ARGENTINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sebastián López Sansón, Rubén Darío Atim, Martina Pilar García Vidal and Bautista López González, Salaberren & López Sansón
• Aggravated evasion: the threshold increases from ARS15 million to ARS1 billion per tax and per tax year (approximately USD700,000). • Withholding/collection-related offences: for failure to remit withheld taxes, the threshold increases from ARS100,000 to ARS10 million per month (approximately USD7,000). • Other offences: thresholds for improper use of tax benefits, social security resources and withholding- related obligations were also updated. As a result, conduct involving amounts below the new thresholds is no longer subject to criminal prosecu - tion, although it remains administratively sanctionable. The law also provides for annual adjustment of crimi - nal thresholds based on the UVA index (an inflation- linked unit of account) beginning in January 2027, to reduce future erosion of the thresholds in real terms. Extinction of criminal liability through payment (often described as a “Silver Bullet”) The reform creates a structured regularisation mecha - nism with direct criminal law effects. If a taxpayer fully pays the outstanding tax, interest and administrative fines before a criminal complaint is filed, criminal pro - ceedings will not be initiated. Even after criminal proceedings have begun, crimi - nal liability may still be extinguished if the taxpayer pays the full amount due plus an additional 50% sur - charge within 30 business days of formal notice of the charges. This reflects a clear policy shift toward fiscal recovery over punitive enforcement. The law also clarifies that not every tax adjustment gives rise to criminal exposure. Criminal proceed - ings may not be initiated where discrepancies arise solely from technical or conceptual differences (such as disputes over legal interpretation, valuation meth - odologies or allocation criteria), provided there is no evidence of deceitful conduct or intentional conceal - ment. Consistent with this approach, ARCA is barred from filing a criminal complaint when the alleged liability is based exclusively on:
• differences in legal interpretation or technical accounting criteria; • legal presumptions unsupported by factual evi - dence; or • interpretive positions previously and transparently disclosed by the taxpayer. This distinction reinforces a central principle: criminal tax liability should require demonstrable fraud, not merely disagreement over legal interpretation. In addition, recent guidance referenced in practice (including Instruction No 1/2026) addresses the appli - cation of lex mitior (the retroactive application of the more lenient criminal law). Under that approach, where legislative amendments reduce penalties or establish more favourable thresholds or conditions, the more lenient regime should apply to ongoing proceedings, subject to the absence of a final judgment. In practi - cal terms, the increase in criminal thresholds under the Tax Innocence Law may require reassessment of cases initiated under the prior framework. Finally, this extinguishment mechanism (Silver Bullet) may be invoked only once per individual or legal entity, underscoring its exceptional character and its role as an incentive for voluntary regularisation rather than a recurring compliance strategy. Administrative penalties for failure to file Implementing guidance (referred to in practice as Guideline/Instruction 2/2026) clarifies the practical application of administrative fines for failure to file tax returns. Following the Tax Innocence Law, ARCA updated the automatic fine amounts as follows: • ARS220,000 for individuals and undivided estates (approximately USD150); and • ARS440,000 for corporations, legal entities, and permanent establishments (approximately USD300). Importantly, this guidance does not create new penal - ties. Rather, it standardises and systematises enforce - ment through a more gradual and structured proce - dure.
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