Customs and duty free

Unusually, you can buy duty-free goods on arrival at Ezeiza Airport, though the shops are small and pricey, and you can also buy products on the boats to Uruguay.

No duties are charged on clothing, personal effects or toiletries. Cameras, laptops, binoculars, mp3 players and other things which a tourist normally carries are duty-free if they have been used and only 1 of each article is carried. This is also true of scientific and professional instruments for personal use. Travellers may only bring in new personal goods up to a value of US$300 (US$100 from neighbouring countries). The duty and tax payable amounts to 50% of the item's cost. At the airport, make sure you have the baggage claim tag (usually stuck to your ticket or boarding card), as these are inspected at the exit from the customs inspection area. 2 litres of alcoholic drink, 400 cigarettes and 50 cigars are also allowed in duty-free. For tourists originating from neighbouring countries the quantities allowed are 1 litre of alcoholic drink, 200 cigarettes and 20 cigars.

If you have packages sent to Argentina, the green customs label should not be used unless the contents are of real value and you expect to pay duty. For such things as books or samples use the white label if available. A heavy tax is imposed on packages sent to Argentina by courier.