He Executive power signed a decree imposing a new rate of $2.10 more VAT for those passengers who enter or leave the country by air maritime or river, as a “security service” to effectively implement the border control system.
In total, the value will be 2.56 dollars, according to the text that bears the president’s signature Luis Lacalle Pou. The new system is expected to come into effect in May, thereby the new rate would begin to take effect from that month and would affect the next season of cruise ships.
The decree establishes that “international maritime or river passenger transportation companies that operate in any of the ports will be responsible for collecting the Price per Security Service to each of its passengers”.
The amount will be charged when the tickets are issued and the companies will become retention agents of the amounts. In the case of passengers cruise ships who enter or leave the country, the collection and retention of the fee will be the responsibility of the maritime agency to which the vessel is consigned.
The monthly collection of the fee carried out by the corresponding maritime and river agencies will be retained by them and then “discharged in arrears to the provider of the border control system awarded within the framework of the aforementioned International Public Tender No. 19/2022”.
In turn, the National Immigration Directorate was authorized to charge passengers up to a maximum of 3% plus VAT, “for the purposes of covering the administrative costs of companies that act as withholding agents, and may authorize them to receive said sum directly from them.” All these obligations will come into force once the border control system is operational.
The government defended the new river tax
At the time, faced with criticism of the new system, the Undersecretary of Tourism, Remo Monzeglio, He assured in dialogue with Channel 10 that “it does not seem exaggerated to add 2 dollars to add a better and more modern service.”
Monzeglio indicated that “the world is changing and many countries are applying this type of measures because there is an increase in costs in a framework where the tourism massive, predator, is back.”
It is worth noting that the new mechanism enables the analysis of the risk level of people who cross the border and the search in lists of Interpol of citizens Uruguayans and foreigners, which will optimize alerts.
Source: Ambito
