How do you use the certificate of origin in Chile to pay 0% duty?

Your supplier says they will "send the certificate of origin", and you take it for granted that this means no duty. Then the cargo arrives, the customs broker (agente de aduana) checks the document, and it turns out the format is no longer accepted or belongs to another agreement, and the import pays the full 6%.

In short: the certificate of origin lets you lower the duty from 6% to 0% when Chile has a trade agreement with the country where the product was made, the goods meet that agreement's rule of origin, and your customs broker claims the preference in the import declaration. Each agreement requires a different proof, with validity periods that, for the most common origins, range from 1 to 4 years. If the proof arrives late, you can pay the 6% and request a refund within the agreement's deadline, which as a general rule is one year.

How much money a certificate of origin saves

Chile's general duty is 6% of the CIF value, that is, goods plus freight plus insurance. The 19% VAT (IVA) is calculated on the CIF value plus the duty, so the duty also makes the VAT more expensive.

The difference is US$714 for every US$10,000 of CIF value: US$600 in duty and US$114 in VAT. You recover the VAT as a tax credit if your company is a taxpayer. The duty stays paid: on a container worth US$80,000 CIF, for example, that is US$4,800 riding on a single document.

What proof of origin does each agreement require?

Chile has 36 trade agreements in force with 66 economies, according to the Undersecretariat for International Economic Relations (Subsecretaría de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales, SUBREI). Each one defines its own proof of origin, and the proof under one agreement does not work for another. Ask your supplier for the proof under the specific agreement, not a generic "certificate of origin".

Two recent changes made many guides obsolete. With the European Union, the EUR.1 form stopped being valid for new imports on February 1, 2025: what is valid today is the origin declaration that the exporter writes on its invoice. With Mercosur, Protocol 69 of ACE 35 changed the origin regime: the certificate lasts 12 months and must be issued within 180 days after the invoice. Chilean Customs (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas) instructed its application with Brazil from September 30, 2025 (Oficio Circular 177). Because the protocol enters into force country by country, if you buy in Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay, confirm it with your customs broker before shipping.

There are guides by origin: China, Spain and Italy, United States and Mexico.

What to check before paying your supplier

Origin is checked before you transfer the deposit, while you can still ask for changes:

1. Classify the product. You need the Chilean tariff code and its preferential rate, and that is determined by your customs broker.
2. Choose the agreement. The country where the goods were made is what counts.
3. Ask for the right proof: a certificate from an entity, a declaration on the invoice or self-certification, according to the table.
4. Check the route. If the cargo is transshipped or passes through a warehouse in a third country, keep the transport documents for each leg.
5. Claim the preference. The customs broker requests it in the Import Declaration (Declaración de Ingreso, DIN), the document used to file the import with Customs, and must have the valid proof in hand at that moment.

The data in the proof must match the invoice and the transport document.

Mistakes that lose the tariff preference

Customs instructions describe the situations that put the 0% at risk:

• Proof from the wrong agreement or in an old format. For example, a European supplier that keeps sending an EUR.1.
• Different classification on the certificate and on the declaration. If the code leads to another rule of origin or another reduction, the preference may be lost. Customs regulates minor errors in its Oficio Circular 143 of July 2025: ask your customs broker whether yours falls under it.
• A description that does not allow the product to be recognized across the certificate, the invoice and the DIN.
• An invoice issued by a company in a third country. This alone does not cause the loss of the preference, and the agreement with the European Union allows it, but the proof of origin must link the exporter, the goods and the invoice.
• Transshipment without supporting documents. The agreements allow transit through third countries if the cargo remains under customs control and is not transformed, so it is wise to keep the documents for every leg.

There is a fundamental limit: a properly issued certificate does not make a product originating if it does not meet the rule of origin.

What happens if the certificate of origin arrives late?

The benefit is not lost if you act within the deadline. You can import paying the 6% and later request a refund of the duties, provided the goods met the rule of origin when they entered. The deadline depends on the agreement and is different from the certificate's validity:

• General rule: one year from the import. It applies to China, the United States, South Korea and the CPTPP, among others.
• European Union: two years.
• Mercosur under the Protocol 69 regime: six months, according to Customs instructions for Brazil.

The procedure is handled by the customs broker: it files a Request to Amend a Customs Document (Solicitud de Modificación a Documento Aduanero, SMDA) with the customs office that processed the DIN, together with the proof of origin and the documents of the operation. Customs has 30 calendar days to accept or reject it, and then notifies the Treasury (Tesorería) for payment.

As a rule, the original proof is required for the refund: with the European Union a copy is enough to claim the 0% when importing, but not for the refund. The refund covers customs duties and does not automatically include VAT.

Origin verification and fines

The Customs Ordinance (Ordenanza de Aduanas, article 67) requires the importer to prove origin, and Customs can verify it. That is why the documents for each import are kept for five years.

If the preference did not apply, Customs collects the difference in duties and may impose a fine of up to twice that difference (article 174). Article 177 provides for voluntary regularization for anyone who detects the error and reports it on their own.

What SICE does in this case and where its responsibility ends

Before shipment, SICE contacts your supplier and reviews the invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and transport document. SICE coordinates and is not a customs agency: classification, the preference claim in the DIN and any refund are carried out by one of the customs brokers in its network. The proof of origin is issued by the exporter or the entity in its country, and only they can correct it. Accepting or rejecting the preference is Customs' decision.

Frequently asked questions

Does the certificate of origin also lower VAT?

No. The 19% VAT is still paid, although it drops slightly because its base no longer includes the 6%.

Is the EUR.1 still valid for importing from Spain or Italy?

Not for new imports. Since February 1, 2025, the proof is the exporter's origin declaration on the invoice.

For China, is it Form E or Form F?

Form F. It is the Chile-China FTA certificate, and it is issued by China Customs or CCPIT at your supplier's request.

Official sources (in Spanish)

• SUBREI: trade agreements in force. List of agreements and the type of certification for each one.
• SUBREI: benefits of trade agreements. 36 agreements with 66 economies.
• Customs: how much tax is paid when importing. 6% duty and 19% VAT on the CIF value.
• Customs: Circular 25 of 2025, Chile-EU Interim Trade Agreement. Origin declaration, end of the EUR.1 and refund within two years.
• Customs: Payments Manual, chapter IV. Deadlines and procedure for duty refunds.
• BCN: Customs Ordinance. Articles 67, 174 and 177 on origin, fines and regularization.