Chile Clarifies VAT Responsibility of Digital Intermediation Platforms for Domestic Transactions

• Digital platforms are generally deemed VAT taxpayers under Article 3° bis of the Chilean VAT Law when intermediating taxable transactions, treating them as if they were the seller or service provider.
• This responsibility does not apply when the transaction involves goods located in Chile and sold by vendors domiciled or resident in Chile, even if the platform lacks confirmation of the vendor’s VAT status.
• Delivery services provided by couriers under Chapter X of the Labor Code are VAT‑exempt, meaning platforms are not liable for VAT when intermediating these services.

Source sii.cl

Detailed

The Chilean Internal Revenue Service (Servicio de Impuestos Internos – SII), through Official Ruling No. 429 of 18 February 2026, has clarified the scope of VAT responsibility for digital platforms that intermediate domestic sales of goods and services. This clarification builds on the framework introduced by Law No. 21.713 and further developed in Circular No. 39 of 2025.

Under the new Article 3° bis of the Law on Sales and Services Tax (LIVS), operators of digital intermediation platforms are generally considered VAT taxpayers, as if they were habitual sellers of goods or providers of services concluded through their platforms, provided the underlying transaction is subject to VAT. This rule was designed to ensure effective VAT collection in digital and platform‑based business models.

However, the ruling emphasizes important limitations to this responsibility. First, the SII confirms that delivery services performed by workers regulated under Chapter X, Title II of the Labor Code are VAT‑exempt pursuant to Article 12(E)(8) of the LIVS. As a result, Article 3° bis does not apply to platforms that merely intermediate such delivery services, since no VAT is triggered on the underlying service.

More significantly, the SII clarifies the treatment of purely domestic goods transactions. When goods are located in Chile and sold by vendors domiciled or resident in Chile, the platform operator is not responsible for VAT on the transaction. In these cases, the vendor is deemed the VAT taxpayer, which automatically excludes the application of Article 3° bis to the platform

While Circular No. 39 of 2025 generally requires vendors to inform platforms of their VAT‑taxpayer status—and places VAT liability on the platform if that information is missing—the ruling explicitly states that this obligation does not apply when the goods are situated in Chile and the seller is domestic. Consequently, platforms are not required to verify or hold information on the vendor’s VAT status to avoid liability in such cases.

In conclusion, Official Ruling No. 429 provides legal certainty for digital intermediation platforms operating entirely within Chile. It confirms that the VAT responsibility shift under Article 3° bis is primarily aimed at cross‑border or non‑resident scenarios and does not extend to domestic sales of locally situated goods by Chilean sellers, nor to VAT‑exempt delivery services. This clarification significantly reduces compliance and financial risk for platforms facilitating domestic commerce.