ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: María Belén Espiñeira, International Transport & Logistics Legal Consultants – MB Espiñeira & Abogados
1958 since 1988. Moreover, Law 27,449, con - cerning international commercial arbitration, contains specific provisions that apply to inter - national commercial arbitration with a seat out - side Argentina. This body of provisions follows the spirit of the aforementioned international convention. 6.4 Arrest of Vessels Subject to Foreign Arbitration or Jurisdiction Judicial precedents issued by the National Civil and Commercial Court of Appeals have regu - larly stated that Argentine courts have concur - rent jurisdiction to arrest a vessel, in all cases where a vessel could be arrested under the Argentine Navigation Law, despite the jurisdic - tion of another court that might be competent to resolve the merits of the dispute that gave rise to the arrest, either because an extension of jurisdiction clause has been agreed between the parties or because another court might be competent due to another provision of interna - tional private law. Furthermore, as Argentina is a party to the Con - vention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Argentine courts could order an arrest on a vessel to secure a claim, which would be subject to arbitration proceed - ings in a country that has ratified such con - vention, if they are empowered to do so under Argentine law. 6.5 Domestic Arbitration Institutes The Argentine Maritime Law Association ( Aso- ciación Argentina de Derecho Marítimo ) has issued Arbitration Rules and created an Arbitra - tion Committee within the organisation. Although it is known that some contracts will have incor - porated an arbitration clause referring all dis - putes that may arise thereunder to be resolved following the Association’s Arbitration Rules and
by the Arbitration Committee, there is no record of disputes being resolved by the institution. 6.6 Remedies Where Proceedings Are Commenced in Breach of Foreign Jurisdiction or Arbitration Clauses At the first appearance at court, the defendant should raise an objection of lack of competence based on the breach of a foreign jurisdiction or arbitration clause. 7. Ship-Owners’ Income Tax Relief 7.1 Exemptions or Tax Reliefs on the Income of Ship-Owners’ Companies In Argentina, there is no tonnage tax and the incomes earned by ship-owners established in Argentina are fully subject to income tax. The income tax is calculated on the profit or loss shown in the company’s financial statements, which is adjusted by adding up non-deductible expenses, and deducting non-taxable incomes and/or allowable deductions not accounted for in the accounting records. The tax rate on the net income of companies incorporated in Argen - tina is 30%. Depending on the particulars of the case, if a ship-owner’s vessel is engaged in several contracts, in excess of her ordinary use during a fiscal year, the benefits of the acceler - ated depreciation of such asset may be claimed before the tax authority, in the form of a reduc - tion in income tax. 8. Implications of Non- Performance, the IMO 2020, Trade Sanctions and the War in Ukraine 8.1 Force Majeure and Frustration The Argentine Navigation Law, when regulating the different shipping contracts, provides that a
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