Four companies—engaged in the trade of agricultural commodities—were suspended by the BCRA from trading in the forex market and carrying out new exports for failing to settle foreign currency from exports in the local forex market.
The ensemble of companies failed to settle USD26.5 million on more than 500 foreign sales and failed to provide satisfactory answers to the formal requests made by the Compliance and Control Deputy General Management Office of the BCRA.
In addition to limiting their access to the forex market—the companies are only authorized to settle foreign currency to regularize their situation—the BCRA reported the breach to Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture to suspend them from the Registry of Foreign Trade Operators.
Two of the companies are located in the province of Mendoza. One of them—a company founded in 2015 for wholesale and packing of fresh fruit, legumes, and vegetables—did not settle any of its transactions.
The other company—with the same corporate purpose—had been included in the “unreliable taxpayers base” by the Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos, AFIP) and had not settled any transactions in accordance with the current regulation established by Executive Order 609/19, which provided for the obligation to transfer and settle foreign currency in the local forex market. The third company is a simplified joint-stock company incorporated last year. It is under investigation for 35 transactions for an amount of USD7,758,972. This company argued that it had received advance payments in Argentine pesos, but no pre-financing of exports was recorded. Therefore, there was no obligation to transfer and settle the dollar amounts in the local forex market.
The last company operates in the northern border area—exports, imports and customs clearance—and has 130 transactions under investigation for an amount of USD5.4 million.
