Bolivia Temporarily Reduces Import Tariffs: Legal and Business Implications of Supreme Decree No. 5646
Supreme Decree No. 5646 reduces customs duties by five percentage points across the tariff universe and modifies relevant rules for determining the customs taxable base.
Supreme Decree No. 5646, issued on 29 June 2026, introduces a temporary reduction of Bolivia’s Customs Duty (Gravamen Arancelario) applicable to imports. The measure will remain in force until 31 December 2027 and is part of the regulatory response to the establishment of a flexible exchange-rate regime for the boliviano against the U.S. dollar.
The logic is straightforward. If a more flexible exchange rate increases the local-currency cost of imports, tariff policy can be used as a partial shock absorber. It does not remove exchange-rate pressure, but it may soften its transmission into the final cost of imported goods, productive inputs and consumer products.
From a business perspective, the Decree is relevant for importers, distributors, retailers, manufacturers dependent on foreign inputs, logistics operators, customs brokers and companies with international supply contracts.
A general five-percentage-point tariff reduction
The Decree reduces the Customs Duty rate by five percentage points for imports of goods across the entire tariff universe of the 2026 Customs Import Tariff.
The reduction applies as follows:
- 40% becomes 35%;
- 35% becomes 30%;
- 30% becomes 25%;
- 25% becomes 20%;
- 20% becomes 15%;
- 15% becomes 10%;
- 10% becomes 5%;
- 5% becomes 0%.
This is a horizontal measure. It is not limited to one sector or a closed list of products, although the Decree includes transitional rules for goods already subject to special temporary tariff regimes.
The context: flexible exchange rate and import costs
One of the most important recitals of the Decree expressly links the measure to the new exchange-rate framework. The Government states that, due to the establishment of a flexible exchange rate between the boliviano and the U.S. dollar, tariff and customs measures are needed to mitigate the impact that the exchange-rate adjustment may have on import costs, with the aim of benefiting final consumers.
This links exchange-rate policy with trade policy. In an economy that depends on imports for consumer goods, spare parts, machinery, medicines, technology, fuel, processed foods and industrial inputs, depreciation or exchange-rate volatility can quickly feed into prices.
The tariff reduction operates as a cushion. It does not eliminate the currency effect, but it lowers one component of the import cost structure.
Change to the customs taxable base
The Decree also amends Article 20 of the Regulations to the General Customs Law, approved by Supreme Decree No. 25870.
Under the new rule, the taxable base for calculating Customs Duty consists of:
- the transaction value of the goods;
- loading and unloading costs;
- plus 10% of the cost of transport and insurance up to the border customs office.
For air transport, the air freight cost included in the customs CIF value will be 10% of the amount actually paid for that concept.
This change may be significant, especially where transport and insurance represent a meaningful component of the import cost. In practical terms, it reduces the portion of freight and insurance included in the Customs Duty calculation base, which may lower the cost of import clearance in certain cases.
Companies should review customs documentation, freight invoices, insurance documentation, CIF/FOB structures and logistics contracts.
Transitional regime for goods under special tariff decrees
The Decree includes a specific transitional rule for goods already covered by an existing Supreme Decree that temporarily modifies the Customs Duty.
In those cases, the goods will continue to benefit from the special tariff rates until expiry, provided those rates are lower than those established by Supreme Decree No. 5646. Once the special regime expires, the rates will adjust to the new temporary framework.
This point matters for sectors that already benefited from specific reductions, such as certain inputs, capital goods, machinery or strategic products. The rule prevents a lower special benefit from being displaced by the new general framework.
Practical implications for companies
The Decree may have a direct effect on the cost structure of importers and companies with international supply chains.
Key items to review include:
- tariff classification of imported products;
- actual impact of the five-percentage-point reduction by tariff line;
- import clearance costs;
- treatment of freight and insurance in the taxable base;
- international sales contracts;
- Incoterms;
- logistics and insurance contracts;
- transfer pricing, where relevant;
- inventory in transit;
- pricing strategies for clients and distributors;
- commercial margins;
- import budgets through December 2027.
The tariff reduction may be particularly relevant for companies with high import volumes or tight margins, where a five-point change can affect prices, inventories and profitability.
Useful relief, but not structural reform
The tariff reduction should be understood as a relief measure, not a structural reform of foreign trade.
In a flexible exchange-rate environment, the main pressure on import costs may still come from the foreign-exchange market, availability of dollars, international logistics costs, payment terms, trade finance and domestic demand.
For this reason, the Decree should not be read only as a tariff reduction. For companies, it is an opportunity to recalibrate sourcing, pricing and contractual decisions in a more volatile economic environment.
Recommendations
Companies importing goods into Bolivia should consider:
- reviewing imported tariff lines and applicable new rates;
- quantifying potential savings by product or business line;
- assessing the effect of the new treatment of freight and insurance on the taxable base;
- identifying goods covered by special tariff decrees;
- updating pricing models and import budgets;
- reviewing contracts with suppliers, distributors and customers;
- assessing whether commercial terms or prices should be renegotiated;
- coordinating with customs brokers, finance teams and procurement departments;
- monitoring the temporary validity of the benefit until 31 December 2027.
Conclusion
Supreme Decree No. 5646 introduces an important measure for Bolivian foreign trade: a general and temporary reduction of Customs Duty, coupled with a change in how the customs taxable base is calculated for transport and insurance.
For companies, the measure may partially ease import costs at a time of exchange-rate adjustment. But its value will depend on how it is translated into concrete decisions on sourcing, logistics, contracts, pricing and inventory planning.
The opportunity is not simply to pay less Customs Duty. It is to use this temporary window to review foreign-trade strategy in an economic environment that is more flexible, more uncertain and likely more demanding.
