What is the RIGI and who qualifies?

Last verified: 27 Oct 2026 · Status: Changing

Short answer. The RIGI is Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (Law 27.742, Title VII). A single project vehicle investing at least US$ 200 million (US$ 300 million or US$ 600 million in some oil and gas subsectors) in eight sectors gets 25% income tax, faster depreciation, customs and FX relief, and 30 years of stability. Applications close in July 2027.

As of 26 Oct 2026. Rules in force at that date.

Key rules

What it is. Created by Title VII (arts. 164 to 228) of Law 27.742 (BO 8 July 2024) and regulated by the Annex to Decree 749/2024, as amended. The Ministry of Economy runs it (Annex, art. 122).

Who can apply. Only a single project vehicle (Vehículo de Proyecto Único, VPU): an SA, SAU or SRL, a registered foreign branch, a "dedicated branch" of an existing company, or a UTE, holding one project and nothing else (Law 27.742, arts. 169 and 170). The SAS is not listed. Convicted tax, customs or FX offenders, bankrupts and holders of unpaid final tax debts are barred (art. 171).

Which sectors. Forestry industry, tourism, infrastructure, mining, technology, steel, energy, and oil and gas (art. 167), defined in Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 3(n).

How much. At least US$ 200,000,000 in computable assets, with sector minimums capped at US$ 900,000,000, and 40% of the minimum invested within two years of notification of approval (art. 173). The current table, set by Decree 105/2026, art. 5 (new Annex art. 29), keeps US$ 200 million everywhere except US$ 600 million for new onshore oil and gas developments and for gas production for export, and US$ 300 million for hydrocarbon transport and storage (net of VAT).

Deadline. Two years from entry into force, extendable once by up to one year (art. 168). Decree 105/2026, art. 1 (BO 19 Feb 2026) used that extension, counted from 8 July 2026, so the window closes in July 2027 (unconfirmed). The law allows no second extension; only Congress could reopen it.

Benefits. Income tax at a flat 25% instead of the 25%, 30% and 35% scale (art. 183(a)); optional accelerated depreciation, applied to all the VPU's investments once chosen (art. 183(b); Annex, art. 69(d)); unlimited loss carryforward (art. 183(c)); dividends at 7%, then 3.5% after seven years (arts. 184 and 185); VAT on capital goods paid with tax credit certificates (art. 187); no import duties on new capital goods (art. 190); no export duties after three years (art. 191); export proceeds freed from FX conversion, 20% after two years, 40% after three, 100% after four from start up (art. 198); and 30 years of tax, customs and FX stability (art. 201).

Approved projects so far. Infoleg lists 26 Ministry of Economy approval resolutions, from Res. 1/2025 (BO 8 Jan 2025) to Res. 1848/2026 (BO 22 Oct 2026), in mining, oil and gas, energy, infrastructure and technology. Count as of 26 Oct 2026; it may be incomplete (unconfirmed). The Ministry reported 16 approved projects (US$ 29,892 million) and 25 under evaluation (US$ 111,037 million) on 11 June 2026; no later official total was found (unconfirmed). Live list: /data/rigi/.

What changes the answer

Subsector. New onshore oil and gas or gas for export needs US$ 600 million; transport and storage US$ 300 million (Annex, art. 29).
Strategic export projects need US$ 2,000 million but get FX and export duty relief a year earlier (arts. 191 and 198; Annex, art. 32).
Province. Local tax stability depends on provincial adhesion (arts. 224 and 225).

Worked examples

A hypothetical energy VPU invests US$ 300 million: US$ 200 million of equipment (10 year life) and US$ 100 million of works (2% a year in the general regime, Income Tax Law art. 87). It earns US$ 60 million a year before depreciation and tax. Pesos at dólar MEP ARS 1,563.90 per US$ on 23 Oct 2026, dólar MEP selling rate (dolarapi.com)'s rate. General regime: ARCA 2026 scale. Inflation ignored.

Step or item	Time	Cost ARS	Cost USD
Computable investment	By the deadline in the approval act	469,170,000,000	300,000,000
Minimum due in years 1 and 2 (40% of US$ 200m)	2 years from notification	125,112,000,000	80,000,000
Income before depreciation and tax	Each year	93,834,000,000	60,000,000
Income tax, Year 1, general (RIGI: 0)	Year 1	20,726,437,197.85	13,253,045
Income tax, Years 1 to 4, general	Years 1 to 4	82,905,748,791.40	53,012,180
Income tax, Years 1 to 4, RIGI	Years 1 to 4	10,426,000,000	6,666,667
Income tax, steady year, general	Year 11	31,673,737,197.85	20,253,045
Income tax, steady year, RIGI	Year 11	22,155,250,000	14,166,667

Step by step:

General regime: depreciation 312,780,000,000 ÷ 10 plus 2% of 156,390,000,000 = 34,405,800,000. Taxable 59,428,200,000. Tax = 393,866,847.93 + 35% × (59,428,200,000 minus 1,335,141,857.38) = ARS 20,726,437,197.85 a year.
RIGI depreciation: equipment ÷ 2 = 156,390,000,000 in Years 1 and 2 (art. 183(b)(i)); works over 30 years, 60% of 50 (art. 183(b)(ii)): 5,213,000,000.
RIGI Years 1 to 3: losses of 67,769,000,000 in each of Years 1 and 2; Year 3 income of 88,621,000,000 leaves 46,917,000,000 of loss to carry forward (art. 183(c)). Tax: zero.
RIGI Year 4: (88,621,000,000 minus 46,917,000,000) × 25% = ARS 10,426,000,000.
Four years: RIGI saves or defers ARS 72,479,748,791.40 (US$ 46,345,514), much of it timing.
Steady year: 25% against an effective 34.92% saves ARS 9,518,487,197.85 (US$ 6,086,378) a year. Dividends abroad pay 7% in both regimes, 3.5% under RIGI after seven years (art. 185).
FX: a general exporter must bring in and sell its export dollars (Decree 609/2019, art. 1; BCRA FX rules, point 7.1.1). The VPU keeps 20%, 40%, then 100% abroad from years two, three and four after start up (art. 198; point 14.1.2). Export duties end three years after adhesion (art. 191); the general rate depends on the product.

Cost to do it: no government filing fee found in the sources (unconfirmed); capital of US$ 300 million (US$ 80 million within two years); decision within 45 business days of a complete file, longer if information is requested (Annex, arts. 54 and 55).

Practical traps

Filing late. Rejections cannot be appealed, only refiled twice in the same calendar year (art. 177; Annex, art. 58). A mid 2027 filing leaves no room.
Wrong vehicle. An SAS or a company with other businesses cannot apply as is (arts. 169 and 170).
Not everything is frozen. Social security contributions and VAT rate increases are outside stability (art. 202).

FAQ

Can a smaller project use RIGI? No, US$ 200 million is the floor (art. 173). Mid sized projects can look at RIMI (Law 27.802, Title XXIII), not combinable with RIGI for the same investment (art. 184(f)).

When do the benefits start? From the adhesion date: the filing date, or the later date the file was completed (art. 177).

Is the 25% rate locked for 30 years? Yes, and if the general rate falls the VPU benefits (arts. 201 and 202).

Published 27 Oct 2026 from our research draft. Points marked (unconfirmed) have not yet been checked against the official text; rely on the primary sources linked below.