Countries › Paraguay › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Exporting from Paraguay: export declarations, IVA exemption and exporter IVA refunds

Exporting from Paraguay: export declarations, IVA exemption and exporter IVA refunds

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Exports leave Paraguay on an electronic declaration through a broker, under customs control until departure, and can be split into partial shipments or sent with a reserve of return. Exports of goods are IVA exempt and DNIT refunds input IVA on export costs, credited to the tax current account and transferable, up to 10 percent of the export customs value. Raw agricultural exporters cannot recover IVA on the crops they buy for export, while maquila and free zone exporters pay 1 and 0.5 percent single taxes instead.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation in the planilla of 28 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

IVA on exports of goods	Exempt, input IVA refundable Ley 6380/2019 art. 100 and 101, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Cap on refundable exporter IVA credit	10 percent (maximum IVA rate) of export customs value %Ley 6380/2019 art. 101, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
IVA standard rate	10 %Ley 6380/2019 art. 90, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
IVA reduced rate	5 %Ley 6380/2019 art. 90, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Refund of IVA on purchases of raw agricultural products exported	Not refundable; other inputs refundable Ley 6380/2019 art. 101, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Free zone tax on export income	0.5 %Ley 523/1995 art. 14, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
BCP reference rate used for conversions (28 Oct 2026)	5868.31 PYGBCP planilla de cotizaciones, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Export declaration. Goods destined for an export regime need an electronic export declaration signed by an authorised person, with the commercial invoice and the documents required by customs law and international agreements; the declarant answers for its accuracy. Once registered, customs checks the data; loading happens under customs control at authorised places and hours, a smaller quantity than declared may be shipped, and the exporter may split an export into partial shipments. The registration date of the declaration determines the applicable law, and customs authorises departure after document and physical checks.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 138 to 147 and 152, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Definitive export and reserve of return. Definitive export lets goods in free circulation leave permanently, staying under customs control until they exit. Exports with reserve of return suspend export taxes, may require a bond and can later be converted into definitive exports. Goods exported definitively that come back pay no import duty when sent on consignment and unsold, returned as technically defective, rejected under the importing country's technical or sanitary rules, affected by its rule changes, or by war or catastrophe.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 131, 149, 150 and 151, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Exports are IVA exempt. The export of goods is exempt from IVA, and the exporter must keep the export documents duly recorded in its accounts; the tax administration sets the documentary conditions and can require proof that the goods arrived at their destination. Sales from Paraguay into a free zone are treated as exports for all tax and customs purposes.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional; Ley Nº 523/1995, Ley 6380 art. 100; Ley 523 art. 22, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Refund of exporter input IVA. DNIT refunds input IVA on goods and services related to exported goods that meet the general credit requirements. The credit is first set against any IVA due on local sales; the excess can be refunded or carried forward. Refund requests may be filed from the month after the due date of the return for the period of export, within the limitation period, month by month in chronological order, and filing interrupts limitation. The refund is credited to the exporter's tax current account and can pay other taxes or be transferred to another taxpayer. The refundable credit cannot exceed the maximum IVA rate (10 percent) applied to the export customs value; any excess may be claimed in later requests. A rejection may be challenged by reconsideration.
Cost to do it: Exporter must authorise its banks, finance houses and exchange houses to give DNIT information on its transactions when filing.
Example: Export customs value PYG 586,831,000: refundable credit capped at PYG 58,683,100. Input IVA of PYG 50,000,000 on export costs is refundable in full if no local IVA is due. / US$100,000 export: cap US$10,000; US$8,520 of input IVA refundable.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 21, 88, 89 and 101, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Raw agricultural exports. For exports of agricultural products in natural state, including first stage derivatives such as flour, crude or degummed oils, expellers and pellets, no refund is allowed for the IVA on the purchase of the exported products or their raw materials; IVA on other goods and services used for the exports remains refundable.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 101, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Others treated as exporters. Goods entering under temporary admission to be transformed, processed or repaired and re exported get the same IVA treatment as exports; international freight carriers that issue the international transport document (road waybill, bill of lading, air waybill) may recover IVA linked to export freight; and national manufacturers of capital goods sold with the IVA exemption recover unrecovered input credit like exporters.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 101, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Exporters inside special regimes. Maquiladoras export free of all taxes except the 1 percent single tax and can use the exporter IVA refund (capped at 0.5 percent for services maquila); free zone users exporting to third countries pay 0.5 percent of gross export income, settled with each export declaration.Ley Nº 7547/2025; Ley Nº 523/1995, Ley 7547 art. 37 to 39; Ley 523 art. 14, 2025-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Route	Tax on export	Input IVA	Norm
Ordinary exporter	IVA exempt; IRE 10% on profit	Refundable, capped at 10% of export customs value	Ley 6380 art. 21, 100, 101
Raw agricultural exporter	IVA exempt; IRE 10%	Not refundable on the products bought for export; other inputs refundable	Ley 6380 art. 101
Maquila	1% single tax on greater of value added or invoice	Refundable (services maquila capped at 0.5%)	Ley 7547 art. 37 to 39
Free zone user	0.5% of export gross income	Purchases from Paraguay are treated as exports for the supplier	Ley 523 art. 12, 14, 22

Tax position of a Paraguayan exporter by route

Worked example

A furniture maker exports US$100,000 to Uruguay (export customs value PYG 586,831,000). It paid PYG 50,000,000 (US$8,520) of IVA on wood, varnish, power and freight and has no local sales. Its refund cap is 10 percent of PYG 586,831,000, PYG 58,683,100, so the full PYG 50,000,000 can be requested from the month after the return's due date and credited to its DNIT current account, where it can pay other taxes or be transferred to another taxpayer.
Exports to Argentina go through Mercosur rules with a certificate of origin from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; for Argentine import formalities see The Argentine Thread guide.

Step by step

1. Register as exporter with customs and appoint a broker (Code art. 18 and 22).
2. File the export declaration with the commercial invoice and origin and sanitary certificates required by the destination (art. 140 and 143).
3. Ship under customs control and keep the export documents in the accounts (Ley 6380 art. 100).
4. File the monthly IVA return, then request the refund month by month in order, with the bank information authorisation (art. 101).
5. Use the credited refund to pay other taxes or transfer it, and file reconsideration against any rejection.

Common traps

Refunds must be requested in chronological order; once a period is filed, earlier periods can no longer be claimed (Ley 6380 art. 101).
The refund cap is 10 percent of the export customs value, so low value exports with heavy local inputs carry credit forward.
Grain and oilseed traders cannot recover IVA on the crops they buy for export (art. 101).
Proof of arrival at destination may be required, so keep transport and import records from the buyer's country (art. 100).

Sources

Related: Paraguay country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

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