023-10-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Act	Who	Deadline or limit
Register credits issued by the standard administrator	Project holder	30 business days from the day after issuance
Register a transfer, assignment or donation	Seller	30 business days from the day after the operation
Register foreign credits bought by a Paraguayan domiciled person	Buyer	30 business days from the day after the transfer
Complete any registry process	MADES	90 business days at most
Retain credits from each project	Holder	3 to 10 percent, as MADES sets
Registry fee per act	Applicant	Up to 500 daily minimum wages, PYG 58,538,500; indigenous projects exempt

Registry deadlines and limits under Ley 7190/2023

Worked example

Reforestation project, 100,000 credits issued: the holder registers them with MADES within 30 business days. If MADES fixes 3 percent retention, 97,000 can be sold; at a price of US$10 (PYG 58,683) per credit that is US$970,000 (PYG 5,692,260,700) with no IVA, while 3,000 credits stay with the holder. Each buyer transfer is registered by the seller within 30 business days, and each registry act may carry a fee of up to PYG 58,538,500 (about US$9,975).
Income tax: the law exempts transfers only from IVA. Ley 7190 grants no income tax exemption, so a Paraguayan company selling credits should model the general business income tax (IRE, 10 percent of net income under Ley 6380 art. 21) on its gain.

Step by step

Secure the rights: as landowner, or by contract or a Ley 4890 forestry surface right registered by public deed, so that the project holder is clear.
Register the developer with the MADES carbon credit registry and staff the project with at least 50 percent Paraguayan labour.
Validate additionality under the chosen carbon standard and Paraguayan rules; request a certificate of no objection from MADES if buyers need proof of no double counting.
Register the project and each issuance within 30 business days, paying the MADES fee for each act.
Before selling, confirm the retention percentage MADES has fixed, and register each transfer within 30 business days of the sale.
Keep the registry updated with any modification, assignment or encumbrance, and check that the international registry and the Paraguayan registry match.

Common traps

The 3 percent minimum retention means a project can never sell 100 percent of its credits; MADES can lift the share to 10 percent if exports put Paraguay's contributions at risk.
Late registration is itself an infraction and can lead to a registry ban of up to five years.
Buyers in Paraguay of credits issued abroad must also register them within 30 business days.
The IVA exemption is limited to transfers of credits; it does not exempt income tax on the gain.
The legal reserve forest of Ley 422/1973 art. 42 cannot be placed under a forestry surface right (Ley 4890 art. 1), so the holder structure for those areas must use ownership or a contract instead.
The regulating decree and MADES resolutions set the fee amounts and procedures; check the current MADES rules before filing, since only the law's ceilings are verified here.

Sources

← Telecommunications in Paraguay: CONATEL, concessions, licences, spectrum, share transfer approval and feesForestry plantations and timber in Paraguay: Ley 536 incentives, INFONA plans, the forestry surface right and how timber income is taxed →

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