🇦🇷 Mercado Libre in Argentina
A market where Mercado Libre has almost no competition and the buyer pays at checkout — there is no cash-on-delivery and no refused parcels here. The clearest entry point for a foreign seller, and the place where our own warehouse sits.
Mercado Libre fees and charges
What the marketplace withholds on every sale. Check the exact rate for your category in your seller dashboard.
Shipping
The biggest cost after the fee — and the main reason cheap products go into the red.
Work out the exact cost for your product and price in the free calculator— it has the rates and thresholds of all six countries built in.
Taxes: two routes
The regime you pick determines both your tax burden and whether you can import goods at all.
A fixed ARCA payment by category A–K, plus provincial IIBB. The ceiling of category K is about 126.6 million ARS a year (scale in force since August 2026). No tax credits, and importing for resale is not allowed.
21% IVA on the markup, Ganancias on profit, IIBB of 2.5–3.5% of turnover for retail, 5% at high turnover. All customs prepayments come back as credits: for an importer this is the only workable regime.
Imports and customs
Two import channels with different economics. Picking the wrong channel costs more than picking the wrong product.
The first USD 400 of goods value (FOB) is duty-free — five parcels a year, personal use. Above that: duty + 3% levy + 21% IVA.
Duty by tariff code + 3% statistical levy + 21% IVA + 20% IVA prepayment + 6% Ganancias prepayment + IIBB ~2.5%.
On Responsable Inscripto the IVA and all prepayments are recoverable. Your real cost is only the duty and the levy.
Decreto 604/2026 rewrote the parcel rules as of 17 July 2026.
Open the PRO bundle →
350 $ 50 USDT
What you need to start
The order of steps specific to Argentina — it differs from the rest of the region.
- Decide on your status: Monotributo to test with locally sourced goods, or Responsable Inscripto to import
- Get a CDI or CUIT — without one you can neither open a company nor register an account
- Set up an SAS or SRL: at least one administrator must be resident in the country
- Pass account verification — the legal representative's DNI is required
- Run the unit economics before you buy anything
We receive, store and dispatch your goods — you can bring in a shipment and leave the country.
Useful reading
Breakdowns from our blog, with examples and numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell on Mercado Libre in Argentina on a foreign passport?
A foreigner can be a shareholder of an Argentine company without residency — there are no immigration requirements, only a CDI tax identifier. But the company must have an administrator resident in Argentina, and Mercado Libre account verification is done by a person holding a local DNI.
How much does shipping cost and who pays for it?
From ARS 33,000 shipping is free for the buyer and the seller pays the Mercado Envíos rate by weight and price. Rates went up on 1 September 2026. Green reputation gets a 50% discount, yellow 40%. A seller with no reputation pays by the green table. Below the threshold the buyer pays for shipping, and the seller is charged a per-unit fee by price and weight. Since 14 September 2026 Meli+ subscribers get free shipping from ARS 15,000, and the seller does not pay for it.
Which is better, Monotributo or Responsable Inscripto?
To test a niche with locally sourced goods, Monotributo is simpler. For importing, only Responsable Inscripto works: a monotributista cannot clear a commercial shipment in their own name, and all customs taxes are lost, which pushes the landed cost up by roughly half.
Do you have to travel to Argentina?
The company can be set up remotely with an apostilled power of attorney through a consulate. But an administrator with a local address, and a person with a DNI for account verification, are required either way.
Tools for Argentina
Fees, shipping, instalments and taxes in Argentina — it works out net profit and margin. Free.
A unit-economics workbook for the country, a six-country customs calculator, books on importing directly from China and a country playbook — 36 files.
View → 350 $ 50 USDT
Receiving, storage and dispatch into Full. No contract, no minimum volume.
Let us look at your case
Tell us what your product is and where you plan to sell — we will run the economics and tell you whether Argentina makes sense for you.