Job Discussion Forums

[El Gallo]

Hi,

Any advice on dealing with �aduana-mexicana�?

My friend in London sent me some used dresses to offer to the poor of the local church to sell in my colonia. For some unknown reason, he insured them for 1000 Pounds.

Now the aduana and DHL are holding them hostage in Mexico City until I wire them 8,000 pesos as "labor for the aduana workers" and other customs charges. The dresses aren't even worth 8,000 pesos.

Is there anything short of spending a ton of money for an attorney I can do to fight this attempted theivery?

[Guy Courchesne]

That's ridiculous. I had something similar happen with a package from home. The price kept going up every time I called in. I finally told DHL to ship it back.

If you really want the package, you could pressure DHL. Write them at their US office, forcefully. Let them know how angry you are, even if it isn't DHL's fault. http://www.dhl-usa.com/home/home.asp

I've had some luck dealing with foreign banks this way when their Mexican operations were something less than stellar.

[sweeney66]

I recently had the same thing happen with UPS. Unfortunately the were Uni text books for courses I had already paid for. Well, you know how overpriced textbooks are. At first they asked for $8,000, and when I said "WHAT??? That's impossible!!!" and reported them to UPS International headquarters, it came down to $800. Still a rip-off, but I needed them so I paid it. I received an official looking document that the money went to some "agent" who "accompanied" the box through customs. Nice job, right?
So yeah, tell 'em to send it back. Your friend can donate them to Oxfam or something.

[El Gallo]

good advice - thanks!

I already sent a protest to DHL.

[Guy Courchesne]

As an aside to others reading this, it's important to know that some things shipped to Mexico will be subject to legitimate duty, or may need to have a customs broker to bring it into the country. I don't have an exhaustive list, but items such as computers, cameras, and perfume are subject to such duties.

[Samantha]

It sounds as if the duty has been assessed at 32.8 (based on the insured value) as described in #12 below. Completely by the book as per Aduana regulations.

http://www.mexicodataonline.com/common.html
COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED TO MEXICAN CUSTOMS OFFICIALS

10. What are the procedures for sending charitable goods to Mexico? Mexican law requires that all importations, with the exception of low-value shipments and personal use items, be executed via a Mexican customs broker. The NAFTA does not change this requirement. Mexico does have special customs provisions for the importation of donated goods. These provisions do require, however, that the organization receiving the donated goods in Mexico is authorized to receive such donations by the Mexican Ministry of Finance. In order to facilitate importation of your goods into Mexico, you need to work in Mexico with such authorized organization and a reputable Mexican customs broker. Just because the goods are donated, however, does not mean that they are exempt from Mexican regulations. For example, the requirement that an import permit be granted for used clothing still holds.

11. What is the procedure for sending gifts to Mexico? When shipping goods to Mexico, the requirement to use a customs broker can only be waived in some situations when low value items are shipped via a courier/package delivery service. Please see NAFTA FACTS document 8409 for more information on this procedure.

12. What are Mexico's duty obligations concerning goods carried into Mexico by non-Mexican residents? Persons residing outside of Mexico (regardless of whether they are Mexican citizens) may bring into the country an array of personal duty-free items. Lists of the specific personal items exempted from duties are available at Mexican Customs facilities. Beyond these items, there is a $300 limit for additional duty-free items. This limit applies whether or not they arrive by land, sea or air. Import duties of up to 20% are levied on the goods. In addition, a customs user fee of 0.08 and a value-added tax of .10 are levied on the imported goods. Persons bringing a dutiable good (or goods) into Mexico have the option of classifying them under the product- specific tariff (this would involve the hiring of a customs broker) or declaring the goods under a simplified procedure and paying a total duty charge of 32.8. These provisions can only be used for personal goods. They are not applicable for goods brought into Mexico for commercial purposes.

[scottmx81]

My friend in London sent me some used dresses...

I was told by customs officers in Cd. Juarez that the importation of used clothes is prohibited. It was quite a hassle just to ship a small suitcase of my own clothes from Juarez to Morelia.

[MO39]

[scottmx81]

and was told that due to all the problems related to customs duties that this thread has been discussing, they didn't ship clothes to Mexico.

Basically, Mexico is protecting its domestic textiles industry by prohibiting the import of used clothes and making it difficult to do personal imports of new clothing as well. Sort of like how companies in Canada can import stuff for sale under NAFTA, but free trade doesn't mean I am free to buy the same thing off US sites or go day-tripping to the nearest border town to get it without paying duty on it either. Except in this case, Mexico has decided as a matter of policy that there will be no personal imports of clothing, with the exception of the personal clothes of travellers entering the country. If you want to import clothes for sale, which is what the original poster said is the intention, you have to do it commercially through a broker. Importing clothes is prohibited under small import regulations. So the 8,000 peso custom fees are likely the regular labour fees they charge to process commercial imports, and might include fees or surcharges that might not have been assessed if he had done it properly through a broker.

I know Mexico is corrupt to the core, but I think it is only fair that people reserve their allegations of corruption until after they are more aware of what the laws and regulations actually are regarding the particular incident and have done some investigation into it. If, after that, you know with some certainty that driving with tinted windows or on any day of the week you choose is not against the law, then by all means, tell everyone about the corrupt official who tried to swindle you out of whatever you were good for. But sometimes I think we need to be a little bit more careful when throwing out those corruption and thievery allegations. This is not, of course, to say they are never warranted. But I don't think this is one of those cases.

If Mexico allowed small imports of clothing, it wouldn't surprise me at all if a large market of selling used US clothes at the tianguises opened up. This is basically what the original poster intended to do as well. Importing cheap or free used clothing from abroad and selling it domestically. And Mexico doesn't want this to happen. I know the stores and markets are full of cheap Asian made clothes, but at least when WalMart or another commercial importer brings it in, someone, somewhere is probably paying taxes or duty on it. But when people are selling used foreign clothing in their colonia, it is unlikely that any taxes (IVA) are being paid or otherwise formal sales are taking place. Whether we agree with protectionist trade policies or not, Mexico has decided that they'd rather limit this activity.

[Guy Courchesne]

[Mrs L]

Wow, I send clothes to the family in Mexico all the time and haven't had any problems yet. I sometimes gift wrap them in case the parcels get opened (especially when sending original football kits to my nephews because I don't want anyone to steal them) and always say on the customs declaration that it's clothes and a gift.
Last year I bought a whole load of maternity outfits for my sister-in-law and sent them over. I've also recently sent 3 parcels full of baby clothes and they've all arrived ok. I don't use a courier, just the regular post office, and guess the value as somewhere about �40. Each packet weighs less than 2 kilos, every single one has arrived unopened and the family have never been charged duty for them. Maybe because they're small parcels of a low value?

[Prof.Gringo]

[notamiss]

I've seen�you've probably seen them too�used clothes tianguis where the quantity, type, and condition of the clothes makes it almost certain that the clothes came in large bales from the northern countries.

So the import of these is supposedly prohibited, eh? I guess it's no surprise that pirated movies and music are sold in quantities side by side with the clothes.

[Prof.Gringo]

[MO39]