🇺🇾 Mercado Libre in Uruguay
A small market with the highest purchasing power in the region and the simplest route to operating legally — «the Switzerland of Latin America».
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 flat IVA mínimo of about UYU 5,910 a month covers both VAT and profit tax. The turnover limit is roughly UYU 1.96 M a year. One payment instead of an accounting department.
IVA 22% on the markup and IRAE 25% on profit. Required for importing and for recovering customs taxes.
Imports and customs
Two import channels with different economics. Picking the wrong channel costs more than picking the wrong product.
A flat 60% of value, minimum USD 20. The regime officially allows commercial shipments — expensive, but legal.
Up to USD 800 a year and no more than three parcels — strictly personal use, not suitable for resale.
Duty + 5% consular fee (3% for Mercosur) + 22% IVA with prepayment + 4% IRAE prepayment.
A despachante is required by law, and their services start at USD 800 per shipment.
Open the PRO bundle →
350 $ 50 USDT
What you need to start
The order of steps specific to Uruguay — it differs from the rest of the region.
- Open a unipersonal under Literal E — literally one day and zero state fees
- Switch to the general regime to import: an individual is allowed only two imports a year
- Find a despachante in advance — a container will not clear without one
- For textiles, apply for an import licence
- Check the UYU 1,000 threshold against your price
Useful reading
Breakdowns from our blog, with examples and numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Uruguay called the Switzerland of Latin America?
A small population — about 3.4 million — but the highest purchasing power in the region, a stable currency and predictable legislation. The market is narrow, but people can pay.
What is Literal E?
A simplified regime for small businesses: a single flat payment of about UYU 5,910 a month covers both VAT and profit tax, on turnover up to roughly UYU 1.96 M a year. For a start-up it is the easiest entry in the region.
Can you bring goods in by parcel to resell?
Yes — the flat 60% tax regime officially allows commercial shipments. Expensive and non-recoverable, but legal. The USD 800 franquicia, however, is strictly for personal use and cannot be used for resale.
Tools for Uruguay
Fees, shipping, instalments and taxes in Uruguay — 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 Uruguay makes sense for you.