Below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property in Argentina.\u00a0It assumes a standardized case of an buyer who wants to purchase land and a building that is\u00a0already registered and free of title dispute.<\/p>\n
Procedure:<\/strong><\/p>\n # 1 Seller must obtain a certificate of ownership (“dominio”) and a certificate of good standing\u00a0(“inhibiciones”) from the Real Property Registry<\/p>\n The certificate of ownership (“Certificado de dominio”) proves that the property is free and clear of liens and\u00a0or encumbrances. According to Executive Order No. 2080\/80, article 8, it is mandatory to obtain the nonencumbrance certificate.The certificate of personal annotation (“Certificado de inhibiciones”) proves that\u00a0there is no judicial order restraining the seller from encumbering or disposing of his assets.<\/p>\n The domain certificate and a personal annotation are valid for 15 days, and they are both requested with a\u00a0unified form.<\/p>\n When a notary from the Capital Federal requests a domain certificate, the property is \u201creserved\u201d for 60 days.<\/p>\n If a new Domain certificate is requested during this period, it will state that a transaction is in process.<\/p>\n Pursuant to Technical Resolution N\u00b05\/2008 of the Registry of Property dated September 5, 2008, the\u00a0certificate of personal annotation can be obtained online at the Registry website. Only\u00a0interested parties pursuant to sections 6,7 and 22, Law No. 17,801 can obtain the certificate online, and\u00a0they also need to be registered users of the website (e.g. notaries, accountants, lawyers).<\/p>\n Agency: Real Property Registry (Registro de la propiedad inmueble de la Capital Federal)<\/p>\n #\u00a02 Obtain a Real Estate Reference Value (Valor Inmobiliario de Referencia)<\/p>\n Property transfers in the City of Buenos Aires and some parts of the Province of Buenos Aires require a\u00a0\u201cValor Inmobiliario de Referencia (VIR)\u201d (Real Estate Reference Value\u201d). The VIR was introduced by\u00a0Resolution\u00a0N\u00ba 67-AGIP-10 of February 10, 2010 and later amended by\u00a0Resolution\u00a0N\u00ba 435-AGIP-11 of August 3, 2011.<\/p>\n A VIR is assigned to every property by the revenue agency and it sets a minimum base to calculate the stamp\u00a0tax. The VIR aims to prevent the undervaluation of properties done to pay less stamp duty on property\u00a0transfers.<\/p>\n The notary has the responsibility to check the VIR, since the stamp duty will be calculated on the greater\u00a0value between VIR, the fiscal valuation (‘valuaci\u00f3n fiscal’) and the sale price agreed by parties. The Procedure\u00a0is free and it can be obtained online by the notary through the revenue agency website www.agip.gob.ar<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, not all the properties in the City of Buenos Aires have been assigned a VIR yet. In these cases the\u00a0notary must obtain a certificate stating that there is no VIR for the property.<\/p>\n Agency: Real Property Registry (Registro de la propiedad inmueble de la Capital Federal)<\/p>\n # 3 Obtain a cadastral certificate (“certificado catastral”)<\/p>\n The notary requests the cadastral certificate (with measures, boundaries and fiscal valuation) at the Cadastral\u00a0office (\u201cOficina catastral\u201d). The certificate is valid for one year. In the Capital Federal, there is no need for a\u00a0surveyor to measure the property.<\/p>\n Note: for some type of properties, it is possible to obtain the certificate on-line in the Province of Buenos\u00a0Aires.<\/p>\n Agency: City of Buenos Aires government (\u201cOficina catastral\u201d)<\/p>\n # 4 Obtain a certificate stating that no local taxes related to the property are due (ABL).<\/p>\n This certificate (“Certificado de libre deuda de impuestos municipales-ABL”) is obtained at the Notaries\u2019\u00a0association (“Colegio de Escribanos”). Local taxes related to the property being sold are known as ABL\u00a0(Alumbrado (street light), Barrido y Limpieza (cleaning)). The certificate is valid for 30 days (or the current\u00a0month), according to the 2009 \u201cC\u00f3digo Fiscal\u201d of the city of Buenos Aires, which shortened the original 1year validity.<\/p>\n Agency: Notaries\u2019 association (“Colegio de Escribanos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires”)<\/p>\n # 5 Obtain “Code of Offer of Transfer of a Property” (COTI) at tax agency AFIP<\/p>\n Sellers have to declare property transfers of over ARS 600,000.00, to the tax authorities in the City (AFIP).<\/p>\n The declaration shall include the names of the buyer and seller, the property being transferred and the value\u00a0of the transaction. Once the transaction is declared, the seller will obtain a “Code of Offer of Transfer of a\u00a0Property” (COTI) from AFIP. The COTI has a validity of 24 months (extendable 12 months if a construction is\u00a0to be made).<\/p>\n The “Code of Offer of Transfer of a Property” (COTI) may be obtained:<\/p>\n \u2022 Online: www.afip.gov.ar<\/a>. Access to the system is via a tax code<\/p>\n \u2022 By phone, 0800-999-2347: in which case it will be necessary to print a certificate afterwards from\u00a0www.afip.gov.ar<\/a>. Access to the system is via a tax code\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The COTI was implemented to fight tax evasion on March 1, 2008, through the Resoluci\u00f3n General N\u00b0 2371A\u00f1o 2007 from December 14, 2007.<\/p>\n Agency: Tax Agency (AFIP)<\/p>\n # 6 The public deed is executed by the parties with the intervention of a notary public<\/p>\n The public deed is the only document which is mandatory by law to transfer a property’s ownership.<\/p>\n Transactions subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) are not subject to Transfer Tax (this is the case when\u00a0companies are parties to the transaction). CGT is paid by the seller. However, this tax is not applicable if the\u00a0money collected by seller for the transfer of property is used to buy another property within a year of the sale\u00a0or for the construction of a new property. In this last case, for the tax waiver to apply, the construction has to\u00a0start a year after or a year before the transaction and it has to be completed 4 years after the date of the\u00a0transaction.<\/p>\n The notary will retain the 1.5% for the transfer tax, but if the transaction is subject to CGT, he will use this\u00a0amount to pay the CGT. If the transaction has been arranged through a broker, his fees will be about 3% of\u00a0the purchase price.<\/p>\n #\u00a07 The notary public files the property transfer for registration with the Real Property Register<\/p>\n Upon registration, the buyer will have perfect and complete title to the property, opposable to third parties.<\/p>\n The registration fees are usually paid by the buyer. The notary has 45 days to register the property transfer.<\/p>\n At this stage, the property title can be used as collateral for a loan, or the property can be resold.<\/p>\n The majority of registrations are made following the regular Procedure.<\/p>\n Agency: Real Property Registry (Registro de la propiedad inmueble de la Capital Federal).<\/p>\n The proven Buenos Aires \u2013 Argentina lawyer professionals at the\u00a0Kier Joffe law firm<\/a>\u00a0have experience working with foreign clients involved in all kind of cases\u00a0in Argentina.\u00a0Buenos Aires Argentina attorney<\/a>\u00a0professionals are knowledgeable in almost all the practice areas of law, to service its international cases in Buenos Aires Argentina. International clients will have the confidence of knowing that the case is being handled by an experienced and knowledgeable Buenos Aires \u00a0lawyer in Argentina.<\/p>\n