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New regulations set to transform cross-border digital commerce, compliance, and platform liability
Chile has intensified its digital tax enforcement strategy by releasing two key regulatory circulars, Circulars 38/2025 and 39/2025 9, which clarified new VAT obligations for online marketplace operators and foreign sellers. The measures, part of the country’s broader 2024 tax reform, are set to come into force in stages beginning October 2025.
The rules aim to bring digital commerce, particularly foreign e-commerce, and marketplace transactions, more squarely within the national VAT regime by introducing clear liability frameworks for platforms and streamlined compliance for low-value goods entering the country.
Marketplace VAT Liability Redefined
Circular 39/2025, published by Chile’s tax authority (SII) on 30 April 2025, establishes that online platforms facilitating transactions between non-VAT-registered parties will be liable for VAT, provided they economically exploit the platform in Chile. If neither the seller nor the buyer is a VAT taxpayer, the responsibility falls to the platform to charge and remit VAT.
In practical terms, the liability shifts depending on both parties’ tax status and residency. Chilean sellers retain primary responsibility if they are registered VAT taxpayers. However, if they fail to confirm their status with the platform operator, the burden reverts to the platform.
Even when registered under simplified VAT regimes, foreign sellers place VAT responsibility on the platform unless fully formalized under Chilean tax law. A similar rule applies to buyers’ platforms, which are liable unless the buyer proactively declares themselves a VAT taxpayer.
“These rules are a firm step toward ensuring VAT parity between domestic and international e-commerce operators,” said a Santiago-based tax expert. “But they place heavy operational demands on platforms, especially verifying user tax status.”
Low-Value Goods: Simplified Yet Stringent
Also, effective 25 October 2025, Chile’s VAT regime for international sales of low-value goods under USD 500 per item will follow a “remote sale” model. Goods are deemed taxable if destined for Chile, as indicated by the shipping address or similar terms.
Sellers and platforms must charge VAT at the point of sale, even when operating abroad. Buyers declaring VAT taxpayer status will be responsible for paying import VAT. The onus falls on the seller or platform if no such declaration is made.
One notable feature is the exemption from import VAT if the transaction VAT was already collected and reported by the platform, avoiding double taxation. However, the accuracy of such exemptions will be subject to strict regulatory verification.
Compliance Obligations Escalate
Circular 38/2025, also released on 30 April, introduces robust compliance mandates for platforms and payment processors. From October 2025, digital intermediaries must ensure sellers have officially initiated business activities with the tax authority before offering services.
Beginning in 2026, this compliance verification will shift to a biannual cadence, and platforms will face withholding obligations where sellers fail to demonstrate proper tax registration. The latter will bear sole responsibility for the VAT withholding in cases involving digital platforms and payment providers.
“These rules create a compliance chain reaching across international borders, but they’re also an implicit warning: if you facilitate sales in Chile, you’re now a tax gatekeeper,” said a partner at a multinational e-commerce firm.
Further guidance from Chile’s tax and customs authorities is expected in the coming months, particularly on operational definitions for payment “authorization” and “processing” responsibilities.
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