Despite the national endorsement, the Province of Buenos Aires maintains prohibition of self-service under its Law 13.623, requiring stations to be staffed exclusively by trained personnel, citing concerns about worker safety and regulatory compliance. Legislative efforts promoted by the libertarian bloc La Libertad Avanza aim to reform this prohibition, echoing the national deregulation agenda, but such reforms have yet to materialize, reflecting a clash between modernization intent and provincial labor protections.
The regulatory framework mandates strict safety certifications and operational requirements to ensure system reliability and compliance with fiscal traceability. Current technological constraints address challenges in invoice integration and secure transaction validation, expected to be resolved imminently. The government emphasizes that autodespacho will facilitate extended operating hours, particularly 24-hour service in previously restricted locations, improving accessibility while preserving employment through safer working environments amid nocturnal security risks.
Fuel retailers view autodespacho as a complementary tool to optimize station operations without supplanting traditional attended service, balancing agility and customer service quality. This partial adoption strategy suggests cautious sectoral adaptation to technological change, consistent with international precedents where self-service has been a norm since the 1960s in the U.S. and increasingly in Latin American peers like Chile and Uruguay. The move reinforces Argentina’s commitment to deregulation, technological progress, and competitive service offerings in the hydrocarbons retail sector.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
