I recently ordered a Kindle from Amazon.com to be delivered to my apartment in BA. (mine broke last week). I have heard that there is something ridiculous like a 50% tax on all electronics. The Kindle was already a bit more expensive that it was when I bought the first one in the US, but does anyone know if I will owe something on it additionally when it is delivered? It is being delivered via DHL and there is currently a "HOLD" on the delivery. Any info is greatly appreciated!
Electronics From Amazon
- Thread starter kristio
- Start date
Yeah...tax for sending electronics in is at around 100% (much more than bringing them in in-person I think). I'm pretty sure they also include postage and packing in that too.
I remember my husband got a computer keyboard sent over from somewhere (Japan or the US) and was charged the same price as the product in duties. It still turned out to be much cheaper than what he'd pay here but unless you're really desperate, its not the best idea to get stuff sent. (it also goes missing A LOT).
Usually, the postman will charge you at the door. If you don't have the cash on you at the time, they take it somewhere to be held (maybe correo central) and you have to go there to pay. I've also heard that sometimes electronics get stuck at Ezeiza and you have to go all the way over there...
Good luck...I hope you get it soon and they don't sting you too much
I remember my husband got a computer keyboard sent over from somewhere (Japan or the US) and was charged the same price as the product in duties. It still turned out to be much cheaper than what he'd pay here but unless you're really desperate, its not the best idea to get stuff sent. (it also goes missing A LOT).
Usually, the postman will charge you at the door. If you don't have the cash on you at the time, they take it somewhere to be held (maybe correo central) and you have to go there to pay. I've also heard that sometimes electronics get stuck at Ezeiza and you have to go all the way over there...
Good luck...I hope you get it soon and they don't sting you too much
OUCH! Call DHL immediately and ask what "Hold" means. If it is at customs at EZE you should run there and get it out. You will need whatever paperwork DHL can send you. EVERY DAY they hold it they add more charges. You get charged the taxes, plus the service of moving it TO their storage space, then a daily rate for storing it and then the service of moving it FROM their storage space, plus administrative fees, PLUS taxes on all of that stuff.
Suerte, Richard
Suerte, Richard
@kristio, I hope for the best for you, too, but in any case, please keep us posted!! Your package won't go to Ezeiza unless you accidentally sent it by DHL, UPS or Fedex. Always better to use the USPS because at least those packages DON'T get stuck at Ezeiza from what I have read on this forum and my own experience. Retiro does not charge you for the first 5 days.
I have an Argentine friend who orders small packages all the time from dealextreme, including smartphones and tablets, and all but one have come right to his door free of duty. And that one time, he was only charged once 30 pesos for a tablet. Supposedly, as long as it under 1 kilo and fairly smallish, it passes. They write things like, "Gift" on the package in English but surely aduanas knows the company by now. Of course, I don't much fancy the idea of buying most of the products for their quality unless I want an Extreme Deal.
Still, I think it is curious that he gets so many packages without being charged since they are indeed electronics, and I wonder if the products pass because of the low quality or because of my other theory...aduanas is more likely to stop or check packages destined to people with non-castellano sounding names. ...Or aduanas picks out people who look genuinely lost or struggle to communicate in Retiro because of the language barrier (bring an Argentine friend in any case to help you get your package assuming you have to pick it up!).
I have an Argentine friend who orders small packages all the time from dealextreme, including smartphones and tablets, and all but one have come right to his door free of duty. And that one time, he was only charged once 30 pesos for a tablet. Supposedly, as long as it under 1 kilo and fairly smallish, it passes. They write things like, "Gift" on the package in English but surely aduanas knows the company by now. Of course, I don't much fancy the idea of buying most of the products for their quality unless I want an Extreme Deal.
Still, I think it is curious that he gets so many packages without being charged since they are indeed electronics, and I wonder if the products pass because of the low quality or because of my other theory...aduanas is more likely to stop or check packages destined to people with non-castellano sounding names. ...Or aduanas picks out people who look genuinely lost or struggle to communicate in Retiro because of the language barrier (bring an Argentine friend in any case to help you get your package assuming you have to pick it up!).
I am having a package with mainly non-electronics sent to me via USPS. It's been 2 weeks since it's shipped via USPS, and it has says it's at an Argentine Sorting Facility and En Route to Location for the last week. Any idea what's going on with that?
notebook.fix
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Hi, sorry but most likely DHL will have deliberately delayed notifying you of the arrival of your package, by the time you find out where to go to pick up your package your package would have been sitting at some depo for at least a couple of weeks (racking up storage fees at the Aduana) - DHL will ask for at least an extra US$50 (I was almost forced into paying for it 2yrs ago) - If you threaten to take it to head office in Europe or the US they may stop asking for it & allow you to go & pay the storage fees' at the aduana.
I hope that the above is not what you have to go through cause this is exactly what happened to me when I had mistakenly tried to import a computer US$200 part...not only did they try to charge me an extra US$50 -ON TOP of the 'Overnight express' DHL fees, they forced me to spend a whole day at Ezeiza , grovelling for hours before they allowed me to have the privilege of paying the storage fees + the 100% import tax slug.
Make no mistake, the Aduana Dept in Argentina is a law unto itself ....enough said.
Best of luck!
I hope that the above is not what you have to go through cause this is exactly what happened to me when I had mistakenly tried to import a computer US$200 part...not only did they try to charge me an extra US$50 -ON TOP of the 'Overnight express' DHL fees, they forced me to spend a whole day at Ezeiza , grovelling for hours before they allowed me to have the privilege of paying the storage fees + the 100% import tax slug.
Make no mistake, the Aduana Dept in Argentina is a law unto itself ....enough said.
Best of luck!
kristio said:
So the tax is definitely around 100%! Thank goodness this was a relatively inexpensive piece of electronics or I would be in quite a bit of trouble. Thanks to everyone who responded I contacted DHL immediately and was just able to pick it up today without any extra storage fees on top of the insanely high tax! Lesson learned I guess...
Thanks for the follow up on receiving your mail. I am contemplating ordering a factory refurbished Canon Digital video camera. My invoice will even say that it is a refurb. The question is, will I have to pay a tax on it. I am paying $450 for the camera. Thanks in advance for any insights into the matter and/or wild speculations!