Business
SAS incorporation and a maquila regime for export manufacturing
Companies are formed under the Código Civil and Ley 1034 on merchants, with the sociedad anónima and SRL as traditional vehicles. Ley 6480 of 2020 created the empresa por acciones simplificada (EAS), allowing single-shareholder electronic incorporation. Paraguay's maquila regime under Ley 1064 taxes qualifying export manufacturing at 1 percent of value added.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, with registries under the Dirección General de Registros Públicos
- Deadline — EAS: electronic registration typically completed within days
- Deadline — Annual balance sheet filed with the Abogacía del Tesoro and the tax authority
Governing law
- Código Civil Paraguayo
- Ley 6480/2020 - Empresas por Acciones Simplificadas
- Ley 1064/1997 - De la Industria Maquiladora de Exportación
In practice
The maquila regime is Paraguay's signature industrial policy instrument: a company importing inputs duty-free and exporting the finished product pays a single 1 percent tax on national value added, which combined with low energy costs has attracted substantial Brazilian and Argentine manufacturing. The EAS was introduced to reduce formation time and cost, which had been a recognised competitiveness weakness.