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Industrial parks and science and technology parks in Uruguay: who can install or locate, the extra COMAP benefits and the 2027 deadline

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Ley Nº 19.784 lets public or private companies develop industrial parks and science and technology parks authorized by the Executive, and lets manufacturers, technology, biotech, logistics and other service firms locate in them as users approved by the Ministry of Industry. Park developers whose investment is promoted under the investment law can exonerate IRAE for 75 percent of the investment over 10 years, more in the north or in specialized parks, plus wealth tax, import duty and VAT relief, for projects filed by 31 December 2027. Users get 15 percent more IRAE benefit and period than the same project outside a park under the COMAP regime, and activities outside the park must be kept as separate business units.

USD figures use UYU 40.210 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Uruguay quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026, and the Unidad Indexada (UI) at UYU 6.6792 for 27 October 2026, both retrieved from the BCU quotations service on the verification date. Amounts the law sets in UI or pesos are quoted as written; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Park installer: IRAE exoneration as share of promoted investment	75 %Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Park installer: years to use the IRAE exoneration	10 yearsDecreto Nº 79/020 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Park installer in the North Zone: extra IRAE exoneration	15 percentage pointsDecreto Nº 79/020 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Park users: extra IRAE benefit and period over the same project outside a park	15 %Ley Nº 19.784 art. 12; Decreto Nº 329/025 art. 21, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Minimum unrelated industrial or service users within 48 months	3 usersDecreto Nº 79/020 art. 17, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Last date to file installer projects for the park benefits	2027-12-31 dateDecreto Nº 79/020 art. 35, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum fine for park breaches	5000000 UILey Nº 19.784 art. 17, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
BCU quotation, DLS. USA BILLETE	40.21 UYU per USDBanco Central del Uruguay quotation, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Unidad Indexada (UI) value	6.6792 UYUBanco Central del Uruguay quotation, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Promotion of industrial parks and science and technology parks is of national interest. A park is a public or private plot authorized by the Executive, in line with land use planning, urbanized and subdivided into lots under a master plan, with internal roads and common services and infrastructure. Industrial parks host manufacturing and the services listed in the law; science and technology parks host knowledge and innovation centres with innovative firms; both may share a plot. Only authorized projects may use the names. Minimum infrastructure includes boundaries, internal and access roads, adequate power and water, telecoms, effluent and waste treatment, fire protection, green areas, permanent medical emergency service and training rooms; buildings cannot be used as homes except for park operation.Ley Nº 19.784 (Industrial Parks and Science and Technology Parks), Art. 1, art. 2, art. 3 and art. 22, 2019-08-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Installers are public or private legal entities authorized by the Executive that provide the park's infrastructure, goods and services, directly or through third parties, and answer for all obligations. Users are individuals or companies authorized by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM): industrial companies including ICT, biotech, nanotech, creative industries and industrial waste recovery; service and logistics companies; other services the Executive designates; entrepreneurs and incubators; and training, research and innovation institutions. Installers must encourage micro, small and medium firms and cooperatives and may not treat them less favourably.Ley Nº 19.784, Art. 9, art. 10 and art. 11, 2019-08-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The authorization of a park is conditional on having, within at most 48 months, at least three users in industry or designated services, authorized by the MIEM, not related to each other and with sales from their own production in the park. A science and technology park also needs at least one research or innovation institution user doing on site work within 48 months. A park that loses its minimum users for force majeure may suspend the requirement for up to one year, twice, without using category tax benefits in that year.Decreto Nº 79/020 (regulation of Ley Nº 19.784), art. 17 as worded by Decreto Nº 408/022 art. 10; art. 19, Art. 17 and art. 19, 2022-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. User applications go to the MIEM with: application, proof of legal personality and representation, business plan, feasibility of location from the departmental government, a joint declaration with the installer accepting the user and the park bylaws, detail of main and complementary activities and of staff and capital, environmental authorization from DINACEA where applicable, and other supporting information.
Cost to do it: The decree sets no application fee; lot or rental prices are set by the park installer.Decreto Nº 79/020, art. 20 as worded by Decreto Nº 408/022 art. 12, Art. 20, 2022-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Installers whose investment projects are declared promoted under Ley Nº 16.906 exonerate IRAE for 75 percent of the promoted investment actually executed, with 10 years to use it. Parks in the North Zone (Artigas, Cerro Largo, Durazno, Paysandú, Rivera, Salto, Tacuarembó and Treinta y Tres) get 15 more percentage points and 4 more years, and specialized parks 10 more points and 2 more years (requested within 48 months of authorization). The exoneration can never exceed 100 percent of eligible investment nor 90 percent of each year's IRAE; the term starts with the first year of net taxable income if within 4 years of the promotion, otherwise it is extended by 4 years and runs from the promotion, and may be suspended for up to 2 years.
Example: Illustration only: a North Zone installer investing UYU 402,100,000 can exonerate up to 90 percent of that, UYU 361,890,000, over 14 years, never more than 90 percent of any year's IRAE. / About US$10 million invested and up to about US$9 million of IRAE exonerated.Decreto Nº 79/020, art. 3 and art. 21 (as worded by Decreto Nº 408/022 art. 13); Ley Nº 19.784 art. 12, Decreto art. 3 and 21; Ley art. 12, 2022-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Installers also exonerate Impuesto al Patrimonio on movable assets used only in the park for their useful life and on civil works for 10 years in the North or South Zone and 8 years in Montevideo; exonerate import duties and VAT on fixed assets and civil works materials not competitive with national industry; and get a credit for VAT on local purchases of services for the civil works and of those goods, paid as for exporters.Decreto Nº 79/020, art. 22 (literal a as worded by Decreto Nº 408/022 art. 14); Ley Nº 19.784 art. 12, Art. 22, 2022-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Users' investment projects promoted under Ley Nº 16.906 receive benefits beyond those an identical project would get outside a park: the exonerated IRAE and its period of use increase by up to 15 percent. Under the current COMAP regulation, park users get 15 percent more IRAE benefit and period for industrial, related logistics, solar, waste recovery and technology, biotech or creative service activities and 5 percent for other activities, plus a credit for employer pension contributions on committed employment inside the park for up to 5 years for industrial and related logistics users. Users' activities outside the park must be kept as separate accounting business units, which get no park benefits.Ley Nº 19.784 art. 12 and art. 15; Decreto Nº 329/025 art. 21, Ley art. 12 and 15; Decreto 329/025 art. 21, 2025-12-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Decreto Nº 329/025, in force from 1 February 2026, sets the current park user bonuses within the general COMAP regime.

8. The installer benefits of Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 21 to 23 apply to investment projects filed under Ley Nº 16.906 until 31 December 2027. The deadline does not apply to parks already authorized before that date, nor to users that locate in them afterwards.Decreto Nº 79/020, art. 35 inciso 3 added by Decreto Nº 408/022 art. 17, Art. 35, 2022-12-22 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Decreto Nº 408/022 of 22 December 2022 added the 31 December 2027 filing deadline for installer benefits.

9. Public utilities may set promotional tariffs for parks that cannot leave any installer or user worse off than the ordinary tariff. UTE's promotional power tariff prices energy as if the whole park were a single subscriber, with fixed charges per individual consumption, reviewed every two years. Installers may centralize staff benefits required by labour law or collective agreements for all users.Ley Nº 19.784 art. 13 and art. 14; Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 24, Ley art. 13 and 14; Decreto art. 24, 2020-02-28 official text · verified 2026-10-27

10. The MIEM, through the Dirección Nacional de Industrias, controls parks and keeps the register of parks and authorized users; users must report changes. Breaches are fined up to UI 5,000,000, graded under art. 100 of the Código Tributario: up to UI 5,000,000 for unjustified failure to execute the investment project, up to UI 4,000,000 for breaching specialized park conditions, up to UI 1,000,000 for using the park name without authorization six months after notice, up to UI 2,500,000 for the installer and UI 1,000,000 for the user when a user locates without having applied, and up to UI 1,000,000 for repeated failure to report; repeat offences may add loss of authorization and benefits.
Cost to do it: Maximum fine UI 5,000,000 (UYU 33,396,000, about US$830,540); reporting breach up to UI 1,000,000 (UYU 6,679,200, about US$166,108).Ley Nº 19.784 art. 16 and art. 17; Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 32, Ley art. 16 and 17; Decreto art. 32, 2019-08-23 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Case	IRAE exoneration (share of promoted investment)	Years to use	Source
Base	75 percent	10	Art. 21 a
North Zone	90 percent	14	Art. 21 b
Specialized park	85 percent	12	Art. 21 c

Park installer IRAE benefit by location and type (Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 21)

Worked example

A logistics developer builds a park in Paysandú (North Zone) and files the promoted project before 31 December 2027 (Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 35). On UYU 402,100,000 of investment (about US$10 million) it can exonerate IRAE for 90 percent, UYU 361,890,000, over 14 years, never more than 90 percent of a year's IRAE, and avoids wealth tax on the civil works for 10 years (art. 21 and 22). A manufacturer that locates as a user gets 15 percent more COMAP benefit and period than outside the park (Decreto Nº 329/025 art. 21), but must keep any plant outside the park as a separate business unit (Ley Nº 19.784 art. 15).

Step by step

1. Check the location against land use plans and choose zone and category (Ley Nº 19.784 art. 2 and 8; Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 3).
2. Installer: apply to the Executive through the MIEM, build the minimum infrastructure on the approved schedule and secure three unrelated users within 48 months (Decreto art. 17 and 18).
3. File the installer's COMAP project under Ley Nº 16.906 by 31 December 2027 (Decreto art. 35).
4. User: sign the joint declaration with the installer and apply to the MIEM before moving in (Decreto art. 20 and 32).
5. File the user's COMAP project to get the park bonus (Decreto Nº 329/025 art. 21), and report to the Dirección Nacional de Industrias as required (Ley Nº 19.784 art. 18).

Common traps

A user that moves in before starting its MIEM authorization exposes itself to a fine of up to UI 1,000,000 and the installer to up to UI 2,500,000 (Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 32).
When a project invests both inside and outside the park, the COMAP score is prorated and the 15 or 5 percent bonus applies only to the investment inside it (Decreto Nº 329/025 art. 21).
Park benefits stop at the park fence: activities outside must be separate business units with no benefits (Ley Nº 19.784 art. 15).
Installer tax benefits require filing by 31 December 2027 unless the park was already authorized (Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 35).
A park that cannot keep three unrelated users risks recategorization or revocation and repayment of benefits with fines (Decreto Nº 79/020 art. 19).

Sources

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