| Long-term imported vehicle duties are calculated by multiplying
the Vehicle's Appraised Value (VCAV) at the Ministerio de
Hacienda by following the percentages according to model year.
The VCAV is the sum of the vehicle's market value, freight
and freight insurance. Freight is the cost of transporting
your vehicle to Costa Rica.
Duties are determined by the age of your vehicle. If your
vehicle is a 2006, 2005 or 2004, you pay 52.28 percent of
the retail value plus shipping. If your car is a 2003 or 2002,
you pay 63 percent of its value plus shipping. For any vehicle
older than 2001, a tax of 79.02 percent plus shipping will
be charged.
If there is no bill of lading or if you drove your vehicle,
freight will equal seven percent of the market value of your
vehicle, which could equal thousands of dollars more than
actual freight charges. Freight insurance is the amount of
money you pay to insure your vehicle. If you did not pay insurance,
Customs will multiply the sum of the market value and freight
first by 110 percent, then by 1.5 percent.
As you can see, taxes are now higher for used cars. In order
to establish the value of a used vehicle, you present the
commercial invoice with the purchase value of the vehicle.
If you do not have an invoice, you have to declare the value.
Do not think you can fool the Customs inspectors by putting
an arbitrary value on your vehicle. They have a list showing
the manufacturer's suggested retail price of every vehicle
manufactured when it was new, including extra equipment.
In the past, Customs agents would refer to the market value
based on the Black Book, a manual published in the U.S. with
a listing of new and used car wholesale auction prices for
United States car dealers and loan officers. We were just
informed that Customs agents no longer depend on this book.
However, if you want to get an idea of the value of your vehicle,
contact National Auto Research at 2620 Barrett Road, PO Box
758, Gainsville, GA, 30503, Tel: (800) 5541026, Fax: (770)
532-4792, http://www.blackbookguides.com. Another good resource
is http://www.crautos.com.
Duties may be checked at the Ministerio de Hacienda. (http://www.
hacienda.go.co/autovalor). However, to obtain a better estimate
of the duties to be paid, send a fax or E-mail to the Association
of Residents or Charles Zeller at E-mail: shiptocostarica@racsa.co.cr,
toll- free 1-866-280-9036, Fax: 258-7123. Be sure to include
the make of the car, model, serial number (VIN), automatic
or stick shift, extras such as air conditioning, power windows
or other non-standard equipment. Be sure to specify the country
from where you plan to ship the car.
After reading the above, if you still decide to import a
used vehicle, we recommend using a Customs broker to run around,
obtain all the necessary documents and massive paperwork,
and help with the taxes. After going through this process,
a friend of ours told us, A good customs agent can save you
money. A bilingual attorney is also important and will save
you days of running around from one office to another. He
can take you step-by-step through the whole ordeal.
However, if you do decide to do this yourself, you will need
to follow the procedure below. First, you have to go to either
the east or west coast to pick up your vehicle at the port
of entry. This can be a real pain in the neck, requiring a
lot of paperwork and patience. It is best to have a Customs
agent do all of this for you or go with you in person to pick
up the vehicle. A good Customs agent will have all the paper
work done and your car out of the aduana when you arrive
at the port of entry.
When we picked up our 1990 Montero in Limón, we arranged
everything beforehand. We took an early-morning bus from San
José and arrived in Limón with our agent three
hours later. Our car was waiting for us in a private parking
lot. We just signed one paper, got in the car and returned
to San José. The process would not have gone as smoothly
had we not planned carefully and coordinated everything with
our Customs agent.
Next, you need to register your car, which usually takes
a few working days. First, get your paperwork from customs.
Then have your vehicle checked at the nearest Rieteve SyC
Inspection Center (http://www.rtv. co.cr). At present there
are 11 inspection centers scattered around the country. Call
800-788-0000 to make an appointment and to locate the nearest
station to your home. Cars also have to be taken to these
stations yearly for general inspections to assure they are
roadworthy. Then take the papers they give you to the Registro
Público or Public Registry vehicle section (Registro
de Vehículos) in the suburb of Zapote. Call 224-0628
if you need information. The cost of your registration depends
on the value of your car. Finally, take the documents from
the registry to the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio
de Obras Públicas y Transportes) at Plaza Víquez,
south of downtown San José. Your temporary paper license
plates will be issued a few months later at the Registro
in Zapote.
You will have to wait for your permanent metal plates. In
the meantime, you will be issued a temporary paper plate that
you have to affix to the windshield of your vehicle. There
is an expiration date on the temporary paper plate. If your
metal plates still aren't ready you may renew the paper plate.
If you let it expire, there is a fine.
When your permanent metal plates are ready, you'll need to
take the following documents to the National Registry (Registro
Nacional) in Zapote: the temporary paper plate (placa
provisional), title of ownership (título de
propiedad), yellow registration card (tarjeta de circulación)
and resident ID card (cédula) or passport.
You can find information about vehicles and property by viewing
the National Registry's website at http://www.registronacional.com.
Every year you have to pay your marchamo or sticker
indicating you have paid your obligatory liability insurance.
It has to be renewed between November 1 and December 31. You
also have to pay $10 for an echo marchamo. This is
a certificate that shows your vehicles emissions are within
the legal limit. It is like a smog certificate in the United
States. A car without a marchamo decal on the windshield
after the first of January may be impounded.
You may pay the marchamo in person at many banks and
even on- line with The Banco Nacional de Costa Rica.
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