Business
Ley 16.060 companies plus the 2019 SAS and free zones
Ley 16.060 governs commercial companies, principally the sociedad anónima and SRL, supervised by the Auditoría Interna de la Nación. Ley 19.820 of 2019 created the sociedad por acciones simplificada (SAS) with single-shareholder electronic formation. Uruguay's free-zone regime under Ley 15.921 offers wide tax exemptions and hosts substantial services and logistics operations.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, with the Registro Nacional de Comercio and AIN oversight
- Deadline — SAS: registration through the electronic system, generally within days
- Deadline — Annual financial statements filed with the Auditoría Interna de la Nación
Governing law
- Ley 16.060 - Sociedades Comerciales
- Ley 19.820/2019 - Sociedades por Acciones Simplificadas
- Ley 15.921 - Zonas Francas
In practice
Free-zone users are exempt from essentially all national taxes on their activity in exchange for employment and investment commitments, which is why Zonamerica and similar parks host regional shared-service centres. The SAS was introduced partly to give startups an alternative to the shelf-company market that had grown around the slower SA formation process.