Attorney Mark Teuten graciously volunteered to do the legal research for us and provide us with a definitive answer:

… article 2 of Decree No. 119/004, which regulates Law No. 16.340 states that household goods, in reasonable quantities according to the opinion of the Custom’s authorities, can be brought in free of tax within 6 months of the grant of permanent residence.

Please note, a vehicle is NOT INCLUDED in the definition of “household goods” and cannot be imported duty-free!

If the law changes, or when the application of the law changes, I will write about it here as quickly as possible.

Mark is the first lawyer to be simultaneously qualified in the UK and in Uruguay. This background means he is uniquely placed to advise clients coming from countries with different legal systems.  He is a British-born attorney and moved to Uruguay in 1990.  His law firm is small, but that means you get hands-on personal service (with which I have been perfectly satisfied).  Mark concentrates on residency, real estate, intellectual property and general business matters.  I highly recommend him. Mark is also the secretary of the British Society, and can sometimes be seen at our Thursday night open house meetings.  http://www.teutenabogados.com

This is a full-sized, 8½ x 11 inch paper back, with color covers and black-and-white inside. Because of its large size is much easier to read than the pocket-sized edition produced locally.  The price for the full-size paperback is the same as the retail price for the e-book, US$30. For payment, lulu.com accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and PayPal.

One other note: there was a Yankee Naval vessel holding station a few kilometers offshore for my house–obviously they were here in connection with that politicians visit.  I didn’t mind the ship that much, until I noticed that as I went from room to room its weapons readjusted accordingly…

If you really want to buy land in Uruguay, please consider all of the following:

1) Indice CONEAT: Land in Uruguay is rated by a productivity index: “Indice CONEAT”. Average for the country is 100, good agricultural land starts at about 160, really prime land is about 260. This land is mostly located along the Western edge, near the Argentine border.

As a guide, the land I bought has a CONEAT rating of 98; it is mostly grazing land about 70% tillable – only good for fattening cattle.

The CONEAT index helps estimate land prices; a very low CONEAT (some properties near Punta del Este were rated 27) is no good to anyone intending to work it, and has only recreational value. In my experience, just mentioning the Indice CONEAT was enough to bring realtors down to earth. The government has detailed CONEAT plats for each individual parcel of land (padron) in Uruguay – buyers should insist on getting one before making any decisions. They can be downloaded from the Internet with the parcel’s “padron” number.

2) UTE: Something else to consider is whether the land has power or UTE. I bought an undeveloped parcel and it’s taken UTE since August 2005 to process my request, the poles are up but UTE has not yet supplied the wire, so I’m still waiting.

If the land has no power it would be good to go to the nearest UTE office with the “padron” number and find out how far is the nearest power line to hook on to. I ended up having to build a five mile line.

3) When looking for small parcels (under 150 hectares) it is a good idea to check with the local realtor first; they generally know who’s planning on selling, who’s in debt with the Banco Republica, and who’s inherited or will inherit a parcel they want to sell.

4) New fencing can be quite expensive, about US$5.00 per meter. Most fencing I’ve seen was at least twenty years old and falling down. In that case, it is a good bargaining point to bring up when prices are discussed.

5) Wells: Well drilling comes to about US$65 per meter. They have to be sunk at least twenty meters, although sixty meter wells are not uncommon. Domestic wells should provide a minimum 1000 liters per hour.

REMEMBER, both here and in Argentina many realtors are unreliable and unprofessional. Anyone can become a realtor, and it shows.

Thank you curru taca!!!