Reporting external assets and liabilities

What is it about?

The Survey on External Assets and Liabilities is a mandatory reporting system which is currently governed by Communication A 8304 of the BCRA. The goal is to collect data on certain residents’ external assets and liabilities for producing macroeconomic statistics.

This survey replaces those under Communication A 3602 and Communication A 4237, for information as of December 31, 2017, onwards. The submissions for years 2017 through 2019 and for years 2020 through 2025 are governed by the general guidelines set out in Communication A 6401, Communication A 6795 and Communication B 11951.

Who is it intended for?

The Survey on External Assets and Liabilities applies to:

– Legal persons, estates, and other vehicles that are not covered by the General Government category—as defined in the sixth edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual—and that have external assets or liabilities as of the end of each calendar quarter, or that have settled such liabilities during the quarter.

– Natural persons: They must state their external liabilities where appropriate. They are exempt from reporting external assets, as set out in Communication A 6594.

Modality

The submission is exclusively made online through the BCRA service on the portal of the Customs Control and Collection Agency (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero, ARCA), using a level 3 taxpayer password.

When should it be submitted?

Submissions and deadlines depend on the amount of the external assets and liabilities as of the end of each calendar quarter (as set out in Communication A 8304).

1. Primary sample: Natural or legal persons with stocks of USD10 million or more as of the end of any quarter.
Two submissions must be made:

• Quarterly statement: To be submitted every quarter. Deadline: To be submitted within 45 consecutive days from the end of the relevant calendar quarter.
• Annual statement: A simplified annual statement must also be submitted, in which the only forms for completion are those of investors, the income statement, the statement of changes in owner’s equity and the balance sheet. Deadline: To be submitted within 180 consecutive days from the end of the relevant calendar year.

2. Secondary sample: Natural or legal persons with stocks below USD10 million throughout the year.
Annual statement: Only this submission must be made. Deadline: To be submitted within 90 consecutive days from the end of the relevant calendar year.

Important:

– Recategorization: If the stock is equal to USD10 million or more in any quarter, the natural or legal person concerned becomes part of the primary sample and must submit the relevant quarterly and annual statements.
– Settlement: Any reporting party of the primary sample who ceases to have external liabilities must submit the statement for the quarter in which this situation occurs. In the case of reporting parties included in the secondary sample, an annual statement must be submitted for the year in which this situation occurs.
– Secondary sample: In order to be eligible for the secondary sample, the outstanding debts as of the end of the relevant quarter must neither be equal to or higher than USD10 million in other related surveys conducted by the BCRA (such as the System for the Follow-Up of the Payment of Imports or the System for the Follow-Up of Proceeds from Exports).

How to proceed

1. Log in to ARCA‘s portal using your level 3 taxpayer password.

2. Enable the service called BCRA – Survey on External Assets and Liabilities (BCRA – Relevamiento de activos y pasivos externos).

3. Access that service and choose the appropriate upload option:

a. Electronic upload forms, to fill out the data online, or

b. Bulk data upload, to submit large files.

4. Fill out and submit the appropriate statement (quarterly and, if applicable, annually).

To learn how to fill out data properly, read the following documents:

– User Manual for Submissions from 2026: Definitions and Clarifications for Data Upload (PDF)
– User Manual for Submissions up to 2025: Definitions and Clarifications for Data Upload (PDF)
– Upload Guide to Obtain a Validation Certificate (PDF)
– Maturity Profile Guide (PDF)
– Financial Institutions: Table of Equivalences between Balance Sheet Accounts and Survey on External Assets and Liabilities Forms (XLSX)
– Table Formatting for Bulk Upload: Technical Specifications for Bulk Upload of Files (XLSX)
– FAQs about the Survey on External Assets and Liabilities

Where to find the published data

All the reports and statistical series prepared using the validated information from the survey are available at:

> Private Sector External Debt Report
> Report on Foreign Direct Investment