Gifts Stuck At Customs

[davidtarbuck]

I'm out of the country at the moment so sent some Christmas gifts in a parcel for my girlfriend. Nothing too expensive - a bit of light jewellery, some small things. All in all, maybe $120 in value.

She is really struggling to have it released from customs due to some papers she needs to fill out. Unbelievable bureaucracy. Does anyone have any info on how to get through this?

I know there are some import taxes that may apply, but as this is a gift I am hoping there'll be an exemption. As there is a Christmas card and each thing is covered in Christmas wrapping, my fingers are crossed.

Anyway, what a giant pain in the butt Argentina's postal system is.

 

[Girino]

So you sent it purposefully, knowing about the chance of it getting lost / stuck in custom and having the recipient go throug a hell of a paperwork, not to mention at least half a day lost to collect it?

Sounds like you are trying to break up with her!

 

[Pensador]

David sorry to hear about your problems with sending gifts it is difficult to get things in Argentina hopefully the new president Macri will remove some of the draconian postal and importation regulations which the last president put in place. Some here in these threads including myself have been through what you are going through. Very frustrating especially for gifts.

 

[sergio]

I am sorry but sending anything that ends up in the Argentine postal system is problematic, to say the least! I was once sent a check (unsolicited by me) which I discovered had been cashed by someone in a bank in Chile. When I reported this to the postal authorities in BA I was told not to file a claim as it is illegal to send checks in the mail and I could be held responsible for violating the law!

 

[Gringoboy]

Illegal to send cheques by post? So how did people manage before internet banking?
Davidtarbuck just had bad luck as the system appears NOT to have been mended yet and it doesn't help by giving him a hard time.
Much depends on what value was declared by you, the sender and whether your girlfriend has a cuit number etc. It's hard to advise without much information.

 

[steveinbsas]

In the past few years the problem of receiving/picking up packages sent from abroad has been a frequently discussed topic:

Importing Stuff From Amazon\ebay Under Black Friday?

New Online Purchasing Laws

Need Help! Ban On Private Parcels To Argentina