Parcels From Abroad And Customs Marlarky.....

[Gerrysan]

Hi All,

A little story for your delectation.
My daughter's birthday was the 13th of March. Her Gran sent a wee parcel 2 t-Shirts and a dress + 2 Bday cards.
It was sent registered post and left for here on the 5th March. On the 17th of April we received a 3 page telegram from the Argentine postoffice saying we had to fill out a form from the tax office A..P, go there and pay the tax due.???

The parcel was waiting for us in Ezeiza. We got there on Wed the 23rd, documents were checked at the door, an hour's wait then to the first counter get some docs stamped and pay AR$25, then wait, to enter the customs area and pick up the parcel. The gentleman behind the counter when asked what we had to pay for this parcel said "when you buy something here you have to pay tax"........so by his counting we have to pay tax twice, even if we didn't buy it abroad.

Another hour's wait and we go through to the customs area. The VERY NICE CUSTOMS MAN there told us that this time he wouldn't charge us, and advised that we would normally have to pay a 50% tax on the value of the contents (€25+/-) and the price of the stamp(€9). Then suggested to us to tell our friends and family not to send any more parcels.

It's all downhill from here with how state control is organising itself.
Cheers G

 

[prettejohn]

Argentina is becoming very frustrating to live here as an expat. We've had a similar problem with our children's birthday presents except ours ended up in Retiro. Here's our tale of woe and frustration which ended up in a fruitless wait and then we decided it wasn't worth it. We haven't heard what happened to the remaining four or five parcels. It's a real pity as before Christmas everything invariably turned up. We've effectively given up too and told grandparents not to bother and send letters only and then put money into an account in the UK. Bureaucracy is big business here.

http://baexpats.org/topic/29249-international-post/

 

[la_guachita]

Still waiting to receive a package sent in Jan. No slip, nada. Called and was told I couldn't do anything without the slip. I wonder if offering the postman some incentive to track it down would work?

 

[johnw100]

Still waiting to receive a package sent in Jan. No slip, nada. Called and was told I couldn't do anything without the slip. I wonder if offering the postman some incentive to track it down would work?

They should be able to tell you something. We waited for a parcel for over 2 months over christmas, we went to the post office and even though it wasnt a tracked parcel it was in the system and according to the computer it arrived in BA after 2 days and was sitting in a warehouse waiting to be processed for 2 months. We received a slip eventually to collect.

 

[Napoleon]

First rule of Post Club: "You don't ship stuff to Argentina."

Second Rule of Post Club: "See the First Rule."

Why set yourselves up to be victims? EVERYONE says Do NOT Ship Stuff to Argentina!!

If you want something shipped, set up a P.O. Box in Colonia, Uruguay, then take a trip over there, with draw US Dollars from an ATM, and Pick Up Your Package all in one trip.

You might as well post a story about getting robbed and having your camera stolen while wandering around alone in La Boca.

 

[Gringoboy]

Agreed totally with you Napoleon.
I went to Correo nr retiro without an advice note (because it never arrived) for a pair of sunglasses sent to me in January.
No advice note=no deal.
There is an office on Alem, which is where I'm going next.

 

[French jurist]

An expat should settle in Colonia & open such a business (PO box), with mules & such.

 

[Chet]

So, anyone up for helping a noob with very little Spanish get to Colonia and rent a PO Box?

 

[internationalguy]

I would gladly but I just got back from my Colonia run.

 

[Redpossum]

So, anyone up for helping a noob with very little Spanish get to Colonia and rent a PO Box?

Perhaps you could start a new thread called "Colonia Run May 2014" and ask your question in there. Sometimes a clearly titled thread will get attention that a question in another thread will not. There are always at least 4 times as many unregistered "guests" browsing here as registered members, it's 23 and 108 as I type this