TLC and Aduanas

[AdamSelene]

Just curious, when TLC goes into effect, does anything change regarding taxes of stuff shipped here by individuals (e.g. Aerocasillas, Jetbox, etc)?

e.g. are Plasma/LCD TVs still taxed at 49%?

If there is a reduction/elimination of taxes, does country of original manufacture matter, despite shipping from the U.S.? e.g. Panasonic is a U.S. company, but the TVs are assembled in Mexico; and Sony of course is made in Japan. Hard to think what you could possibly order from Amazon.com that is actually made in the U.S.A.

 

[NES]

I dont know but Im ready for some change, these import taxes are for the friggin birds man.

 

[-Slim-]

I was unpleasantly surprised when I got a notice saying I had ordered something which they had deemed 'material peligroso' and they held it in Miami. For them to send it I would have to of course, pay extra.

I know I order some goofball stuff but dangerous?

It turned out to be a perfume. (No not for me, Im not that girly).

 

[BronxCheer+]

Chop!!!

I was unpleasantly surprised when I got a notice saying I had ordered something which they had deemed 'material peligroso' and they held it in Miami. For them to send it I would have to of course, pay extra.

I know I order some goofball stuff but dangerous?

It turned out to be a perfume. (It's for me, Im sooo girly).

 

[AdamSelene]

Going to San Andres I asked about taking liquids (after being forced check my carry-on luggage coming back from USA because I had toothpaste and shaving cream) they said no problem.

Coming back from San Andres, dude checking bags just tells us to pass with our carry-on, doesn't say anything about what can't be in carry-on, and at the counter we have to remove all alcohol and perfume.

Guess I don't fly enough, but I was a bit annoyed. I mean, WTF do they sell in every other store in San Andres but perfume and alcohol; they should just put a freakin' sign, and/or the baggage dude should ask.

And of course airport duty free stores are chocked full of perfume and alcohol. WTF's the problem flying with perfume? They think you're going to make a flame thrower or something?

Aerocasillas never held up any colognes/perfumes we've ordered.

 

[-Slim-]

Adam, they will now. Thats what makes it worse, the guy tells me "oh we put up something on our site". I asked him , how hard is it to send a freaking flyer, an email, something letting your customers know that you're going to fuck em if they bring perfume...

 

[wolfie_cr]

And of course airport duty free stores are chocked full of perfume and alcohol. WTF's the problem flying with perfume? They think you're going to make a flame thrower or something?
.

the problem is not flying with 'dangerous' perfume per se, its carrying a liquid that has not been deemed 'secure' , in other words, perfume inside the airport is suposed to have been screened and its really perfume while the perfume you bring from outside could have been potentially tampered with and thats why they limit the quantity that you can carry to a 'safe' amount that could not? be used to ignite something (or mixed with something that could then ignite, sort of like a binary explosive)

as far fetched as that sounds, that is sort of the real answer on the why

btw regarding TLC and taxes I remember that back then when all this was being discussed the short answer was that many things (electronics/cars etc) would not significantly decrease in price

 

[AdamSelene]

Nah, even perfume and alcohol you buy in the duty free stores in the airport you cannot carry on the plane. You have to go through some process to check it onto the flight.

I haven't bothered, you can buy stuff at the airport on your way*into* Costa Rica. Only place I've found Captain Morgan's rum in Costa Rica.

 

[wolfie_cr]

well that is not the process when you come from the US (as you of course know)

you simply buy the stuff , they bring it to the plane and you fly with it


when you simply from say Europe to the US with stuff bought in the duty free stores in Europe you

a) fly with it till you reach the US

b) after you pass customs you put your stuff in the suitcase and it gets rechecked at that point

c) then because you are 'outside security' you reclear security

d) and well......if you still want to buy MORE stuff you buy it, they bring it to the gate and again you fly with it

I guess in San Andres it could be different but coming from Europe, Asia or the US you fly with the duty free stuff you buy....right there with you in the cabin

 

[AdamSelene]

well that is not the process when you come from the US (as you of course know)

you simply buy the stuff , they bring it to the plane and you fly with it

Yeah, that's what I meant, more or less. Although I thought they put it in separate storage, and didn't give it to you until you are leaving the plane. Like I said, I hadn't bothered to try.

Back on topic, I'm ordering a shit load of stuff from Amazon, and would really like to know when/if I get a break on taxes.

 

[wolfie_cr]

ask them , they should know better than anyone in here

AFAIK, the tax deals on the TLC were mostly to a) make permanent many tax breaks that the US gave us under a different law and b) the other stuff is mostly related to raw materials

as far as cars and electronics the change was zero (or close to it)

 

[AdamSelene]

The one thing I can think of that are often assembled in the U.S., are computers. Anything you order from Dell-Costa Rica will be assembled at one of the three plants in the U.S., and there are a huge number of custom system builders in the U.S.

I did google up some people from Dominican Republic saying the can now import computers tax-free under CAFTA.

When does TLC go into effect? Might be worth waiting a few months before buying new computer equipment.

I still wonder though -- a whole computer assembled in the U.S. should fall under CAFTA, but ordering individual components (e.g. an ASUS motherboard made in Taiwan) may not?

 

[wolfie_cr]

When does TLC go into effect? Might be worth waiting a few months before buying new computer equipment.

we have time up to Dec 31 2008 to have all the laws approved, that is when the 3rd extension expires (and I doubt that the democrats will agree to a 4th or more extension)

 

[wolfie_cr]

I did google up some people from Dominican Republic saying the can now import computers tax-free under CAFTA.

it depends of course on what taxes the each country has for computers

In here AFAIK its pretty much just the sales tax, which is not going to change with /without TLC

About dell, I heard last week that they laid off 10% of their workforce, just yesterday we were going to order $20k in servers and instead of the usual back/forth with quotes.....they simply referred us to their partners in CR

 

[AdamSelene]

In here AFAIK its pretty much just the sales tax, which is not going to change with /without TLC

Yeah, Dell-CR probably has to charge sales tax. I was thinking less Dell-CR than buying from custom system builders, like Puget or Aberdeen.

The 13% on computers shipped direct here (by courier); that's a sale tax, not a tariff?? I thought aduanas just charged tariffs, and you're are still responsible for sale tax on top of that if you are buying for resale (when you sell).

 

[wolfie_cr]

The 13% on computers shipped direct here (by courier); that's a sale tax, not a tariff?? I thought aduanas just charged tariffs, and you're are still responsible for sale tax on top of that if you are buying for resale (when you sell).

100% positive that you get charged the sales tax, problem is jetbox hasnt given me a detailed invoice so I can't go and lookup the breakdown of recent stuff (because most stuff I buy recently is very low amounts, say used cd here.....used book there.....sometimes they dont even pay anything because it comes in regular mail-bubble wrapped envelopes)

on top of the sales tax you have the "Impuesto Selectivo de consumo"

that one depends on what exactly you are bringing , reaching 50% or so for stuff like make up / etc stuff that is considered 'luxury' items

computer items (except specialty stuff) is selling for rock bottom prices, you can get a decent laptop for 350000 colones lately (which is pretty much the same price as in the US, except of course for the keyboard/OS in Spanish)

 

[AdamSelene]

computer items (except specialty stuff) is selling for rock bottom prices, you can get a decent laptop for 350000 colones lately (which is pretty much the same price as in the US, except of course for the keyboard/OS in Spanish)

No, not the same price you'd get in the States. Lower prices = lower price different in absolute terms. Although even % wise it is getting lower than it used to be.

Pricesmart had a Sony VGN for c550,000 (with English keyboard and English Vista). Same laptop on Amazon was $700 with more memory and larger harddrive.

Play Now has a Compaq Presario CQ50-???LA for c350,000 (AMD Sempron, 1GB RAM). CQ-50-130US on Amazon (Intel Dual Core, 2GB RAM) is $566.

Yeah, there are some cheap laptops available here now. Still more expensive than U.S. I may buy one here anyway, just for instant gratification. But I'm also replacing all my desktops at home sometime soon.

Did you know external harddrives are taxed 49%, but internal harddrives are 13%. Also, LCD monitors are 13% but LCD TVs are 49%. I listed my TV as an LCD monitor, didn't work.

Here's the break-down on the TV I ordered last year. Retail $648. So yeah, it does look like 49% is the combination of customs duties and importation sales tax.

Sales Tax $4.55
Customs Duties $231.32
Impt Sales Tax $123.75
Customs Service $35.00
Freight $92.00
Insurance $4.00
Fuel $13.80


Sucks buying a $648 item and paying $504 to get it here.

 

[wolfie_cr]

Yeah, there are some cheap laptops available here now. Still more expensive than U.S.

the toshibas are pretty much the same price, I got one for 650 in the US my brother got one very much alike for 350k colones (and he got a free carryon case and another stupid freebie

Also, LCD monitors are 13% but LCD TVs are 49%. I listed my TV as an LCD monitor, didn't work. .

not long ago they caught an importer doing that, he evaded a bunch of $ and they fined him big time too, also this as another trick that pricesmart (along with the makers of those 'monitors' ) pull, in the US they have been forcing to make every tv with an ATSC tuner......well...to advertise the best 'absolute' price....they have been making LCD's ....that are put on display right along with the tvs....but unless you are really careful......you get home with it and you can't use it to watch tv as it doesn't have a tuner. You can use it though if you have a vcr/satellite box/cable decoder box.....

these days its almost crazy to buy anything without going to amazon and read the reviews about it....that strategy minimizes 'tricks' like that

Sucks buying a $648 item and paying $504 to get it here.

and it sucks even more so......knowing that should anything go wrong with it....you are totally on your own

 

[wolfie_cr]

Did you know external harddrives are taxed 49%, but internal harddrives are 13%. .

didn't know that and I am glad I never bought one, I would have been pissed since its stuff that you can very easily bring from the US

I have a couple of WD Passport, they work just fine

I did at some point imported an enclosure......no harddrive and I don't even recall what stupid category they put it in ......probably 'router/enrutador' , whenever they are not sure what it is .....that is what they clasify it as :lolBIG:

 

[AdamSelene]

the toshibas are pretty much the same price, I got one for 650 in the US my brother got one very much alike for 350k colones (and he got a free carryon case and another stupid freebie

Maybe if you buy it retail at Circuit City and pay sales tax.

Actually, it's a Toshiba Portégé R500 that I'm considering. I can find a version for $1250 on Amazon, it's over c1,000,000 at Play Now.

I can't stand the small keyboard on the Sony TZ, but the Toshiba seems usable. Will have to see it again. Freakin' light (2.4 lbs).

this as another trick that pricesmart (along with the makers of those 'monitors' ) pull, in the US they have been forcing to make every tv with an ATSC tuner......well...to advertise the best 'absolute' price....they have been making LCD's ....that are put on display right along with the tvs....but unless you are really careful......you get home with it and you can't use it to watch tv as it doesn't have a tuner. You can use it though if you have a vcr/satellite box/cable decoder box.....

Trick? Who needs a freakin' tuner these days. I don't use the one on my TV.

I was going to order last year a professional Panasonic 60" LCD monitor (DVI-only/modular add-on/no tuner). Was cheap. But was also quite heavy and was afraid aduanas would tax it like a TV anyway at 49%.