Judge orders AFIP to explain reasons behind dollar purchase restrictions

Mar del Plata federal judge Alfredo López ordered the AFIP tax agency to provide him with “precedent and grounds” on the norm currently restricting citizens from purchasing US dollars. The agency had previously claimed no responsibility in the decision, assuring that it rested on the Central Bank.

The Mar del Plata judge rejected a request for legal protection by a lawyer who was not allowed to buy dollars due to the Government’s current restrictions. 

However, it urged the agency to provide him with “precedent and grounds” on the norm in a ten-day period.

In a previous judicial response, AFIP officials assured that the responsibility of restricting the currency purchase fell on the Central Bank. 

The case began when Sawyer Julio César Durán could not purchase $10 dollars to give to his 5 and 7-year-old grandchildren after getting good grades in school.

Durán approached the AFIP offices looking for an explanation, where he was told he was financially “inconsistent”,” which prompted him to request a cautionary measure in a Mar del Plata courthouse.