Customs officials explain new measures

By Lisandra Romeo Matos

From AIN (National Information Agency)

HAVANA – The new Customs standards that regulate the payment of duty for noncommercial items sent to natural persons were explained [Monday 16 July] to the press in the Cuban capital.

Officials of the General Customs of the Republic revealed the content of Resolution 122/2012, which lists the price, according to weight, of the products classified as miscellaneous (clothing, footwear, etc.), sent to the island by air, sea, postal services or messengers.

One of the Resolution’s main contents is a table that determines the weight of the shipment and its value, plus the taxed value and the duty payable. The table can be found in the special issue of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba dated 2 July 2010, or in the Customs Office’s website.

The measure will take effect on 3 September 2012.

In accordance with it, the Ministry of Finances and Prices issued Resolution 223/2012, which states that payment of the customs duty – up to 20-kilogram packages – will be made in convertible pesos (CUC).

Likewise, that Resolution exempts from duty those persons who receive up to 3 kilograms, according to the established peso/value relation.

Another Resolution, 222/2012, was also discussed by the Customs specialists. It exempts from the payment of duty those who, on each trip, import noncommercial products with a total value of up to 50 pesos 99 cents.

The Resolution also states that, from 60 pesos to 1,000 pesos, the travelers will have to pay a progressive tariff.

Natural persons and foreigners living in Cuba will pay in Cuban pesos (CUP) for their first importation of each year.

Beginning with the second importation, the duty will be paid in convertible pesos, which can be bought with CUP according to the current rate of exchange.

Foreigners and Cubans living abroad will pay in convertible pesos, according to legislation that will take effect on 2 August 2012.