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Customs Duties on Packages

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BajaKerry
  9/23/2022 11:57 EST

I sent an email to FastboxPty with this question, but they have not responded. So I will try here.

I used FastboxPty to receive a couple of packages when I was in Panama for some small electronic items a client sent to me from the US. The items had no market value (they engineering units).

So it seems there was no customs processing.

I am wondering about how this delivery system would function if I purchased something of more value, say a guitar at a price of $3500, and had it sent to Miami for forwarding to Panama.

Would something like that normally go through customs processing, such that there would be duties and taxes applied, or do you have to handle higher value items through a standard customs broker, not a mail forwarding service?

floppy525
  9/23/2022 12:49 EST

Legally speaking and as far as I know, all imports regardless of who/how you ship pay customs fees depending on their assigned tariff (10% to 15% if I remember correctly) and ITBMS (sales tax). Shipments that do not exceed $100 CIF are exempt from both (that is why you might have seen that your samples got to Panama with no taxes).
I know that there are some mail forwarders or "Internet shoppers" that just quote a price per pound, I am not sure how they do it but be aware that if customs "catch" a package that has not paid the appropriate tariff and ITBMS it could get confiscated.
I recommend that you quote before trying to import anything over $100 to avoid surprises.

ptyexpat
  9/23/2022 14:21 EST

I shipped in 2 palletized industrial motors that had a value of $3400 and paid about $400 in importation taxes and $66 for shipping via ocean freight.

So yes you can ship a guitar but you will also have to pay taxes on it’s fare market value to be determined by Customs in PTY.

Shipping by air is not cost effective for large items so consider ocean freight which is much cheaper and takes about 2 weeks

SAY
  9/25/2022 17:45 EST

I don't really understand some of the answers here. I have been ordering from a handful of companies in the US for 6 years.
I pay my forwarder/receiver 2.75 a pound. That is it. I have never had a package opened by customs

My shipping guy also orders packages for people using his credit card and in his company name. Panama charges him a 7% tax because Panama considers him a retailer. He passes that 7% along to the customer who used his buying services.
I suppose that if you received a box with gold bullion bars stamped all over it, customs would open it and charge you.
But if you order it yourself AND you have an honest freight/mail receiver, you should have to pay only your mail company's standard weight charge.
It is really quite simple

ptyexpat
  9/25/2022 19:20 EST

Taxation and valuation of goods entering PTY is completely subjective and assessed at the discretion of the Customs agents.

If a shipment is received without an invoice then yes Customs can and should inspect the items(s) for possible taxation and to determine if it is legally allowed to enter the country.

There is no free lunch in PTY and paying duty on imported goods is just part of living here.

BTW how many of you pay income and property taxes in PTY?

Curlyhair
  9/26/2022 11:23 EST

@SAY could you share your forwarding pkg guy info. Feel free to pm.

floppy525
  9/26/2022 12:12 EST

To expand on my previous post:
This is the official Facebook page (in Spanish) of the Panamanian Customs Authority (ANA) where it states that if shipment costs is over $100 you should contact your courier for the costs of importing those items:
https://m.facebook.com/aduanas.panama/posts/3785872244826455/

This is a news article from Feb 2021 where ANA is clarifying that they are not putting new tariff on imports but they are trying to be “strict” and apply the current laws as to avoid unfair competition:
https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/economia/impuesto-tecnologia-importada-causa-polemica-en-panama-1182200

This is another article where it talks about how much Panama is losing by not enforcing existing tariffs and how this creates unfair competition:
https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/economia/compras-por-internet-cumplir-las-normas-antes-de-crear-nuevos-impuestos-1199785

You can use google translate on the above links to get a rough english version.

You can also think about the above in these terms, if you use a courier/shipper/mail forwarding service that only charges you for each pound (say $3/pound) does it make sense that bringing an $1000 iPhone to Panama cost you only ~$5?

My recommendation is to ask your courier/shipper/internet buyer for a quote if you need to purchase anything over $100 to avoid surprises and to spend a little more and get insurance in case something goes wrong.

Livelife100
  9/28/2022 16:17 EST

Hot Express has been great for us. We shipped 4 large boxes from US to Panama City. Took 11 days. We had various household items, including some antique items, collectibles. No problem, no duty or extra import fee's. Have contact locally for them, Feel free to DM me and happy to share contact.

BajaKerry
  10/7/2022 16:38 EST

A follow on question:

I do firmware development and my customer provide me with engineering units to work with. These are things like speakers, cameras, wireless devices and such. In some cases they are just circuit boards. In some cases they look similar to the product product but will have extra wiring or other things used for testing.

None of these things can be resold, and a consumer would not want them.

There would be no invoice, because they are provided by the client as engineering units.

Since they have no retail value, how would customs place a value on them?

Also, would it raise flags with customs that as a pensionado visa resident I am doing work for US companies, paid in the US, which is why I am bringing these devices in?

So far, I have only had to have a couple of devices that came through shipping, but I brought a suitcase with several devices in them and customs at the airport had no concerns.

SAY
  10/8/2022 16:32 EST

Are you all forgetting that the US and Panama have a free trade agreement? Everyyear more and more items were added to the duty/customs free list. Panama just recently wanted to renegotiate the agreement. President Biden said NO

I don't know what the agreement is between Canada and Panama.

But all the freight forwarders that I know of operate out of Miami

SAY
  10/8/2022 17:02 EST

Curlyhair

I live in Volcan, so I use a Volcan company called Business Internet Solutions. The owner has worked on the freight forwarding business for several years

JohnnyNitro
  10/10/2022 10:01 EST

Enjoy it while it lasts. 5 years of bringing in stuff that are a better deal -- like charging cables -- or stuff that I don't feel like running around town for a day trying to source. Highest value for me has been a little over $1000. Never paid any extra duty charge. Perhaps the shippers are paying some sort of bulk mixed goods rate but I doubt it.

I think it is only a matter of time before the near monopoly of retailers here raise a stink about the unfair advantage and losses incurred by this gaping hole in process. In the meanwhile, enjoy the win and don't crow too loudly about your fantastic deals.

I'm not sure I would ship a guitar in anything short of a bubble wrapped instrument inside a road case.

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