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Importing and exporting in Paraguay: customs, brokers, taxes at the border and special regimes

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

Paraguay is a Mercosur customs union member whose customs work is run by the Dirección Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT) under the Customs Code, Ley 2422/2004. Every importer and exporter must be registered and, apart from a short list of small shipments, must clear goods through a licensed customs broker (despachante de aduanas) who is jointly liable for fines. On imports the business pays the customs duty, a 0.5 percent valuation fee and IVA of 10 or 5 percent on the customs value plus duties before the goods are released; exports are IVA exempt with refunds of input IVA, and maquila (1 percent single tax) and free zones (0.5 percent) offer near tax free platforms for exporters.

USD figures use PYG 5,847.90 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation for 27 October 2026 (latest published planilla on the verification date). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Customs union membership	Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), common external tariff Tratado de Asunción art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Trade framework with Argentina	Mercosur free movement of goods and common external tariff Tratado de Asunción art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Importer and exporter registration with customs	Required Ley 2422/2004 art. 18 num. 3, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Customs broker mandatory	Yes, except small shipments and courier parcels up to US$1,000 FOB Ley 2422/2004 art. 22, 29 and 223, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Customs valuation fee	0.5 %Ley 2422/2004 art. 263, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Late payment interest on customs tax	1 per month on the customs value %Ley 2422/2004 art. 268, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Customs value basis	Customs value under the international agreements in force Ley 2422/2004 art. 261, 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 (listed foods, farm products, medicines, real estate)	5 %Ley 6380/2019 art. 90, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
IVA base on imports	Customs value in guaraníes plus customs taxes and other taxes before release, excluding IVA Ley 6380/2019 art. 85 num. 7, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
IVA on exports of goods	Exempt, input IVA refundable Ley 6380/2019 art. 100 num. 2 and 101, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Courier duty free threshold	100 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 223 num. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Postal shipment duty free threshold	200 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 219, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum FOB value for direct courier clearance without a broker	1000 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 223 num. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maquila single tax	1 %Ley 7547/2025 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Free zone single tax on sales to third countries	0.5 %Ley 523/1995 art. 14, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Customs fraud fine	100 percent of the duty evaded, plus the duty Ley 2422/2004 art. 333, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Smuggling prison term (general case)	Up to 5 yearsLey 2422/2004 art. 336 as amended by Ley 6417/2019, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minor smuggling threshold (forfeiture only, no criminal liability)	500 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 345 as amended by Ley 6417/2019, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Limitation period to collect customs taxes	5 yearsLey 2422/2004 art. 282, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Limitation period to impose customs sanctions	3 yearsLey 2422/2004 art. 316, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
BCP reference rate, guaraníes per US dollar (27 Oct 2026)	5847.90 PYGBCP planilla de cotizaciones, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Who may import and export. The DNIT customs administration applies customs law, collects import and export taxes and controls the flow of goods across borders and airports. Importer is the person who brings goods into the customs territory in its own name and exporter the person who sends goods abroad in its own name, whether it carries them or a third party does; both must be registered with the customs administration under the regulations. The definitive import regime gives foreign goods free circulation once the obligations of the regime are met, and the detailed declaration is filed by the importer or whoever has legal disposal of the goods; the definitive export regime lets goods in free circulation leave for good, under customs control until they exit.
Cost to do it: Registration is a legal requirement of the Code; no registration fee is set in the Code itself and none is cited here.
Example: A Paraguayan S.A. that buys PYG 58,479,000 of machinery parts abroad must appear in the customs registry as importer before its broker files the declaration. / A US$10,000 shipment cannot be cleared in the company's name until it is registered as importer.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 1, 18, 129 and 149, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley 7143/2023, promulgated on 4 August 2023, created the DNIT and took over the former Dirección Nacional de Aduanas; under its art. 23, earlier legal references to the Dirección Nacional de Aduanas mean the DNIT's Gerencia General de Aduanas. The Customs Code articles cited here keep their 2004 wording in the DNIT text.

2. Mandatory customs broker. The importer, exporter or whoever has legal disposal of the goods must act in customs operations through a licensed customs broker (despachante de aduanas), a natural person licensed by the customs administration who acts in the importer's or exporter's name and must post the guarantees set by regulation. When customs faults or infringements are found, the broker is jointly and severally liable with the declarant for fines and legal accessories, unless it proves it faithfully performed its duties and acted in line with the documents the declarant gave it. Use of a broker is optional only for traveller baggage, non commercial postal shipments, immigrant, emigrant and returnee goods, relief shipments, simplified clearance and border trade up to the FOB values set by regulation, and express courier shipments up to the art. 223 limit.
Cost to do it: Broker fees are agreed privately and are not fixed in the Code; budget for them on every commercial shipment.
Example: A PYG 58,479,000 commercial import must be filed by a despachante; if the declaration understates the value, the broker answers jointly for the fine unless it shows it relied in good faith on the importer's documents. / Any US$10,000 commercial shipment needs a licensed broker; only courier parcels up to US$1,000 FOB can be cleared directly by the courier company.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 20, 21, 22, 23 and 29, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Customs taxes, the 0.5 percent valuation fee and payment. The customs tax (tributo aduanero) covers all levies charged on the entry and exit of goods, including taxes, fees, accessories and pecuniary sanctions, and the obligation arises when the customs declaration is numbered. The customs value of imported goods, set under the international agreements in force, is the tax base, and a valuation fee of 0.5 percent is charged on that base for the customs budget. Customs taxes are paid in cash through authorised banks at the time the declaration is registered, a liquidation is deemed accepted after 10 business days without a claim, and tax not paid on time carries late interest of 1 percent a month on the customs value of the goods. The goods themselves secure the debt: customs can retain them or pursue and seize them in third party hands.
Cost to do it: Valuation fee of 0.5 percent of the customs value on every import, plus the tariff line's customs duty and IVA.
Example: Customs value PYG 58,479,000: valuation fee PYG 292,395. Paid one month late, interest would add PYG 584,790 (1 percent of the customs value). / Customs value US$10,000: valuation fee US$50; one month late adds US$100 of interest.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 249, 250, 261, 263, 268, 269, 274, 275 and 277, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. IVA on imports and IVA credit. IVA applies to the import of goods, meaning their definitive entry into the country. The obligation arises when the customs declaration is numbered. The taxable base is the guaraní equivalent of the customs value plus customs taxes (even if suspended), other taxes levied before release and internal taxes on the import, excluding IVA itself. The rate is 10 percent, with 5 percent for listed staple foods, agricultural and livestock products and registered human medicines. IVA on definitive imports must be settled and paid at customs before the goods are released, and IVA paid on imports in the month is part of the importer's IVA credit.
Cost to do it: 10 percent IVA (5 percent for listed goods) on customs value plus duties, paid before release and recoverable as IVA credit by an IVA taxpayer.
Example: Customs value PYG 58,479,000, zero duty, valuation fee PYG 292,395: IVA base PYG 58,771,395 and IVA at 10 percent PYG 5,877,140, credited against the month's IVA debit. / US$10,000 customs value, zero duty: IVA about US$1,005 on a base of US$10,050.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 80, 81 num. 3, 83 num. 5, 85 num. 7, 88 num. 2, 90 and 98, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Exports: IVA exemption and refund of input IVA. The export of goods is exempt from IVA, and the exporter must keep the export documents duly recorded. The tax administration refunds the input IVA on goods and services linked to exports of goods that meet the credit requirements; the credit is first set against IVA on domestic sales, and any excess can be refunded or carried forward. Refunds may be requested from the month after the due date of the return for the period of the export. For exports of agricultural products in their natural state or after first processing (flours, crude or degummed oils, expellers, pellets and similar), the IVA on the purchase of those goods and their raw materials is not refunded, although IVA on other goods and services used for the export is.
Cost to do it: No IVA on the export sale; input IVA recovery depends on the refund procedure and, for raw agricultural exports, excludes IVA on the exported goods themselves.
Example: A manufacturer exporting PYG 584,790,000 of finished goods charges no IVA and, after offsetting domestic IVA, can request a refund of the remaining input IVA on its inputs and services. / US$100,000 of exports carry no IVA; input IVA on related costs is refundable in cash or usable as credit.Ley Nº 6380/2019 De modernización y simplificación del sistema tributario nacional, Art. 100 num. 2 and 101, 2019-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Mercosur and the common external tariff. Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay agreed in the Treaty of Asunción to form the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur), which entails free movement of goods by eliminating customs duties and non tariff restrictions among the members, a common external tariff and common trade policy towards third countries, and coordination of trade, customs and other policies. Under the Customs Code, customs applies the rules of origin of the agreements Paraguay has signed when granting preferential treatment, and a certificate of origin may be replaced by an importer declaration for small shipments under the regulations.
Cost to do it: Preferential duty requires a valid certificate of origin under the applicable agreement; without it the general tariff applies.
Example: Goods of Brazilian origin with a valid Mercosur certificate of origin can enter with the intra zone preference; the same goods without the certificate pay the duty of the general tariff line. / On a US$10,000 shipment, the certificate of origin decides whether the line's general duty is due.Tratado para la Constitución de un Mercado Común (Tratado de Asunción); Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Treaty art. 1; Code art. 258 to 260, 1991-03-26 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Courier and postal shipments. International postal shipments are exempt in whole or in part from import customs taxes up to US$200 FOB under the regulations, and above that pay customs taxes. Express courier shipments (remesa expresa) by authorised companies are exempt from customs taxes up to US$100 FOB under the conditions set by regulation, and the courier company may clear goods directly up to US$1,000 FOB; above that value they must go through a customs broker. The DNIT courier regime runs through electronic pre arrival manifests and DNA resolutions on procedure and tax treatment.
Cost to do it: Customs taxes exempt up to US$100 FOB by courier and US$200 FOB by post, subject to the regulations; above US$1,000 FOB a broker is required.
Example: A PYG 4,678,320 (US$800) sample shipment by courier can be cleared by the courier company itself; a PYG 8,771,850 (US$1,500) one needs a broker. / US$800 courier shipment: direct courier clearance; US$1,500: broker required.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 219, 222 and 223, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Maquila: 1 percent single tax for export manufacturing and services. Maquila contracts and the activities carried out under an approved maquila programme pay a single tax of 1 percent on the greater of the value added in Paraguay or the export invoice value (also 1 percent for submaquila). Apart from that tax and fees for services actually received, they are exempt from all other national taxes, including on the import of the goods covered by the contract, their re export, the export of the processed goods, and IDU, INR and IRE on the related income. Maquiladoras of goods and services are entitled to the exporter IVA credit refund of Ley 6380 art. 101, capped for service maquiladoras at 0.5 percent of the greater of value added or export invoice value.
Cost to do it: Single tax of 1 percent on the greater of local value added or the export invoice value.
Example: Export invoice PYG 584,790,000 with local value added of PYG 233,916,000: single tax 1 percent of the greater amount, PYG 5,847,900. / US$100,000 export invoice and US$40,000 local value added: single tax US$1,000.Ley Nº 7547/2025 Del régimen de maquila, Art. 37, 38 and 39, 2025-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley 7547/2025, promulgated and published on 8 September 2025, replaced the former maquila law, Ley 1064/1997.

9. Free zones and capital goods incentives. Free zone users that carry out commercial, industrial or service activities exclusively for export to third countries pay a single free zone tax of 0.5 percent on gross income from sales to third countries, settled with each export clearance. Separately, investment projects approved under the new incentive regime can import capital goods (and raw materials and inputs to manufacture capital goods) used directly in the productive cycle free of customs duty, except fees for services actually provided, with the IVA exemption on the terms of Ley 6380 art. 100.
Cost to do it: Free zone: 0.5 percent of gross export sales to third countries. Incentive regime: duty exemption on approved capital goods, fees for services still payable.
Example: A free zone user exporting PYG 584,790,000 to third countries pays free zone tax of PYG 2,923,950. / US$100,000 of free zone exports to third countries: US$500 of free zone tax.Ley Nº 523/1995 Régimen de zonas francas; Ley Nº 7548/2025 Nuevo régimen de incentivos fiscales para la inversión nacional y extranjera, Ley 523 art. 14; Ley 7548 art. 4, 2025-09-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley 7548/2025, promulgated and published on 8 September 2025, repealed Ley 60/90 and replaced it as the capital goods incentive regime.

10. Customs offences, fines and time limits. Liability for customs faults and infringements is strict, regardless of intent or effects. Sanctions are fines, administrative measures and forfeiture of the goods or the means of transport, and they can be cumulative. Customs fraud (defraudación), such as false or inaccurate statements of the taxable base that are not arithmetic errors, misuse of split import facilities or of goods imported with tax exemptions, carries the unpaid duty plus a fine equal to the duty the treasury would have lost. Smuggling (contrabando) is both a customs infringement and a public criminal offence punishable by up to five years of imprisonment or a fine, five to ten years for unprocessed animal or plant products and for officials who take part; it includes selling foreign goods without proof of legal import and transferring duty free goods within five years without paying the exempted taxes. Below US$500 FOB the goods are forfeited and the offender escapes criminal liability. The action to collect customs taxes prescribes in five years and the action to impose sanctions in three years, both from 1 January of the following year; claims by private parties against customs, such as for undue payment, prescribe in one year.
Cost to do it: Fraud: the duty owed plus a fine of 100 percent of that duty, on top of interest.
Example: Understating a shipment so that PYG 5,847,900 of customs tax goes unpaid: PYG 5,847,900 of tax plus a PYG 5,847,900 fine, before interest. / US$1,000 of evaded customs tax costs US$2,000 plus interest once detected.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, art. 336 and 345 as amended by Ley Nº 6417/2019, Art. 282, 283, 313, 316, 317, 331, 332, 333, 336 and 345, 2019-11-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley 6417/2019, promulgated on 1 November 2019 and published on 5 November 2019, rewrote art. 336 and 345: it set prison of up to five years or a fine for smuggling, five to ten years for unprocessed animal or plant products and for officials who take part, and listed the conducts that count as smuggling.

Route	Customs duty	Other charges	IVA	Norm
Ordinary definitive import	Tariff line rate (Mercosur common external tariff framework)	0.5% valuation fee on customs value	10% or 5% on customs value plus customs taxes, paid before release, creditable	Ley 2422 art. 263; Ley 6380 art. 85 num. 7, 90 and 98
Import from Mercosur with certificate of origin	Intra zone preference	0.5% valuation fee	10% or 5%	Tratado de Asunción art. 1; Ley 2422 art. 258
Courier parcel	Exempt up to US$100 FOB	Direct courier clearance up to US$1,000 FOB	Per regulations	Ley 2422 art. 222 and 223
Postal shipment	Exempt in whole or in part up to US$200 FOB	None cited	Per regulations	Ley 2422 art. 219
Maquila import of contract goods	Exempt	Fees for services actually received	Exempt	Ley 7547 art. 38
Capital goods under the incentive regime	Exempt for approved projects	Fees for services actually provided	Exempt on Ley 6380 art. 100 terms	Ley 7548 art. 4
Definitive export of goods	None cited	Broker and logistics costs	Exempt, input IVA refundable	Ley 6380 art. 100 num. 2 and 101
Free zone export to third countries	n/a	Free zone single tax 0.5% of gross sales	n/a	Ley 523 art. 14

Taxes and charges at the Paraguayan border by route (BCP rate PYG 5,847.90 per US$, 27 Oct 2026)

Worked example

US$10,000 import of IVA 10 percent goods with zero duty (for instance Mercosur origin goods under the intra zone preference): customs value PYG 58,479,000 (US$10,000); valuation fee 0.5 percent PYG 292,395 (US$50); IVA base PYG 58,771,395; IVA 10 percent PYG 5,877,140 (about US$1,005). Cash paid at the border PYG 6,169,535 (about US$1,055) plus broker and logistics fees. An IVA taxpayer recovers the PYG 5,877,140 as IVA credit, so the lasting cost is the PYG 292,395 fee. If the goods carry a duty rate, that duty is added to the IVA base as well.
US$100,000 maquila export: with PYG 233,916,000 (US$40,000) of value added in Paraguay and a PYG 584,790,000 (US$100,000) export invoice, the single tax is 1 percent of the greater, PYG 5,847,900 (US$1,000), in place of IRE, IDU, INR and import duties on the contract goods.

Step by step

1. Set up the Paraguayan entity and its tax registration with DNIT, then register it as importer or exporter with the customs administration (Ley 2422 art. 18 num. 3).
2. Appoint a licensed customs broker and give it a written mandate; it files every commercial declaration and shares liability for errors, so give it complete invoices, transport documents and certificates of origin (art. 22 to 24).
3. Classify each product in the Mercosur common nomenclature with the broker and check whether a preference applies and which certificate of origin it needs (Code art. 258 to 260).
4. Before shipment, confirm whether the goods need prior permits from other agencies (sanitary, phytosanitary or others) and whether a maquila programme, free zone or incentive regime approval should come first, since these must be in place before the import.
5. On arrival, the broker numbers the declaration, which fixes the duty and IVA obligation; the company pays customs taxes, the 0.5 percent valuation fee and IVA through an authorised bank before release (Code art. 250 and 277; Ley 6380 art. 98).
6. Record the import IVA as IVA credit in the monthly return (Ley 6380 art. 88 num. 2); keep customs files for at least the five year collection period of art. 282.
7. For exports, file the export declaration through the broker, keep the export documents and proof of arrival, and request the input IVA refund from the month after the due date of the relevant return (Ley 6380 art. 100 num. 2 and 101).
8. If a liquidation looks wrong, file a claim within 10 business days, or it is deemed accepted (Code art. 275); claims for undue payments must be filed within one year (art. 283).

Common traps

Strict liability: a customs fault is sanctioned whatever the intent (Code art. 317), and inaccurate value statements that are not arithmetic errors are treated as fraud with a fine equal to the duty at stake (art. 332 and 333).
Late interest runs at 1 percent a month on the full customs value of the goods, not on the unpaid tax (Code art. 268), so a small unpaid amount on a large shipment becomes costly quickly.
Duty free goods are locked in: transferring goods imported with exemptions within five years, or before the term of the concession, without paying the exempted taxes is smuggling, and the knowing buyer is liable too (art. 336 k as amended by Ley 6417/2019).
Holding foreign goods for sale without documents proving legal import is smuggling (art. 336 e), so a buyer of imported stock in the local market should demand the import paperwork.
Raw agricultural exporters cannot recover IVA on the purchase of the exported products and their raw materials, only on other goods and services (Ley 6380 art. 101), which changes the margin on grain and oilseed trading.
The broker's joint liability ends if it proves it relied on the declarant's documents (Code art. 23); in practice the importer bears the fine for wrong invoices it supplied.
The DNIT online Customs Code PDF is the 2004 text; check later amendments such as Ley 6417/2019 on art. 336 and 345 before relying on any article.

Sources

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