Employers believe that a new and more efficient system is required in order to generate confidence in foreign trade.
The Information Technology System for Customs Control (known as Tic@), received strong criticism from business chambers, whose executives say that after 10 years of operation this computing platform is obsolete.
The Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC), the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica (CCCR) and the Digital Government program agree on this point. Alonso Elizondo, executive director of the CCCR, says that more customs efficiency is needed to lower costs in the transit of goods.
If it is not for one reason it is another: now cargo is building up in Paso Canoas because of the closure of the customs office due to the Panamanian holiday.
The problems, according to Gerardo Bolaños, CEO of Customs at the Ministry of Finance, are not caused by the Costa Rican side but in Panama. This is because last Monday was a holiday in the country.
The Costa Rica customs system is overwhelmed and needs to an overhaul which is to be funded by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.
The operating system has been congested since 2005 and is slow to process manifests and unloading documents. It also has problems with tracking or monitoring the transit of goods, said Gerardo Bolaños, director of Customs.
The number of online purchases has dropped since the Treasury placed restrictions on tax exemptions at the end of 2011.
The total number of packets handled by courier companies during the first half of 2013 was 19,313, far from the levels seen in the same period in 2011, when they totaled 26,089, but better than in 2012, when there were 13,879.
The information, provided by the Customs Department, shows the drop in online shopping since the Ministry of Finance changed the legal interpretation of the exemption of such imports in late 2011.
The Director of Customs in Costa Rica has stated that they will continue to perform the exhaustive checks which are causing delays in unloading goods.
The Costa Rican Association of Cargo Agents, Consolidators and International Logistics Companies (Acacia), has denounced the misinterpretation of customs guidelines which is causing delays in unloading goods.
In order to speed things up at Costa Rica’s main border, from November procedures must be made from companies or other customs offices.
In April, an article in nacion.com noted that, at the Peñas Blancas office, "truckers have been taking up to two days to complete the formalities and reviews and be allowed to pass over to the Nicaraguan side."
Now, the Directorate General of Customs in Costa Rica has decreed that "From November carriers passing through the customs at Peñas Blancas, on the border with Nicaragua, will complete the steps from their company offices or other customs offices located in various parts the country, because in the booths at the border it is no longer allowed. "