Argentina’s economic crisis impacts e-commerce! Meiquduo raises commission fees!

Meiquduo increases commission fees due to Argentina's economic crisis affecting e-commerce

BusinessDialogue has learned that the economic crisis in Argentina has impacted e-commerce. Due to the local macroeconomic situation, Mercado Libre announced an increase in commission starting on May 23. This will increase the operating costs for sellers on the platform. The commission increase will not only affect the prices for users purchasing with credit cards, but also impact sellers who have Mercado Shops stores.

Mercado Libre stated: “Due to the macroeconomic background, we will have to update the commission of Mercado Libre and the cost of the quota provided in the advanced sales products of Mercado Shops. Our sales expenses and the financing provided in Clásica will not change.”

Therefore, sellers who offer installment payments at the “same price” should pay attention to these increases:

• 3 installments: 13.30%

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• 6 installments: 23%

• 3 installments Now 12: 10.36%

• 6 installments Now 12: 19.31%

• 12 installments Now 12: 34.45%

• 24 installments Now 24: 56.36%

• For products below $8,000, the fixed cost per unit sold is $150 to $200

• The sales cost for some products below $8,000 will increase by an additional 2 percentage points

The cost of Mercado Libre’s free delivery service will also increase by 20%. In addition, the commission increase in Mercado Shops will be 10%. Sellers will receive up to 50% discount in Premium, which will become 45%.

There are 3 ways to list products on Mercado Libre, with different costs and benefits:

1.- Classic special sale

For this type of product, Mercado Libre will charge a fee of 12% to 16.5% of the sales price based on the product category. For products originally priced below $8,000, there was a fixed cost of $150 per unit sold. Starting on May 23, this will increase to $200. In this mode, products will be visible indefinitely and have high exposure in the listing, but sellers will not be able to offer quotas based on their published prices.

For example, two backpacks from the classic publication type are sold for $7,500, with a cost of:

• Classic sale ($15,000, 15.5% discount): $2,325

• Selling 2 items: $30,000

• Total sales: $2,625

However, supermarket products (food, beverages, hygiene and cleaning) exempt additional unit fixed costs.

2.- Advanced

In this case, Mercado Libre retains 31.5% to 36% of sales, depending on the product category, plus from May 23, the fixed sales cost per unit for products under $8,000 will increase from $150 to $200. The exposure rate in the listing will be maximized, but six quotas can also be provided at the published price.

3.- Free

Although sellers can only list for free for 60 days and the exposure rate of listings is lower, it is possible to achieve up to 20 second-hand sales or 5 new sales. In both cases, a maximum of 10 products can be listed at once, and the minimum inventory is 1. However, installment payments cannot be provided, unlike the advanced mode that even allows you to use the Ahora 12 program and pay the corresponding sales fees according to the number of payments.

Mercado Libre: which withholdings apply to sales

1. VAT and income

The registered administrator will receive these withholding taxes and they will apply to all fees depending on the payment method.

Monotributistas, micro-enterprises, and potential micro-enterprises are excluded from these withholding taxes, although there are exceptions in the case of VAT in Monotributo.

2. Total Revenue

The withholding tax on total revenue varies depending on the jurisdiction in which the sales occur and the amount collected. The percentage ranges from 0.1% to 7%.

Batista believes, “These amounts apply to the service costs provided by MercadoLibre, which can be avoided or reduced through proper tax registration.”

MercadoLibre: What are the withholding taxes for credit card payments?

“In compliance with SIRTAC’s jurisdiction, this is a unified credit card withholding tax system. The withholding tax is managed by the tax authority’s registration table published monthly, and if applicable, the rate indicated in the fee charged will apply,” Batista said.

Other jurisdictions are not subject to the registration table’s jurisdiction, and their withholding taxes are calculated based on their tax status in different provincial tax authorities. For example, in the city of Buenos Aires, if registration is not done in AGIP’s total revenue, and there are 25 or more sales in a month exceeding $12,500, a withholding tax of 2% will be levied on each collection.

If registration is not done in the jurisdiction where the transaction occurred but in another jurisdiction, SIRTAC will apply a withholding tax of 1.5%. If not registered in total revenue and sales occur within SIRTAC’s jurisdiction, a withholding tax of 3% will be charged.

In addition, withholding taxes apply when habitual transactions occur in online sales. That is, at least 10 transactions occur in a month with a minimum amount of $50,000.

BusinessDialogue understands that if they occur in Córdoba, La Pampa, Santa Fe, or Tucumán, and the subject is not registered in total revenue, withholding taxes will be applied. The rate will depend on the jurisdiction where the sales occur, the amount collected, and the invoice amount.

The author of this article is Estella/AMZ123.

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