A small business that wants to export from Bolivia needs three registrations: the Registro Único del Exportador (RUEX), the single exporter registry run by SENAVEX (Servicio Nacional de Verificación de Exportaciones, the export verification agency); a listing as an exporter with the Aduana Nacional (national customs); and an export commercial invoice enabled with Impuestos Nacionales (the SIN, the national tax service). The RUEX costs Bs142 for a sole proprietorship and is processed online within two hours at most. If the buyer's country grants Bolivia tariff preferences, a certificate of origin is added. After the sale, the exporter can claim a tax refund (CEDEIM).

For foreign buyers, this is also a checklist: it shows what a Bolivian supplier has to have in place before goods can leave the country, and which documents you may need on your side.

Amounts below are in bolivianos (Bs). Dollar figures are approximate, at the official rate of Bs11.81 per US dollar that the Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB, the central bank) set for November 7 to 9, 2026. More on how that rate works: Bolivia's official exchange rate.

Before you start: what the exporter should already have

Step 1: the RUEX with SENAVEX

Article 7 of Supreme Decree 29847 requires every producer or trading business that wants to export to obtain a RUEX from SENAVEX. According to the official FAQ:

  1. Go to the TAYPI platform (taypi.senavex.gob.bo) and enter your details, your NIT and, if applicable, your commercial registration.
  2. The system sends a username and password. With them you fill in the RUEX application and attach the documents listed in Annex II of the RUEX Procedure, version 8, approved by Ministerial Resolution 185.2022. The documents vary by type of business.
  3. Pay the fee: Bs182 (about US$15) for commercial companies and Bs142 (about US$12) for sole proprietorships, individuals, associations, cooperatives and small producers' organizations.
  4. The SENAVEX regional office has two hours at most to process the application.

The RUEX is valid for three years (five for companies that customs has certified as Authorized Economic Operators) and is disabled automatically when it expires. Only the legal representative can renew or change it.

Step 2: register as an exporter with customs

The Aduana Nacional booklet explains that no one can export without being listed in the Padrón de Operadores de Comercio Exterior (the foreign trade operators register). There are two options:

  • In person, for companies, sole proprietorships included, registered with the SIN. You fill in the form on the SUMA portal (the customs online system) and then bring the originals to the customs office of your choice: the SIN's digital biometric registration certificate, ID card, commercial registration, power of attorney for the representative (if applicable) and the RUEX.
  • Remote, online only, for people who export occasionally: small shipments, parcels or courier. If you exceed that option's limits, customs suspends the operation until you register with the SIN and move to the in-person option. Confirm the current amounts with customs before using it.

The export declaration, the Declaración de Mercancías de Exportación (DEX), is prepared in SUMA: you enter the sale details (Incoterm, FOB value, freight, insurance and tariff subheading), attach the supporting documents as PDFs and submit it with a digital signature. A regular exporter can file it directly or through a licensed customs broker (agencia despachante de aduana).

Step 3: the certificate of origin, only if it gives an advantage

The certificate of origin proves that a product is Bolivian and lets it pay lower tariffs in countries that have trade agreements with Bolivia (the Andean Community, Mercosur, Chile, Mexico, Cuba) or that grant unilateral preferences under Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP). If the destination gives no tariff cut, the goods don't need it to leave Bolivia. Exporter and buyer should agree on whether the buyer will use it.

It takes two stages:

  1. Declaración Jurada de Origen (DDJJ), a sworn origin declaration. You request it in TAYPI with a valid RUEX and your digital signature. It costs Bs82 (about US$7) per trade agreement or preference scheme, is answered within two business days at most and is valid for up to two years (180 days for Mercosur, 30 days for trade fairs and samples with no commercial value).
  2. Issuing the certificate for each shipment. You need the digital application, the export commercial invoice and a valid DDJJ. According to the SENAVEX FAQ, the issuing fee ranges from Bs52 (shipments up to US$750 FOB) to Bs508 (over US$100,000), and the June 2024 export guide adds Bs72 for the certificate form, a charge the current FAQ does not list, so confirm it with SENAVEX. With it, the total would be between Bs124 and Bs580 (about US$10 to US$49) per certificate. It is issued within one business day and is valid for 180 days for the Andean Community, Mercosur, Chile and Cuba, and 12 months under GSP schemes.

For Colombia and Ecuador, SENAVEX already issues digital certificates of origin. With Ecuador, the pilot phase began on June 15, 2026 (Comunicado 011/2026). With Colombia, there is a temporary contingency procedure because of problems in validating the certificates.

Step 4: check whether the product needs other certificates

SENAVEX warns that other documents may be mandatory at customs or in the destination country even if SENAVEX doesn't ask for them, and that getting them is the exporter's responsibility. Its guide lists health, phytosanitary and animal health certificates, forestry certificates, CITES permits for plants and wildlife, authorization for controlled substances and the coffee certificate.

Watch out with food. Supreme Decree 5503, of December 17, 2025, eliminated the Certificado de Abastecimiento Interno y Precio Justo (domestic supply and fair price certificate) for exporting corn, sorghum, sugar and beef. Supreme Decree 5516, of January 13, 2026, repealed that decree in full and does not repeat the measure. In February, the Ministry of Productive Development, Rural Affairs and Water announced it was preparing a decree for the "full liberalization of exports." We could not confirm whether that decree has been issued. If the deal involves any of those products, the exporter should ask the ministry and customs in writing what is required today before closing the sale.

Step 5: the tax refund (CEDEIM)

Exports are exempt from VAT (IVA in Bolivia), and the state refunds the VAT (and, where applicable, the excise tax known as ICE and import duties) that the exporter paid on purchases used to produce the exported goods. The refund comes as a CEDEIM (Certificado de Devolución Impositiva), a transferable certificate that can be used to pay taxes.

According to the SIN guide (updated to September 2024):

  • The exporter has 180 calendar days to file the claim, counted from the first business day of the month after the export.
  • Beforehand, the exporter must have the export commercial invoice enabled and must not be flagged by the SIN for a nonexistent tax address, and the SIN checks for outstanding tax debts before accepting the claim.
  • The claim includes, among other documents, the DEX, the export invoice and the certificate that the goods left the country.

Supreme Decree 5227 created a 15-day fast track for exporters who provide an insurance bond or guarantee and show that at least 60% of the export value came into the country in foreign currency (73% in agribusiness and 70% in mining and metallurgy).

What's coming. Supreme Decree 5748, of October 13, 2026, creates the digital CEDEIM. Claims will be electronic only, and the exporter's purchase invoices will be assigned a risk channel: light blue, with a response in 5 days; purple, in about 50; and red, in about 95, if there are no objections. It takes effect on June 1, 2027, and on that date repeals the article of the earlier rules that contains the 15-day fast track; the new decree has its own "immediate" option against a bank guarantee or surety bond. Claims already in process keep the rules that applied when they were filed.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the RUEX expire. The system disables it without notice, and you can't request origin declarations or certificates.
  • Getting a certificate of origin when it doesn't help, or skipping it when the buyer needed it to pay lower tariffs. Agree on it before invoicing.
  • Missing the 180-day deadline for the tax refund. Whatever isn't claimed on time is lost.
  • Buying without invoices. Without purchase invoices there is no tax credit to refund.

A first small export, in order

  1. Confirm with the buyer the product, the tariff subheading, the Incoterm and whether a certificate of origin is needed.
  2. Get a digital signature and the RUEX.
  3. Register as an exporter with customs.
  4. Check whether the product requires other certificates.
  5. If applicable, request the DDJJ and then the certificate of origin.
  6. Issue the export commercial invoice and file the DEX, directly or through a customs broker.
  7. Keep the DEX, the invoice and the exit certificate, and claim the CEDEIM within 180 days.

For questions about requirements, the SENAVEX regional office in each department answers exporters.