🇨🇴 Mercado Libre in Colombia

A growing market with the most recent fee overhaul: Mercado Libre dropped listing types and moved to a single rate.

53.9 Mpopulation

#1marketplace in the country

8–22%single fee

40%duty on clothing from China

Mercado Libre fees and charges

What the marketplace withholds on every sale. Check the exact rate for your category in your seller dashboard.

Sales fee

8–22%

A single rate: it depends on the category and on how many interest-free instalments you offer the buyer.

Listing types

Discontinued

The Clásica/Premium split no longer exists in Colombia — this is a recent change, and almost every guide online has yet to catch up.

Flat fee

Removed

There is no separate flat fee in the new model. If you cannot see it in your dashboard, that is how it should be.

Minimum item price

2 900 COP (≈ USD 0.9)

You cannot list below this — the listing will be rejected.

Shipping

The biggest cost after the fee — and the main reason cheap products go into the red.

Free-shipping threshold

from COP 60,000 (≈ USD 19)

Above this price you pay for shipping.

If the item is below the threshold

The buyer pays for shipping

You have no logistics cost.

Volumetric weight

L×W×H ÷ 4505

An unusual divisor — 4,505, not a round 5,000. On bulky goods the error shows up clearly.

Rates

Published by reputation tier

Full tables are in the marketplace help centre — the rate depends on weight, price and your reputation.

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.

For an individual or sole trader: Persona Natural (RST)

A simplified regime: 1.6% of turnover at the first tier, then 2.0%, 3.5% and 4.5%. IVA does not apply up to roughly COP 183 M a year.

For a company: S.A.S.

IVA 19% on the markup, renta 35% on profit, ICA around 0.45% of turnover — ICA is paid in the city goods are shipped from, not the buyer's city.

Imports and customs

Two import channels with different economics. Picking the wrong channel costs more than picking the wrong product.

Air parcel

Zero duty on values up to USD 200 regardless of origin. Duty-free entry with zero IVA applies only to goods from the United States.

Container

Duty by tariff code + 19% IVA. Clothing from countries without an agreement: 40% under Decreto 2598.

Footwear

Not covered by the 40%: a 35% rate applies below the price threshold.

Agent

A customs agency is formally required from USD 1,000.

What you need to start

The order of steps specific to Colombia — it differs from the rest of the region.

Register a RUT and decide on your responsable de IVA status
Check whether your product falls under the 40% clothing duty or the footwear thresholds
Account for the ICA of the city you ship from
Check your own fee rate in the dashboard — the single-rate model is not documented everywhere yet
Factor the free-shipping threshold into your price

Frequently asked questions

Is it true that Clásica and Premium no longer exist in Colombia?

Yes. Mercado Libre moved the country to a single 8–22% fee: the rate depends on the category and the number of interest-free instalments, and there is no separate flat fee in the new model. Guides describing listing types are out of date.

What is the duty on clothing from China?

40% under Decreto 2598 — one of the highest rates in the region. Note that the 40% applies only to clothing in tariff chapters 61–62. Footwear is not included; a 35% rate applies below the price threshold.

Is a parcel up to USD 200 taxed?

No duty is charged on values up to USD 200 regardless of the country of dispatch. Full exemption including IVA, however, applies only to goods from the United States.