Includes customs regulations and contact information for this country's customs office.

Bolivian import charges include domestic taxes (most of which are creditable to the Bolivia Tax Authority) and private fees, making effective costs considerably higher than the stated tariffs.

Landed costs generally include the following:

  • Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value at the border.

  • Currently the import tariffs are 0 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, 35 percent, and 40 percent (the 30, 35 and 40 rates are only for textiles as delineated in the Bolivian tariff schedule, called the NANDINA in Latin America).

  • Warehouse fees: customs warehouses are privately owned. Rates vary according to volume.

  • Bolivian National Tax Service (Servicio de Impuestos Internos) fees: the value-added tax is 13.3 percent.  Added customs fees bring the effective rate to 14.94 percent, which is charged on an accumulated base.

  • Specific Consumption Tax (ICE): the ICE is levied on luxury goods like automobiles, perfumes, cosmetics, liquors, cigarettes, and beer.

  • Customs broker fees: the following customs broker fees are applied to CIF for land shipments and to CIF airport value for air cargo:

 

From (USD)

To (USD)

Percentage

$1

$10,000

2.00

$10,001

$20,000

1.50

$20,001

$30,000

1.25

$30,001

$50,000

1.00

$50,001

$100,000

0.75

$100,001

and above

0.50

 

  • The value added tax (VAT) paid by the importer reduces the importer’s tax liability when goods are resold, ultimately reducing actual costs.

 

Entry and Warehousing 

Bolivia benefits from free transit arrangements with Argentine, Brazilian, Chilean, Paraguayan, and Peruvian ports. The Chilean ports of Arica and Iquique are generally considered the most important ports of entry in terms of logistics.

Bolivian customs officials maintain warehouses in Chilean ports and allow storage of incoming goods for up to 90 days, with fees levied at 0.5 percent of CIF for each 30-day period or fraction thereof.  Once clearing documents are signed, goods must be removed from storage within eight days to avoid an additional charge of two percent of CIF.  Note that products transiting through Chilean ports may experience occasional delays due to strikes or other disputes.

Imported, stored merchandise may be considered abandoned by explicit request or by failure to claim the goods within the required 90 days.  By law, such goods are subject to public auction; proceeds (after expenses) go to the interested party (the original owner of the merchandise).  However, if the products are perishable, the law requires their incineration.

For additional information, interested parties may contact the following:

Aduana Nacional de Bolivia
Calle Av. 20 de Octubre No. 2038
La Paz, Bolivia
Phone: 591-2-212-7860 or 212-8008
Fax: 591-2-215-2904
Web

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