Once Cauca IV comes into force, Costa Rican consumers will be exempted from paying duties on Internet purchases made abroad by Costa Rican consumers that do not exceed $500.
The fourth version of the Central American Uniform Customs Code (Cauca IV) will take effect as of May 1 and according to Costa Rican authorities, the exoneration of duties will only apply to family shipments.
In Costa Rica, the General Directorate of Customs announced that companies that have tax or employers debts will not be able to complete the procedures and formalities needed to export or import goods or services.
Resolution DGA-030-2019 of the Directorate General of Customs (DGA), issued on October 22 of this year, states that "... it is communicated that the Information Technology Information System for Customs Control will verify compliance with these requirements and if there are outstanding debts will prevent continuing with the import or export procedure requested by electronic transmission."
For the 2017-2018 season, imported coffee consumed in the country represented 18% of demand, but for the 2018-2019 cycle that proportion increased to 45%, being Nicaragua and Honduras the main suppliers of the grain.
According to statistics from the General Directorate of Customs and compiled by the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (Icafe), for the 2018-2019 cycle in the Costa Rican market were consumed about 526 thousand bags of 46 kilos of coffee, of which 292 thousand were of national production and 234 thousand were purchased abroad.
Of the 51,249 new vehicles that came into the country in 2015, 80% were automobiles, and the remaining 20% were freight vehicles.
Figures from the General Directorate of Customs published by Nacion.com show that growth in vehicle imports compared to 2014 was 24%, higher than the 9% growth recorded between 2013 and 2014.
Facilities offered by banks for buying new vehicles on loan is the main reason behind the growth in sales.
Under public consultation is a draft procedure for the payment of tariffs on imported materials and payment of sales tax and selective consumption tax for the final goods.
In the application of Article 21 of the Free Zones Act and 136 of the Rules which provide that companies classified as processing industries that process or assemble exported goods, whether or not and they meet the requirements of Article 21 of the Free Zones Act, pay tariffs on goods subject to local sales only on imported materials used in both the payment of the remaining taxes (Excise Tax consumption and sales) are paid on the final good; the draft procedure is available at the website www.hacienda.go.cr/contenido/12512-propuestas-en-consulta-pública under the name "Process Sale Estate category f) for public consultation", for the purpose of allowing the submission of comments, within 10 working days, using the following email addresses: ulloaaj@hacienda.go.cr, garrozs@hacienda.go.cr.
Different tariff policies from the rest of the region and inadequate infrastructure at border posts do not facilitate the country's integration into the Customs Union.
Authorities at the Customs Department claim that they have identified the aspects that need to be worked on and improved in order to achieve integration with other countries in the region.
The Chamber of Commerce and the General Department of Customs have signed an agreement for exchange of information and monitoring of imports in order to control the illegal transit of goods.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica:
Monday October 27, 2014. The Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica (CCCR) and the General Department of Customs (DGA) on Monday signed an Agreement for Cooperation Trade Transparency in order to combat all unfair practices in trade, such as smuggling, counterfeiting and other illegal practices.
The Ministry of Finance has announced improvements made to online consultations on the value of the declared goods which aims to reduce underreporting by 20%.
From a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance of Costa Rica:
In order to establish better controls for imported goods, the Customs Service, at Ministry of Finance has intensified and integrated software tools which will allow for a more efficient and effective application of the control instruments on the declarations on the entry and exit of goods.
The Japanese market for pork, organ meats, sausages and pork derivatives coming from Costa Rica has reopened.
The next step in the process is identifying companies interested in exporting pork products to the Asian nation.
From a press release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock:
"After a process that began in 2012 under the framework of the objectives of the National Swine Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan recently announced to the authorities of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) at the Ministry of Agriculture, that this country recognizes the status of Costa Rica as a country free of swine fever and has reopened its market not only pork, but also offal and other derivatives as well as pork sausages."
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.
Costa Rican customs offices do not have enough staff to handle the flow of cargo from Panama to the rest of Central America.
While on the Panamanian side there are about 25 people to process documents from carriers, on the Costa Rican side there are only 5 staff members to carry out these duties.
The situation occurs at a time when "the international freight activity going from Paso Canoas to Central America has increased by 50 % ...
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.