Parcels from the UK to Argentina: Couriers, Customs and What Gets Stuck

A parcel with a deadline is usually better sent by DHL, FedEx or UPS: an express courier tracks it through Argentine customs and typically delivers in 3–6 working days. Royal Mail costs less, but Correo Argentino takes over after arrival and the journey can stretch to weeks. For a personal shipment worth up to US$400 FOB, neither route attracts import duty or the statistics fee under the small-shipment allowance; 21% IVA (Argentine VAT), any applicable internal taxes and clearance charges still matter. A gift counts just like a purchase towards the five allowed small shipments per recipient each calendar year.

What changes between courier and post

Postage depends on the box's size as well as its weight, particularly with couriers that charge by volumetric weight. Royal Mail changes prices each April and courier fuel surcharges vary, so these are rough comparisons rather than quotes. A courier document envelope for apostilled certificates, signed forms or a new bank card takes roughly 3–5 working days; an untracked international letter takes 2–6 weeks.

For an irreplaceable paper or a birthday with a fixed date, the price gap pays for a more predictable journey and full tracking. A cheap non-urgent parcel can reasonably take the postal route, provided its recipient can deal with a customs notice.

How the US$400 allowance works

ARCA, Argentina's tax and customs agency formerly known as AFIP, administers the personal small-shipments regime (régimen de pequeños envíos). Resolución General 5608/2024 revised courier rules in December 2024; Decreto 604/2026 aligned postal parcels with the courier US$400 allowance in July 2026. Previously, post had a US$50 allowance and 12 operations a year, compared with US$400 and five for couriers.

Up to US$400 FOB per shipment, import duty and the tasa de estadística (statistics fee) are waived. IVA at 21% and internal taxes still apply. Above US$400, the waived taxes become payable on the excess at the product's rate: Decreto 604/2026 removed the former flat 50% charge on that excess. The benefit covers five personal-use shipments per person per calendar year, with general import rules applying after the fifth. Each small shipment is limited to US$3,000 in value, 50 kg per package and three units of the same kind; it cannot be for resale.

These parcels avoid INAL clearance, SIDIP goods identification and ANMAT clearance for perfumery, toiletries and cosmetics. Medicines have their own approval problem. A recipient with a Clave Fiscal (tax key) at level 2 or above can see the running count in ARCA's ‘Envíos Postales Internacionales’ module. Writing ‘gift’ on the declaration does not create another allowance.

What the recipient needs to receive it

A courier clears the shipment against a CUIL (work and social security number), CUIT (tax number) or CDI (tax ID for someone without a DNI). A British passport holder can obtain a CDI; getting a CUIL or CDI explains the route. Without a suitable ID, the parcel may wait in the depot while storage costs accrue. An implausibly low declared value can also lead to a customs revaluation, while regulated goods may be held for a permit.

The address needs the recipient's name as on their passport, street and number, piso and depto (floor and flat), barrio, CPA (Argentine postcode) and Argentine mobile number. A CPA has a letter, four digits and three letters and is listed on Correo Argentino's site; a portero (doorman) can usually sign at delivery. The declaration should say what each item is, its condition, quantity and value in pounds. ‘3 children's cotton T-shirts, new, £24’ tells customs far more than ‘clothes’.

After a courier parcel reaches Ezeiza, an email typically arrives within one to three working days to confirm ID and arrange tax payment by card or bank transfer. Delivery in Buenos Aires often follows one to three working days later, with longer waits in the provinces. The quoted transit time is therefore a useful estimate, not an appointment.

When Royal Mail becomes Correo Argentino

Royal Mail passes a postal parcel to Correo Argentino at Ezeiza, where UK tracking often stops. Some small, low-value parcels arrive at the door without a payment request; others trigger an aviso (notice) by email or post. That notice specifies online declaration and payment for delivery, or a named counter for collection. A person called to the counter needs their passport or DNI, the notice and evidence of value such as a receipt or its photograph. Customs may open the parcel in front of them and assess tax before release.

The deadline on the notice matters: unclaimed goods may be returned or treated as abandoned. Correo Argentino's 2026 procedure also permits taxes and postage for online purchases to be paid at checkout or before arrival, avoiding a separate ARCA declaration. Even so, a postal parcel calls for a timetable measured in weeks rather than days.

Goods that turn a simple parcel into a hold

Medicines, vitamins and supplements require ANMAT approval, and couriers frequently refuse them. For prescription treatment, hand luggage with the prescription is the more practical route; UK prescriptions in Argentina explains the longer-term transition. Meat, dairy, fresh food, seeds and plants are controlled by SENASA, the food and farm health agency. Sealed shop-bought foods such as tea or biscuits may be easier to send, though they can still be held.

Vapes are banned in Argentina. Royal Mail and airlines also restrict perfume, aerosols and loose lithium batteries; devices with fitted batteries belong in hand luggage when flying. Three or more identical items can appear commercial and fall outside the small-shipment regime, despite the formal limit of three units of a kind. Phones, laptops and cameras are routinely valued and may be opened; a traveller carrying one used personal device has a different route. A deliberately low customs value risks revaluation and a fine.

The bill for a birthday parcel

Suppose a family in Belgrano with CUILs receives a 2 kg parcel from Leeds containing new clothes and a Lego set worth £120, about US$160. Postage through a UK courier broker might be £70 for delivery in around five working days. There is no import duty within the US$400 threshold. IVA on US$160 at 21% is about US$34, or roughly ARS 52,000 at ARS 1,520 to the dollar, plus the courier clearance charge. These are example prices, not a fixed quote.

Royal Mail International Standard might cost £30 instead, but three weeks in transit could become six weeks if a notice waits at Ezeiza. When a family member is flying anyway, a suitcase may carry the item with no additional postage. New goods count towards the traveller's separate allowance: US$500 per person arriving by air or sea, US$300 by land, half those amounts for under-16s, with family members travelling together able to pool allowances. The excess attracts 50% duty.

Before a move, documents are usually easier to apostille in the UK and carry, alongside spare prescriptions, UK-only toiletries and chargers, rather than plan a series of parcels. DWP's International Pension Centre, HMRC and banks need the Argentine address; DWP may post life certificates to pensioners abroad and suspend payment if one is not returned, so a courier can be useful for the reply. Argentina is a country where the UK State Pension is paid without annual increases. A UK family correspondence address or mail-scanning service can receive bank cards and other items a firm will not send abroad, then forward a batch. Household goods, furniture and moving boxes fall under a separate new-resident customs regime; commercial goods for resale require registration with ARCA as an importer.

Storage for a business rather than a household

If regular stock deliveries are part of a local business, read the warehouse premises checklist before committing to space. You can compare warehouses for rent on PlataStar, but storage premises do not replace product or customs requirements.