Importing car, do I have to pay tax?

[Dennis E. Pate]

I am importing my car. I have been told that as a pensionado I get a waver on one car. It will take nine months for my pensionado paperwork to go through but I heard that I only have seven months then the tax is due. Can anyone advise me on a way to bring it in as a tourist and then pensionado after my paperwork goes through.

[Lee Zeltzer]

All I can suggest is ask your lawyer.

[M&M Administrative Services]

It is true that if one has pensionado status, they can then bring in one vehicle at a time, supposedly every two years, and without any tax liability. If you do this as a tourist, then you do have to pay the tax. At the very least your lawyers managing your immigration process as well as the Direccion de Migracion would have to vouch for you to Aduanas that you have pensionado residency in processing. That is assuming Aduanas has a process by which those pending pensionado status can provisionally import their vehicle tax-free. Might be best to talk to your lawyer (assuming you have one).

We would be happy to recommend a firm that we like (lots of bad ones out there). We could also help with the arduous process of getting your vehicle legally on the road once it arrives.

[Dimitri Svolos]

Dennis,
You will not be able to take advantage of any pensionado discount until you get your official papers in Panama. Panama customs does not honor any lawyer's vouching and/or other types of plea.Their protocol is pretty rigid.

[Dennis E. Pate]

How much do they charge you for your car?

[Dimitri Svolos]

It depends on the make and year of the car. Their evaluation method and price has nothing to do with market value or Blue Book value or any other value that we are used to. They got a system of their own and 99% of the time it is not worth it bringing a car to Panama. Not to mention the mounts of paperwork and running around needed.You are better off buying one here. Plenty of cars to choose from and the prices are comparable to the US.

[Wes McAda]

Indeed it does depend on the car. Aduanas' evaluations seem quite arbitrary. I brought down an old junker truck because they are inexpensive to maintain here, but they charged me more in tax than the vehicle would have fetched back in the USA. They also ignored the NADA values on my motorcycles. They came up with something higher and completely unreasonable.

If one has jubilado status, there is no reason not to bring their one vehicle at a time that is free from lein. The cost of transportation (flete) in my experience has been under $800. Right now is a good time to buy vehicles in the states -- buyer's market with distressed sellers. It can be a pain to get the vehicle registered and on the road, but we are talking about three outings -- DIJ, Revisado, Municipality.

[Dimitri Svolos]

Great input Wes! I found a website at http://www.how2panama.com that has some great and inexpensive online ebooks that explain step-by-step certain processes in Panama (including How to Import a Car in Panama). They are worth the money and were very helpful to me and my wife. They made those three outings -- DIJ, Revisado, Municipality- a breeze.

[Wes McAda]

Thanks for sharing the link!

[Rudy Smits]

Just drove to Panama from the US. Jubilado visa in process.
The minute I applied for a resident visa my RV could not get an extension of the driving permit (thechnically no longer a turist).
So after 3 months my RV ended up in the David Customs impound yard for "value evaluation" to determine import duties. Customs ignores sales contracts or Blue Book value. It was supposed to be a 5 day process! 3 weeks later, lost paper work and to top it up the managed to loose the pictures as well, I finally got the value from Panama City and opted to put up a "guarantee" equal to the import duty and sales tax (15% + 5% for cars, 5% + 5% for trucks). Technically, after I receive the residence visa I can import the RV w/o duties. You still have to pay the 5% sales tax. They will refund the customs tax deposit minus 1%. When you sell the car/RV you or the buyer have to pay the Import duties. I am glad to have a great attorney, otherwise my RV would still be in customs.
They used to do the "valuing" here in David and apparantly took only 3 days max. Now everything goes through Panama City and only 1 lady signs the "valuations" for the whole nation.
There is talk about bringing to David the process!

[Thomas Deady]

You have to have your pensionado first. Importing a car was a huge mistake. You will pay plenty and spend your life jumping through hoops. You will pay a huge fee to the Aduana in an import tax. NO WAIVER. Plus you are spotted as a gringo on the road and police will pull you over and demand a bribe. Just don't do it! Buy the most common Asian car/truck you see as they have parts and can fix them. I have an Asian US made Nissan and it took them 4 months to get parts from Costa Rica. You can buy a vehicle here now, before your residency papers have gone through. Expect a long wait for your residency!
Tom Deady, Santa Lucia

[Dennis E. Pate]

Well I am in the process of getting my car. I know everyone has a different question or story about what they have gone / are going through so when my journey is complete and I am driving MY car in Boquete I will post a blow by blow account with names dates paperwork and cost for everyone. The one thing I must say is that everyone on this board tries to help you in every way. I cannot think of a better place to be thanks to all of you.
Dennis E. Pate

[Wes McAda]

In my experience it is true that the police and other officials will try to extort bribes from you when you import a vehicle and do not yet have it registered and legal.