Supermarket Claims in Argentina Could Affect Cryptocurrency Use

• The ASU aims to curb the tax asymmetry between physical commerce and informal businesses.
• Some applications that facilitate payments with cryptocurrencies would be impacted by the measure.

The Association of United Supermarkets (ASU) formally requested the Ministry of Economy, led by Luis Caputo, to intervene to achieve the immediate adherence of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA), Santa Fe, and La Pampa to the Computerized System for Collection and Control of Payment Account Accreditations (Sircupa).

This mechanism, managed by the Multilateral Agreement Arbitration Commission, allows withholding the Gross Income Tax on transactions made through virtual wallets.

In a statement sent to the National Government, the entity that groups the main chains in the country demanded that competitive equity in the retail sector be guaranteed.

According to their statements, formal commerce operates under a strictly regulated banking scheme, where automatic withholdings occur through the traditional Sircreb system. In contrast, they warn that a considerable segment of informal competition uses payment accounts without direct fiscal impact in those three jurisdictions, which are the only ones that have not yet integrated into Sircupa.

The executive director of ASU, Juan Vasco Martínez, emphasized that the massive use of digital applications for sales, without the corresponding regulation, acts as an incentive for evasion and turns these means into an ideal vehicle for omitting tax declarations. This dynamic, they argue from the business chamber, punishes those who operate within the law and indirectly benefits those who trade outside it.

The response of the mentioned districts to the claim is not uniform. While CABA and Santa Fe maintained public silence in response to inquiries, the Minister of Economy of La Pampa, Guido Bisterfeld, anticipated his rejection. The official argued that adhering to this system would imply adding fiscal pressure on a predominantly informal economic sector that is already suffering the consequences of the current national economic model.

Full incorporation into this regime would reach traditional payment service providers but would have a direct impact on those operating with bitcoin (BTC), USDT, and other cryptocurrencies through platforms such as Lemon or Belo, which facilitate payments via prepaid cards and QR codes compatible with the <>.

The technical reason for this link is the operational functioning of these applications: when making a payment in a store, the user does not transfer the digital asset directly to the seller. The system executes an automatic sale of the bitcoin (or whatever cryptocurrency it may be) for Argentine pesos to settle the purchase. Once that conversion and the subsequent crediting of the local currency occur, the operation enters the oversight scheme like any virtual wallet, enabling the corresponding tax withholding in the adhering jurisdictions.

The ASU emphasized that its request does not seek the creation of a new tax or an increase in current rates, but rather to expand the tax base on competitors who currently evade the tax.

Although there is still no certainty about what the final response will be, it is expected that the request from the supermarket operators will be rejected by the national government, considering its promises ---as CriptoNoticias has been reporting--- of tax reduction and deregulation in everything that imposes barriers to free trade.

It is worth clarifying that in Argentina, the term <> ---as used in this news--- does not refer to a cryptocurrency wallet, but is used to refer to mobile applications managed by Payment Service Providers (PSP), which operate independently of traditional banking.

These fintech platforms ---such as Mercado Pago and options that integrate digital assets, like Lemon or Belo--- function as financial tools for mass and everyday use to make payments via QR codes and immediate transfers.

Their high penetration in retail and informal commerce has made them the main alternative to cash and traditional bank accounts, channeling a large part of daily transactions that now large supermarket chains demand to be subjected to the same controls and tax withholdings that govern the formal financial system.

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