Investment Incentives in Argentina: RIGI, RIMI and Which One Applies to Your Project

Argentina now runs two parallel investment incentive regimes. They are frequently discussed together and they have almost nothing in common — different statutes, different thresholds, different benefits, different applicants.

Most coverage aimed at foreign investors describes the larger one and stops. That leaves the more common case unanswered: a company planning a real but mid-sized investment, well below the headline thresholds, wondering which door applies to it. Often the honest answer is neither, and knowing that early saves months.

Start with the threshold

The Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), created by the Bases Act, has a general floor of USD 200 million in computable assets, with sector-specific figures set higher — up to USD 900 million in some cases. Decree 105/2026 added a category for new onshore oil and gas developments with a floor of USD 600 million.

The Medium Investment Incentive Regime (RIMI), created by Title XXIII of the Labour Modernisation Act, works from the opposite end. Its minimum investment amounts are:

• Micro enterprises — USD 150,000
• Small enterprises — USD 600,000
• Medium enterprises, Tier 1 — USD 3.5 million
• Medium enterprises, Tier 2 — USD 9 million

Between USD 9 million and USD 200 million there is no dedicated regime. Projects in that band rely on the ordinary tax system, sector-specific frameworks or provincial incentives. This gap is real and it catches a large share of foreign mid-market investment.

RIGI: what it offers, and where to read about it

For projects that clear the threshold, RIGI is substantial: a reduced income tax rate, exemption from export duties, VAT treatment in the pre-operative phase, thirty years of regulatory stability, and access to international arbitration. Adherence runs through a dedicated single-project vehicle, and the window for applications was extended by Decree 105/2026 to 8 July 2027.

We maintain a detailed guide to RIGI, including the vehicle structure, the admission process and the exchange-control benefits, in the context of the Neuquén Basin where the majority of approved projects sit. If your project is at RIGI scale, start there: RIGI: an executive guide for investors.

One caution on the public numbers. Approved project counts and committed investment figures are reported inconsistently across sources and move every few weeks. Treat any specific figure as a snapshot with a date on it.

A further regime aimed at newer industries — data centres, artificial intelligence, copper refining, lithium batteries — was announced in May 2026 and sent to Congress. It is a bill, not law. It should not form part of an investment decision taken today.

RIMI: the regime almost nobody has explained in English

RIMI was created by Title XXIII of Law 27,802, regulated by Decree 242/2026 (in force 13 April 2026) and completed operationally by Joint General Resolution 5849/2026 of the tax authority together with the Energy and Agriculture Secretariats, published on 19 May 2026.

Who qualifies. Micro, small and medium enterprises up to Tier 2, plus certain non-profit entities meeting equivalent turnover parameters. Applicants must fall within the relevant provision of the income tax law.

What is covered. Acquisition, manufacture or import of new movable goods — capital goods and IT equipment, excluding automobiles — and works for productive activity. Financial assets and inventory are excluded. Works already under way may be included where progress was below 30% at the relevant cut-off date.

The benefits. Accelerated depreciation for income tax purposes — movable goods in two equal annual instalments, works with useful life reduced to 60% of the ordinary period — and early refund of VAT tax credits not absorbed, subject to an annual quota fixed in the budget.

A category with no minimum. Irrigation systems and equipment, anti-hail netting for agriculture, high-efficiency energy equipment and breeding livestock of superior genetics qualify without meeting an investment floor.

The formal requirements are strict. A valid MiPyME Certificate at the start of the fiscal year in which the first investment is made, correct characterisation in the tax authority’s registry, and absence of liquid and enforceable tax debts. The Energy and Agriculture Secretariats may conduct field audits at any time. Registration runs through a dedicated online investment management system.

The question a foreign investor has to ask first ⚠️

The statute creating RIMI expressly refers to encouraging domestic and foreign medium-sized investment. Access, however, runs through the MiPyME Certificate — and MiPyME classification takes account of a company’s links to larger economic groups.

For an Argentine company wholly owned by a substantial foreign parent, whether that certificate can be obtained is the threshold question, and it must be answered before any planning is built on RIMI. It is a question of certification criteria applied to the specific ownership chain, not one that can be resolved from the text of the incentive regime. Get it answered first. A project structured around benefits the company turns out not to qualify for is worse than a project structured without them.

Other risks ⚠️

Assuming RIGI applies because the total project is large. The threshold is measured against computable assets under defined rules, not against a press release figure.

Treating the announced new-industries regime as available. It is a bill.

Missing the RIMI window. The regime operates over a two-year investment period. Companies that spend the first year deciding lose it.

Formal disqualification. An expired certificate or an outstanding tax debt removes eligibility regardless of the merits of the investment.

What to do 📌

• Size the investment properly against each regime’s definition of computable assets before assuming which applies.
• Resolve the MiPyME certification question for your ownership structure as the first step, not the last.
• Confirm current operational status. RIMI’s management system and certain complementary rules were still being rolled out through mid-2026. Verify what is live before filing.
• Check provincial and sector regimes if you fall in the gap between the two national schemes.
• Keep tax compliance clean from incorporation — eligibility depends on it.
• Diarise 8 July 2027 if RIGI is in play.

The strategic view

Argentina has built genuine incentives at both ends of the size distribution, and both are more attractive than what existed five years ago. The regimes are also new, administratively demanding and, in RIMI’s case, still settling.

The mistake to avoid is designing an investment around a benefit before confirming eligibility for it. Incentives should improve the return on a project that works anyway — and the return only materialises if profits can eventually leave, which is a separate question. A project that only works with the incentive is a project with a regulatory dependency at its centre.

If you want your project assessed against both regimes — including the certification question that determines whether RIMI is available at all — get in touch.