WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
7 October 2008 
 (08-4771) 
Committee on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
SUBSIDIES 
 
Continuation of the Extension under SCM Ar ticle 27.4 of the Transition Period for  
the Elimination of Export Subsidies Pursuant to the Procedure  
in Document WT/L/691  
 
COSTA RICA 
 
Revision  
 
  The following communication, dated 6 October 2008, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Costa Rica.  
_______________ 
 
  Pursuant to the procedures agreed upon in General Council Decision WT/L/691 in respect of the continuation of the extension under Article 27.4 of the SCM Agreement and, in particular, the 
provisions of paragraphs 1(c), 1( d), 2 and 3 of that document, the Government of Costa Rica hereby 
submits this updating notification concerning the programmes for which an extension has been 
granted (see documents G/SCM/61/Add.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and G/SCM/62/Add.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). 
 G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 2  
 
  CONTENTS  
 
Page
 
 
NOTIFICATION ................................................................................................................... ................3  
ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................ ....................12  
Amendment of the Regulations implementing  the General Customs Law, No. 33915-H..............13  
Regulations implementing the Inward Processing Regime No. 34165-H-COMEX .......................16  
Amendments to the Regulations implemen ting the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, 
Executive Decree No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001 No. 34166-H-COMEX.........................39  
  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  NOTIFICATION 
 
A. STANDSTILL REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROCEDURES FOR EXTENSIONS UNDER ARTICLE 27.4 
 The programmes contained in this notificati on, which have been granted extensions under 
Article 27.4 of the Agreement on Subsidies and C ountervailing Measures, have not been modified 
with respect to the requirements of document  WT/L/691. 
 B. T
HE DUTY-FREE ZONE REGIME  
1. Description of the subsidy 
 The Duty-Free Zone Regime is the set of in centives and benefits offered by the State to 
enterprises making new investments in Costa Rica, subject to compliance with the requirements and 
obligations laid down in Law No. 7210, and amendmen ts thereto, and its im plementing regulations.  
One of the qualification criteria is the requirement that at least 75 per cent of an enterprise's production be exported.  The Regulations establish the definition of "new investments in the country".  
The establishment location of a group  of enterprises operating as beneficiaries of this Regime is called 
a "duty-free zone", which is required to be a defi ned area, without a resident population, which is 
authorized by the Executive to  operate in this capacity. 
 
2. Period of notification 
 This notification provides a description of th e Duty-Free Zone Regime corresponding to the 
calendar year 2007. 
 
3. Policy objective 
 The primary objective of the Law is to foster  the socio-economic development of Costa Rica 
by attracting foreign and domestic investment and promoting exports.  The Duty-Free Zone Regime is 
an important economic instrument for raising the st andard of living of the population of Costa Rica, 
particularly by creating sources of employment and supporting human development, with a special 
focus on less-developed areas of the country.  This t ype of regime is conducive to the establishment of 
enterprises performing a wide range of operations  and production processes which contribute to the 
generation of wealth and technological know-h ow and increase the country's international 
competitiveness.  4. Background and authority 
 Duty-Free Zone Regime Law No. 7210 of 23 N ovember 1990 (full text attached as an Annex 
to notification G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002 by Costa Rica) and amendments thereto.
1 
  Regulations implementing the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law - Executive Decree 
No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001 (full text attached as an Annex to notification 
G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002 by Costa Rica) and amendments thereto.
2 
                                                      
1 The amendments to Law No. 7210 of 23 November 1990 are contained in Law No. 7467 of 
20 December 1994, Law No. 7535 of 1 August 1995, Law No. 7638 of 30  October 1996, Law No. 4924 of 
17 September 1997 and Law No. 7830 of 22 September 1998 (full texts of this legislation are attached as Annexes to Costa Rica's notification in document G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002).  Law No. 8262 of 
2 May 2002 amended Article 23 of Law No. 7210;  the full version of this article is attached as an Annex to 
Costa Rica's notification in document G/SCM/N/95/CRI of 8 July 2003. 
2 The amendments to Executive Decree No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001 are contained in:  
Executive Decree No. 29962 of 22 September 2001, Executive Decree No. 30124 of 25 January 2002, G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 4  
 
   
 General Customs Law No. 7557 of 20 Octobe r 1995, Section I, Chapter V (Duty-Free Zone 
Regime
3) and amendments thereto.4 
  Regulations implementing the General Custom s Law, Chapter X (Duty-Free Zone Regime), 
Executive Decree No. 25270-H of 28 June 1996
5 and amendments thereto.6 
 
5. Form of the subsidy 
The subsidy is essentially an exemption from pa yment of all taxes, consular fees and duties 
and is provided in the manner set out below. 
 
The incentives granted by this Regime are: 
 
(a) Exemption from all taxes and consular fees on imports of raw materials, 
manufactured and semi-manufactured produc ts, components and parts, packing and 
packaging materials and other goods and me rchandise required for the operations of 
the enterprise; 
(b) exemption from all taxes and consular fees  on imports of machinery, equipment, 
accessories and spare parts, and on motor vehicles required for the operating, production, administrative and transport activities of the enterprise; 
(c) exemption from all taxes and consular fees  on imports of fuel, oil and lubricants 
required for the operation of such enterprises; 
                                                                                                                                                                    
 
Executive Decree No. 30407 of 18 April 2002, and Executive Decree No. 30849 of 23 October 2002, (all of 
which are attached as Annexes to Costa Rica's notif ication G/SCM/N/95/CRI of 8 July 2003), Executive 
Decree No. 31715-H-COMEX-MEIC of 2 March 2004 (a ttached as an Annex to Costa Rica's notification 
G/SCM/N/114/CRI of 2 July  2004), Executive De cree No. 32232 of 16 December 2004 (attached as an Annex 
to Costa Rica's notification G/SCM/N/123/CRI), Executiv e Decree No. 32804 of 30 November 2005 (attached 
as an Annex to Costa Rica's notification G/SCM/N/146/CRI), Executive Decree No. 33204 of 6 June 2006, 
Executive Decree No. 33283 of 7 July  2006, Executive Decree No. 33291 of  20 June 2006, Executive Decree 
No. 33360 of 20 September 2006, Executive Decree No. 33483 of 2 November 2006 (attached as an Annex to 
Costa Rica's notification G/SCM/N/160/CRI), and Executive Decree No. 34166 of 4 December 2007 (the latter 
did not amend or alter the benefits of the regimes). 
3 The parts referred to are attached as an Anne x to the notification by Costa Rica in document 
G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002.  The full text is available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division. 
4 The amendments to General Customs Law No. 7557 of 20 October 1995 are contained in Law 
No. 7900 of 3 August 1999 (available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division), Law No. 8373 of 4 August 2003 and Law 8419 of 28 June 2004 (the latter did not amend or alter the benefits of the regimes). 
5 The parts referred to are attached as an Anne x to the notification by Costa Rica in document 
G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002.  The full text is available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division. 
6 The amendments to the Regulations implementing the General Customs Law, Chapter X (Duty-Free 
Zone Regime), Executive Decree No. 25270-H of 28 June 1996 are contained in Executive Decree No. 25295 of 17 June 1996 (available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division), Executive Decree No. 26285 of 
18 August 1997 (full text attached as Annex to the notification by Costa Rica in document G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 
5 March 2002), Executive Decree No. 26961 of 30 March 1998 (available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division), Decree No. 27717 of 23 February 1999 (available for consultation in the archives of the Rules 
Division),  Executive Decree No. 28242 of 30 September 1999 (available for consultation in the archives of the 
Rules Division), Executive Decree No. 28976 of 27 September 2000 (available for consultation in the archives of the Rules Division), Executive Decree No. 32098 of 23 September 2004 (available for consultation in the 
archives of the Rules Division), and Executive Decree No. 33915 of 30 January 2007.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (d) exemption from all taxes relating to goods export or re-export.  This exemption is 
granted for the re-export from the duty-fr ee zones of production machinery and 
equipment which entered under the Law; 
(e) exemption from payment of taxes on capital and net assets and payment of land tax; 
(f) exemption from sales and consumption taxes on purchases of goods and services; 
(g) exemption from all taxes on remittances abroad; 
(h) exemption from all taxes on profits and an y other taxes for which the tax base is 
calculated in relation to gross or net earni ngs, dividends paid to shareholders, revenue 
or sales; 
(i) exemption from any municipal tax or business tax; 
(j) exemption from any taxes on imports or expor ts of commercial or industrial samples; 
(k) to enhance their business operations, enterp rises benefiting under the Duty-Free Zone 
Regime are entitled to freely execute in foreign currency all kinds of deeds and contracts pertaining to international transacti ons or transactions with other enterprises 
established under the Duty-Free Zone Regime; 
(l) enterprises based in relatively less-develope d areas are entitled to a credit equivalent 
to 10 per cent of the total amount of wages and salaries paid the previous year;  this amount decreases by two percentage points per year and expires after five years; 
(m) export-processing enterprises which, havi ng operated for four years under the 
Duty-Free Zone Regime, reinvest in Costa Rica are entitled to an additional exemption from payment of income tax, at  a percentage corresponding to the amount 
of the reinvestment as a proportio n of the original investment. 
 The above exemptions remain subject to fulfilm ent of certain specific requirements laid down 
by laws and regulations, and international ag reements signed and approved by Costa Rica. 
 
6. Beneficiaries and mechanism 
The following types of enterprise qua lify for the Duty-Free Zone Regime: 
 
(a) Export-processing industries which manufacture, process or assemble export or 
re-export goods; 
(b) export-trading enterprises with no production activity, which simply handle, 
repackage or redistribute non-traditional goo ds and products for export or re-export; 
(c) service industries and enterprises which export services to natural or legal persons 
domiciled abroad, or which provide services to companies which are beneficiaries of the Duty-Free Zone Regime, in the latter case, provided that the services are directly 
related to the production processes of those companies; 
(d) enterprises which manage industrial parks wh ere enterprises are to be based under the 
Duty-Free Zone Regime, provided that th e parks meet the minimum infrastructure G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 6  
 
  and service-availability requirements laid down in the Regulations implementing the 
Law; 
(e) enterprises or other entities engaged in scientif ic research with a view to raising the 
technological level of the country's indus trial or agribusiness activity and foreign 
trade; 
(f) enterprises operating shipyards or dry or fl oating docks for shipbuilding, repair or 
maintenance. 
 Export-trading enterprises do not qualify for th e exemptions under subparagraphs (g) and (h) 
of section A.5 of this notification.  Thus, the great majority of enterprises operating under the 
Duty-Free Zone Regime are export processing indus tries rather than export trading enterprises. 
 
 Banking, financial and insurance entities base d in duty-free zones do not qualify for the 
benefits of this Regime.  Neither do natural or  legal persons engaged in  providing professional 
services qualify for the Regime.  
 There are several stages in the granting of Regime status: 
 
(a) The natural or legal person wishing to join  the Duty-Free Zone Regime is required to 
submit the relevant application to the Corporation
7 (rights and obligations currently 
vested in the Foreign Trade Promoti on Agency (PROCOMER)), pursuant to 
Article 13(a) of Law No. 7638 of 30 October 1996), to be duly authenticated by a 
notary public, and to be accompanied by detailed information on the pollution caused 
by the process and its waste and the documents requested by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.  Generally speaking, all applications must comply with the 
relevant instructions issued by the Corporation; 
(b) the Corporation examines the applicati on and information included, subject to 
provision of all the required details, and forwards an opinion to the Board of 
Directors, which is then required to decide on the matter by no later than at the ordinary meeting following receipt of the opini on, or at an extraordinary meeting if so 
agreed by four of its members; 
(c) at its discretion, the Corporation may seek specialist opinions from various State 
institutions to assist its examination of the enterprise's application; 
(d) if the recommendation is approved, it is then  ratified by the Executive, by a resolution 
citing the details specified in the Regulations implementing the Law. 
7. Estimated amount of the subsidy 
 Since this subsidy involves exemptions from a number of different taxes and consular fees, 
which vary according to the level of compliance wi th the specified requirements, the comprehensive 
information required to estimate the amount of the subsidy is not available. 
 
                                                     
 
7 "Corporation" means " Corporación de la Zona Franca de Exportaciones S.A ." (Export Duty-Free 
Zones Corporation, public limited company), pursuant to the General Customs Law, Law No. 7557 of 
20 October 1995.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  8. Duration of the subsidy 
 Regime benefits apply as of the date on whic h Duty-Free Regime status is granted to the 
applicant enterprises.  With regard to duration, th e main incentives of the Duty-Free Zone Regime are 
subject to a specific expiry date.  Moreover, wher e there is non-compliance with the conditions laid 
down the Regime may be revoked by the Ministry of Foreign Trade. 
 
 Of the incentives described in Section B.5 of th is notification, the following are subject to a 
specific expiry date:  – Exemption from taxes on capital and net assets a nd from payment of land tax for a period of 
ten years.
8 
 – Exemption from all taxes on pr ofits and any other tax for which the tax base is determined 
according to gross or net earnings, dividends  paid to shareholders, revenue or sales
9, 
according to the following distinctions: 
 
(a) For enterprises based in "relatively more developed areas", the exemption is 100 per 
cent for a period of up to eight years, and 50 per cent for the following four years. 
(b) For enterprises based in "relatively less developed areas", the exemption is 100 per 
cent for a period of up to 12 years, and 50 per cent for the following six years. 
(c) For export-processing enterprises which, after operating for four years under the 
Regime, reinvest in Costa Rica, there is a possibility of a further exemption of 75 per 
cent for up to four years, depending on the reinvestment amount. 
– Exemption from all municipal tax and business tax for a period of 10 years.10 
  Regime benefits are likewise subject to the pr ovisions of Article 27.4 of the WTO Agreement 
on Subsidies and the corresponding extensions granted by the WTO in documents G/SCM/39 and 
WT/L/691.  Every contract in which benefits ar e granted includes a clause that makes its duration 
subject to WTO rules.  Therefore, the benefits as designed will have effect until 1 January 2015.  It 
should be noted that all the benefici aries have already been notified. 
  In this connection, it is important to point out  that as part of the National Development Plan 
the Government of Costa Rica is drawing up a new st rategy for attracting investment consistent with 
WTO rules.  In this respect, taking into acc ount paragraph 1(e) of General Council Decision 
WT/L/691, an inter-institutional commission has been  established to assess any measures that should 
be taken to fulfil the commitments undertaken and,  at the same time, enc ourage higher levels of 
investment, both domestic and foreign.  In 2008,  this commission, in consultation with other 
authorities, has begun the process of drawing up a proposed amendment to the Duty-Free Zone Law 
that incorporates, among others, the following major changes:  
• Eliminating the link between the incentives and exports. 
• Providing incentives for enterprises setting up in less developed areas. 
• Giving tax credits for training. 
• Including parameters for strengthening li nks between free-zone enterprises and local 
industry (production chains). 
                                                     
 
8 See section 5(e) of this notification. 
9 See section 5(h) of this notification. 
10 See section 5(i) and (m) of this notification. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 8  
 
  • Promoting the establishment of enterprises that will carry out research and 
development in Costa Rica and generate technology transfer. 
 9. Trade effects of the subsidy
11 
 At the present time there are 140 enterprises receivi ng the benefits of Duty-Free Zone status.  
Between them, those firms generate d 54 per cent of Costa Rica's total exports in 2007, as compared 
with 1991, when 81 enterprises covered by the regime  accounted for only 9.3 per cent of total exports.  
In 2007, roughly 1,198 different products were e xported to 100 countries under the Duty-Free Zone 
Regime.   It should be noted that in 2007, the sales abroad of these enterprises amounted to 
US$5,066 million, 17 per cent more than the previous year.   Currently, the Duty-Free Zone Regime is 
directly generating jobs for approximately 45,000 workers. 
  Along with this favourable socio-economic impact, the establishment of high-technology 
enterprises has been conducive to technology tran sfer and the development of a significant 
knowledge-based industry in the domestic market, pl us a specialized and highly competitive labour 
force.  
Costa Rica:  Total Exports and Duty-Free Zone Exports 
In Million US$ 
 
 2005 2006 2007 
Duty-Free Zone  3,698.2  4,314.2  5,066.0 
Total exports  7,004.8  8,195.6  9,343.1 
Source:  PROCOMER 
 
C. THE INWARD PROCESSING REGIME  
1. Description of the subsidy 
 The inward processing regime is the customs regime allowing the entry of merchandise into 
the national customs territory with suspension of all kinds of taxes, subject to lodgement of a 
guarantee deposit.  The goods must be re-exported, within time-limits laid  down in the relevant 
regulations, after undergoing processing,  repair, reconstruction, installation, assembly, or after being 
incorporated in sub-assemblies, machinery, transpor t equipment in general or appliances with a higher 
degree of technological or functional complexity, or  after being used for other similar purposes, in 
situations as laid down in regulations or provisi ons stipulated for this purpose by the competent 
administrative authority.  
 Applications for a transition period for th e Inward Processing Regime refer solely to 
exemptions from import duties and indirect taxe s meeting one of the conditions laid down in 
paragraphs (g), (h) or (i) of Annex I to the SCM Agreement. 
 
2. Period of notification 
 This notification provides a description of the Inward Processing Regime corresponding to 
calendar year 2007. 
                                                     
 
11 Information supplied by the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER).  The data for 2007 
are preliminary figures:  the last few months may undergo adjustments (some formalities being provisional) that 
are not entered in the database until the final documentation has been processed.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 9 
 
 
   
3. Policy objective 
 The inward processing regime is designed to  promote production, employment, and foreign 
and domestic investment, which inevitably cont ributes towards increasing exports and domestic 
consumption.  The conjunction of all these aspect s helps to achieve national development objectives 
such as raising the standard of living of th e population, increasing in come levels, reducing 
unemployment and increasing the country's productivity and ability to compete internationally.  
4. Background and authority 
 General Customs Law, Law No. 7557 of 20 October 1995, Chapter VI (Processing 
Regimes)
12 and amendments thereto.13 
  Regulations implementing the General Customs Law, Chapter XIII (Inward Processing Regime), Executive Decree No. 25270-H of 28 June 1996
14, and amendments thereto.15 
 
 Regulations on the Inward Processing a nd Duty Refund Regimes, Executive Decree 
No. 26285-H-COMEX of 19 August 1997 (full text att ached as an Annex to Costa Rica's notification 
G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 2002), and amendments thereto.16 
 
5. Form of subsidy 
 The inward processing subsidy allows the entr y of merchandise into the national customs 
territory with suspension of all kinds of taxes, s ubject to lodgement of a guarantee deposit.  The goods 
must be re-exported, within time-limits laid dow n in the relevant regul ations, after undergoing 
processing, repair, reconstruction, installation,  assembly, or after being incorporated in 
sub-assemblies, machinery, transport equipment in general or appliances with a higher degree of technological or functional complexity, or after bei ng used for other similar purposes, in situations as 
laid down in regulations or provisions stipulated for this purpose by the competent administrative 
authority.  
6. Beneficiaries and mechanism 
 To qualify for the Regime, the enterprise mu st choose one of the options available: 
 
(a) 100 per cent re-export option:  enterprises choosing this option may not sell their 
products on the domestic market; 
 
                                                     
 
12 Parts referred to attached as an Annex to  Costa Rica's notificati on G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 
5 March 2002.  The full text is available for examination in the archives of the Legislative Division. 
13 Cf. footnote 4. 
14 Parts referred to attached as an Annex to  Costa Rica's notificati on G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 
5 March 2002.  The full text is available for examination in the archives of the Legislative Division. 
15 Cf. footnote 6. 
16 The amendments to the Regula tions Implementing the Inward Processing and Drawback Regimes, 
Executive Decree No. 26285-H-COMEX of 19 August 19 97, are contained in Ex ecutive Decree 27329 of 
26 August 1998 and Executive Decree 29055 of 31 October 2000 (full texts attached as an Annex to Costa 
Rica's notification G/SCM/N/71/CRI of 5 March 20 02).  Also, Executive D ecree 32982-H-COMEX of 
10 March 2006 (full text of this amendment attached as an Annex to Costa Rica's notification G/SCM/N/146/CRI) and Executive Decree  No. 34165 of 4 December 2007 (this latest amendment did not 
modify or alter the benefits under the regimes). G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
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  (b) re-export and domestic sale option:  under  this option enterprises may sell the goods 
on the domestic market or simply re-export them. 
 Enterprises operating under the "domestic sale" option are required to pay the full tax payable 
for the definitive importation of the merchandise.  Si milarly, at the time of inward clearance of 
machinery and equipment under the regime, they  are required to pay the proportion of tax 
corresponding to the percentage of sales on the domest ic market in relation to the total sales of the 
enterprise.   The obligations for regime beneficiaries include  the following:  to submit reports on all their 
operations to PROCOMER's Manage ment Unit;  to keep a log of operations carried out under the 
regime;  prior to commencing operations, to appl y to the Directorate-General of Customs for 
permission to operate as a Customs Service auxiliary ;  to keep goods entering under the Regime in 
authorized premises or plants;  to keep a separat e stock control system and accounting records for 
operations carried out under the Regime;  to comp ly with customs legislation requirements, etc. 
 7. Estimated amount of the subsidy 
 The information required to estimate the amount of the subsidy granted under this Regime is 
not available.  
8. Duration of the subsidy 
Regime benefits apply as from the date of i ssue of the authorization to commence activities 
under the Inward Processing Regime.  Except in the event of the revocation of the Regime by the 
Ministry of Foreign Trade, or relinquishment by the enterprise covered by the Regime, the benefits 
granted by this Regime continue for an indefinite term.  
 
However, Regime benefits are likewise subject to the provisions of Article 27.4 of the 
WTO Agreement on Subsidies and the corresponding ex tensions granted by the WTO in documents 
G/SCM/39 and WT/L/691.  Every contract in which benefits are granted includes a clause that makes 
its duration subject to WTO rules.  Therefore, the benefits as designed will remain in effect until 
1 January 2015.  
As part of the changes planned in connection with the strategy to attract investment, the 
Government is also envisaging an amendment to  the Inward Processing Regime consistent with 
WTO principles.  This year, the above-menti oned commission began analyzing the possible 
alternatives in this area.  9. Trade effects of the subsidy
17 
 At present, there are 56 active enterprises be nefiting under the Inward Processing Regime.  In 
2007, this Regime provided employment for about  11,800 people.  In 2007, some 198 different 
products were exported under th is Regime to 52 countries. 
  The main destinations for exports under this Regime include the United States, 
Central America and the Dominican Republic  which account for 58 per cent, 24 per cent, and 4 per 
cent, respectively. 
 
                                                     
 
17 See footnote 11.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 11 
 
 
   It should be noted that a considerable propor tion of the firms operating under this regime are 
located in areas with little urban development, and accordingly represent a very significant source of 
employment for the area.  
Costa Rica:  Total Exports a nd Inward Processing Exports 
In Million US$ 
 
 2005 2006 2007 
Inward processing  336.6  430.4  460.5 
Total exports  7,004.8  8,195.6  9,343.1 
Source:  PROCOMER 
 G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 12  
 
   
    
 
    
 
    
 
    
ANNEXES  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Amendment of the Regulations implementing the General Customs Law, No. 33915-H 
 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC , 
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE  
In exercise of the authority and powers conferred on them by Articles 140(3), (18) and (20) and 146 
of the Political Constitution;  and pursuant to Artic les 25, 27(1), 28(2)(b) and 103(1) of the General 
Public Administration Law, No. 6227 of 2 May 1978;  the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, No. 7210 of 
23 November 1990 and the amendments thereto, an d Articles 50 and 175 of the General Customs 
Law, No. 7557 of 20 October 1995, and the amendments thereto, 
Whereas:  
I.—The legal provisions governing the customs system  must be interpreted in the manner that best 
ensures the development of the Republic's foreign trade, in keeping with the social and economic 
circumstances prevailing at the time of such interpre tation and with other matters of public interest, in 
the light of the purposes of these provisions. 
II.—The aims of the legal provisions governi ng the customs system include facilitating and 
streamlining foreign trade transactions and enabling the proper collection of duties and the repression 
of illegal practices that undermine the administra tion and control of foreign trade by the customs 
service. 
III.— The Duty-Free Zone Regime a ttracts foreign investment, benefiting living conditions thanks to 
the creation of new sources of employment that ha ve a positive effect on the quality of life of Costa 
Rican citizens. 
IV.—Article 4 of Law No. 7830, of 22 Septembe r 1998, published in the Official Journal, La Gaceta 
No. 196, of 8 October 1998, which amends th e Duty Free Zone Regime Law, reads: 
"Article 4—The Ministry of Finance, by Regulations  issued jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, 
may exempt enterprises operati ng under the Duty-Free Zone Regime from certain formalities 
required for permanent and temporary import and ex port regimes, having regard to the specific 
features of the Duty-Free Zone Regime, to bring duty-free zone transactions into line with the 
requirements for users of the service."  
V.—As duty-free zone industrial parks are subject  to special regulations relating to their 
authorization, it is not necessary to inspect the instal lations of enterprises that apply for the status of 
Customs Service auxiliary or apply for post-appr oval authorizations, where enterprises benefiting 
from the Duty-Free Zone Regime that are intending to set up within already authorized industrial 
parks are concerned. 
VI.—In full observance of Articles 2 and 4 of  Law No. 8220 of 4 March 2002, published in the 
Official Journal La Gaceta No. 49 of 11 March 2002, supplement No. 22, Law on Protecting Citizens 
from Excessive Administrative Requirements and Formalities, it is necessary to simplify the 
procedures required for Customs Service auxiliaries. 
VII.—In order to ensure the flexible and timely co llection of the taxes owed, as determined in the 
auditing process, it is considered advantageous to  enable the taxpayer to regularize the situation 
before the appropriate administrative procedure begins. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 14  
 
  VIII.—The present customs environment requires an adaptation of the regulations to ensure the 
continuity of customs transactions and enable them  to be carried out efficiently and always under 
transparent customs control.  Now therefore,  
DECREE: 
Amendment of the Regulations implem enting the General Customs Law, 
Executive Decree No. 25270-H of 14 June 1996 
Article 1—Amendments to the Regulations im plementing the General Customs Law, Executive 
Decree No. 25270-H of 14 June 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 123 of 
28 June 1996.  Articles 76, 80, Article 159(a) an d (e), 337 and Article 444(1) of the Regulations 
implementing the General Customs Law are amended to read as follows: 
"Article 76.— Termination .  The auditing proceedings shall be concluded when, in the opinion of the 
auditing authority, it has obtained the data and evid ence necessary to justify th e measures that need to 
be taken, either by finding the tax situation of the investigated party to be in order with respect to 
compliance with its customs tax obligations, require ments and commitments, or by proceeding to take 
the appropriate action.  If the auditing authority de termines that the taxes due have not been paid, it 
shall invite the taxpayer to regularize the situation. 
When the auditing proceedings are deemed to have been concluded, their results shall be documented 
by incorporating the final report in the corresponding administrative file." 
"Article 80.— Inspection of premises .  In the case of customs warehouses, freight terminals, 
industrial and commercial on-site clearance compani es, inward processing, free zones and in-transit 
facilities, before issuing the requisite permit the Customs Control Office shall inspect the premises 
and report to the Directorate-General. 
Inspection for approval purposes shall not be requir ed in the case of free zone  enterprises located in 
authorized industrial parks.  Nevertheless, if in th e exercise of its legal powers, the customs authority 
finds any non-compliance with regard to the requir ements that the installations must satisfy, the 
appropriate procedures shall be applied for the purpo se of fixing the penalties for which the legislation 
provides.  In the case of area authorizations aris ing from applications subsequent to approval as a 
Customs Service auxiliary, inspection shall be necessary for all categori es of auxiliaries, except in the 
case of free zone enterprises located in authorized industrial parks. 
Inspection shall be necessary, in all cases and wit hout exception, for the purposes of withdrawal of 
area authorization.  In order to comply with this article, the Directorate-General of Customs may, in 
exceptional cases, arrange for the Technical Manageme nt Directorate to carry out the inspection." 
"Article 159.— Additional requirements .  To commence operations, th e person in charge of the 
temporary parking must, in addition, comply with the following requirements: 
(a) The installations must be located within a 15 kilometre radius of the customs office of entry. 
(…)" 
"Article 337.— Definitive import authorization .  Definitive importation shall be authorized once the 
customs documents have been lodged and the corresponding duties and taxes paid. 
If the customs documents are not lodged within the period specified above, the authorization granted 
to the enterprise concerned to use the present pro cedure in future clearance operations shall be 
cancelled."  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
  "Article 444. - Authorized persons .  Authorization for the temporary import of motorized land 
vehicles, aircraft and seagoing vessels for non-profit pur poses shall be granted to foreign tourists and 
to Costa Ricans resident abroad who show proof of  interrupted residence abroad during the 12 months 
preceding the application.  Temporary import authori zations and extensions thereof may be granted at 
any customs office. 
(…)" Article 2—Amendments to the Regulations im plementing the General Customs Law, Executive 
Decree No. 25270-H of 14 June 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 123 of 
28 June 1996.  Article 82 of the Regulations implementing the General Customs Law shall be 
amended to read as follows: 
"Article 82.  General requirements .  In addition to meeting the st atutory and general and specific 
regulatory requirements, the auxiliary must: 
(a) Have offices and installa tions properly equipped for the electronic transmission of 
data to the various units that ma ke up the National Customs Service; 
(b) have the equipment and software ne cessary to introduce the permitted means, 
mandatory or optional, in each customs office; 
(c) have an authorized means of transmitting data electronically to the customs offices 
under whose jurisdiction it will operate; 
(d) comply with the electronic data transmission formats and procedures, as laid down by 
the Directorate-General of Customs. 
Together with its application to obtain the status of Customs Service auxiliary, the interested party 
must submit, in the format prescr ibed by the Directorate-General of Customs, a sworn statement, 
registered with a notary, confirming compliance with the above-mentione d requirements.  This 
statement shall indicate the name of the firm providi ng the software mentioned in subparagraph (b) of 
this article, which must be duly authorized by th e Directorate-General of Information Technology." 
Article 3—Deletions from the Regulations impl ementing the General Customs Law, Executive 
Decree No. 25270-H of 14 June 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 123 of 
28 June 1996.  Delete the third pa ragraph of Article 336 and the last line of Article 488 so that they 
read as follows: 
"Article 336.— Lodgement of the customs declaration .  The customs declaration must be lodged in 
provisional form before unloading begins.  The decl aration must contain the information available at 
that time, but it shall always contain the generi c description of the merchandise and its estimated 
value, solely for the purpose of calculating the am ount of duty and taxes payable.  The Service shall 
allow the declaration to be corrected at a late r date, by making the necessary adjustments to the 
amount of duty and taxes, if the information on th e merchandise unloaded varies from that contained 
in the declaration.  Within not more than 10 bus iness days definitive information on the weight or 
volume actually unloaded shall be provided, and the duty and taxes appropriately adjusted and paid.  
Where state-owned enterprises are concerned,  this period shall be 30 calendar days." 
"Article 488.— Customs procedure .  The clearance procedure for re-imported goods shall be carried 
out in accordance with the procedures laid down for the definitive importation regime." 
Article 4— Validity .  These provisions shall take effect as from the date of their publication in the 
Official Journal La Gaceta . 
Done at the Office of the President of the Republic, San José, 30 January 2007. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 16  
 
  Regulations implementing the Inward Processing Regime No. 34165-H-COMEX 
T
HE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC  
AND THE MINISTERS OF FOREIGN TRADE AND FINANCE  
In exercise of the authority and powers conferred on them by Articles 140(3), (18) and (20) and 146 
of the Political Constitution;  and pursuant to Artic les 25, 27(1), 28(2)(b) and 103(1) of the General 
Public Administration Law, No. 6227 of 2 May 1978;  the Law Establishing the Ministry of Foreign 
Trade and the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica, No. 7638 of 30 October 1996;  and 
Articles 179 to 186 of the General Cust oms Law, No. 7557 of 20 October 1995, 
Whereas:  
I.— The General Customs Law, No. 7557 of 20 Oc tober 1996, Articles 179 ff., laid down the basic 
rules for the Inward Processing Regime, delegating au thority to the Executive to make the requisite 
regulations. 
II.—The growth of globalization calls for legislation to boost the participation of the Costa Rican 
economy in world markets and promote the compet itiveness of enterprises covered by the Inward 
Processing Regime, without prejudice to efficient and transparent customs controls. 
III.—It being the responsibility of the State always  to adapt the legislation in force to social, 
technological and economic changes, there is a ne ed to adapt the Regulations implementing the 
Inward Processing Regime and incorporate into them  the elements necessary to adjust them to the 
prevailing circumstances, within  the framework of the law. 
IV.—For these reasons there are good grounds for issuing the present Regulations.  Now therefore  
DECREE: 
Regulations implementing the Inward Processing Regime  
TITLE I 
General provisions  
Article 1— Purpose of the Regime .  In accordance with articles 179 to 186 of the General Customs 
Law, this regime allows the entry of merchandise in to the national customs te rritory with suspension 
of all kinds of taxes, subject to the lodgement of  security.  The goods must be re-exported, within 
time-limits specified in these Regulations, afte r undergoing processing, repair, reconstruction, 
installation or assembly, or after being incorp orated in sub-assemblies, machinery, transport 
equipment in general or appliances with a higher de gree of technological or functional complexity, or 
after being used for other similar purposes, under the conditions laid down by these Regulations and 
in accordance with the conditions la id down by the Ministry of Fore ign Trade, as the administrator of 
the Regime. 
Article 2—I nter-institutional coordination and electronic information exchange .  The 
Directorate-General of Customs, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Foreign Trade Promotion 
Agency of  Costa Rica shall establish the coordinatio n mechanisms needed to ensure the correct and 
uniform application of these Regulations. 
Moreover, insofar as the technologi cal circumstances allow, these in stitutions shall transmit permits, 
authorizations, official proceedings and other ope rations relating to the Regime electronically, in 
accordance with the procedur es agreed between them.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 17 
 
 
  Documents resulting from electronic transmission am ong official subsidiary bodies shall constitute 
authentic documents and for all purposes shall be evid ence of the existence of the original transmitted. 
 
CHAPTER I 
Abbreviations and definitions  
Article 3— Abbreviations and definitions .  For the purposes of these Regulations, the following 
definitions apply:  
Accessories:  Devices or accessories fitted to equipmen t or machinery to assist or enhance 
production operations and used for the satisfactor y operation of the machinery or equipment in 
which they are incorporated; 
 
Customs Control Office :  With respect to Customs Servi ce auxiliaries, that customs office 
responsible for monitoring customs transactions  involving the auxiliary.  Unless otherwise 
provided, this shall be understood to mean the cu stoms office with territorial competence in the 
locality where the customs transaction is effected. 
Auxiliary:   Customs Service auxiliary. 
Beneficiary:   Natural or legal person granted authoriza tion to operate under the Inward Processing 
Regime. 
Warehouse:  Physical installations of the beneficiary intended solely for storing goods covered by 
the Regime and previously authorized by PROCOMER and the Directorate. 
CAUCA:   Second Protocol Amending the Cent ral American Uniform Customs Code. 
COMEX:   Ministry of Foreign Trade. 
Assembly:   Combination of sub-assemblies and parts, which has a specific function within the 
product. 
Waste:   Merchandise remaining from the production process. 
Directorate:  Directorate-General of Customs. 
Packing, wrapping:  Items designed to facilitate the trans port and protection of products, in 
containers or otherwise. 
Assembly operation:  The act of joining components (parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies) which 
when combined result in a product with charact eristics different from its component parts. 
Containers:  Items designed to contain products of any kind. 
Management Unit:   Operations Management Unit of the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of 
Costa Rica. 
Commencement of operations:  Processes of installation, producti on, re-export and/or sale of the 
production output in the domestic market. 
Law:   General Customs Law. 
Procedure Manual:   Policies and guidelines issued by the Directorate-General of Customs and the 
Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica. 
Machinery and Equipment:  Assets used to process or transform other products or services. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 18  
 
  Raw Materials:  Goods which are to be incorporated in the end product by means of a production 
process. 
Scrap :  Goods left over from the production process. 
Ministry:   Ministry of Finance. 
Production Module:  The set of operations carried out for th e manufacture of a particular product, 
or for the maintenance, repair, fitting, reconstruction or assembly of merchandise. 
Fitting:  The process of joining parts together to form sub-assemblies. 
Parts:  A manufactured product which does not itself consist of other parts. 
Principal plant:  Physical installations authorized by the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of 
Costa Rica and the Directorate-General of Customs for the principal operations of the Regime beneficiary. 
Secondary plant:  Operating physical installations of th e beneficiary authorized by the Foreign 
Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica and the Di rectorate-General of Customs, other than the 
principal plant. 
Scrap percentage:  Proportion by which inputs decrease from their initial quantity after 
undergoing or being used in a production process. 
PROCOMER:  Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica. 
Intermediate product:  Merchandise which, having undergone one of the processes envisaged in 
Article 179 of the General Customs Law, constit utes an input for another enterprise operating 
under the Inward Processing Regime. 
RECAUCA:   Regulations of the Central American Uniform Customs Code. 
Recycling:   Process of reclamation or re-use of a product that no longer serves the purpose for 
which it was designed. 
Reconstruction:  The act of constructing (or making) a product again. 
Direct re-exportation:   Exportation, once the formalities a nd obligations imposed by a customs 
procedure have been fulfilled, of goods previously inward-cleared by a bene ficiary of the Inward 
Processing Regime, without their having been definitively imported. 
Indirect re-exportation:  Exportation, once the formalities and obligations imposed by a customs 
procedure have been fulfilled, of goods previously inward-cleared by a bene ficiary of the Inward 
Processing Regime through another beneficiary of the same regime, without their having been 
definitively imported. 
Regime:  The Inward Processing Regime. 
Repair:  Remedying deterioration in order to restore the satisfactory operation of the item in 
question. 
Spare part:  Part of a mechanism used as a substitute fo r another that needs to be replaced, without 
altering the original equipment and/or machinery. 
Residue or waste:  The quantity of merchandise left over from the production process.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 19 
 
 
  Sub-assembly:   The combination of parts resulting from their being fitted together, or which form 
part of an assembly. 
By-products:  Goods produced as ancillary outputs from the principal production process. 
Residue tolerance:   The tolerance of scrap, maximum perc entage of scrap permitted;  permitted 
margin or discrepancy in the quantity or we ight and a product entering a production module as 
compared with the input quantity and weight of raw materials. 
Sales on the domestic market:   Sales made by enterprises authorized under the re-exportation and 
domestic sale modality on the national territory of fi nished products that have undergone one of the 
processes envisaged in Article 179 of the General Customs Law. 
Economic relationship:  Legal transactions between two enterprises subject to the Inward 
Processing Regime that generate the transfer of  merchandise which has been imported under that 
Regime and has undergone a specific process, in  accordance with Article 179 of the General 
Customs Law, so that the intermediate product resulting therefrom constitutes an input for the 
beneficiary enterprise to which it is transferred.   The Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa 
Rica shall verify the existence of an economic re lationship between enterprises operating under this 
Regime. 
Article 4— Status of Customs Service auxiliary .  Beneficiaries operating under the Inward 
Processing Regime shall have the status of Customs Service auxiliaries, subject to prior approval by 
the Directorate, for which purpose they must meet  the requirements laid down in the Law and its 
implementing Regulations, and shall be subject to th e liability regime specified by those provisions.  
Once the Directorate has received the file, duly const ituted, for processing the application with all its 
requirements, the Regime beneficiary may enter the machinery, equipment and merchandise 
necessary for the installation of the enterprise.  The Directorate shall rule on applications submitted by 
enterprises of this type within at most one month of their submission. 
If the application is rejected, the machinery, equi pment and other merchandise entered must be placed 
under the customs warehouse regime within a maxi mum period of three business days from the date 
on which the rejection becomes final. 
Failure by beneficiaries of the said regime to comply with their obligations as Customs Service 
auxiliaries shall incur the penalties laid down in the Law and its implementing Regulations. 
 Article 5.  Tax liability of beneficiaries .  Regime beneficiaries shall be liable for any damage or loss 
affecting the merchandise entering under the regime , while remaining obliged to pay the relevant 
duties and taxes, except in the case of destruction of the merchandise by act of God or force majeure, 
duly substantiated to the satisfac tion of the customs authority. 
  
CHAPTER II 
Procedures applicable  
Article 6— Electronic data  transmission .  PROCOMER and the Directorate may authorize certain 
procedures falling within their competence to be carried  out electronically.  To this end, the enterprise 
shall be assigned a confidential or safety access code or password, equivalent, for all legal purposes, 
to the signature of the legal representative or authoriz ed person.  In this case the enterprise must effect 
the transmission using the electronic means developed for the purpose. 
In such cases, documents on magnetic, digital or elec tronic media shall have the same legal effects as 
those in hard copy G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 20  
 
  Article 7— Lodgement of customs declarations .  Customs declarations for the clearance of 
merchandise covered by the Regime governed by these Regulations must be lodged through a duly 
authorized customs agent, following the procedur es laid down in the Regulations made under the 
Law. 
Declarations may be lodged prior to the arrival of  the vehicle, provided that the cargo manifest has 
been electronically transmitted and the way-bill belo ngs to the beneficiary enterprise by endorsement, 
assignment of rights or other means laid down in the Law. 
For purposes of verification of the amount of inputs  used in the final goods to be exported and 
payment of the entry declarations, the enterprise sha ll maintain the relevant registers and controls to 
enable customs to carry out a post-clearance audit,  without prejudice to the other forms of customs 
control established by law, by checking the in formation against the documents transmitted by 
PROCOMER at the time the enterprise entered the Regime.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 21 
 
 
  TITLE II 
Inward Processing Regime  
CHAPTER I 
General provisions  
Article 8— Application for admission to the Regime a nd the status of Customs Service auxiliary .  
Any enterprise interested in operating under the In ward Processing Regime and obtaining the status of 
Customs Service auxiliary must make applicati on to PROCOMER on the corresponding form.  This 
form shall contain the following information a nd be accompanied by the following documentation: 
I. Information common to the application for admission to the Regime and that for 
the status of Customs Service auxiliary:  
(a) Name of applicant. 
(b) Identity document. 
(c) Address or means of notification. 
(d) Address of the installations. 
(e) Ownership of the property:  indicate whethe r the property is owned by the enterprise 
 or leased. 
(f) Telephone number, fax and e-mail address. (g) Status of the enterprise:  in operation or a project. 
(h) Name of legal representative , identity document and number. 
(i) Description of the activity, according to th e tariff heading of the inputs and products. 
(j) Sworn statement indicating that: 
(i) The enterprise is not engaged in th e manufacturing or marketing of weapons 
of any kind (whether permitted or prohi bited) or of components, assemblies 
or sub-assemblies used exclusively in the defence industry. 
(ii) The enterprise is up-to-date with  its tax obligations in Costa Rica. 
(iii) The enterprise is up-to-date with the payment of all its contributions to the 
Costa Rican Social Security Fund. 
(k) The signature on the form of the applicant or the legal representa tive of the enterprise 
shall be authenticated by an attorney-at-law or notary public. 
II. Information required for the granting  of the Inward Processing Regime:  
 
(a) Products to be manufactured.  The d escription may be generic, and it will be 
sufficient to give that corresponding to the tariff heading, which should be at least four-digit. 
(b) Products to be sold on the dom estic market, where appropriate. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 22  
 
  (c) List of the machinery, equipment and sp are parts which will enter under either regime 
modality. 
(d) Production process by product descripti on, including the input-output ratio 
(production standards).  If the Regime beneficiary decides to produce goods of the same tariff heading for which it did not submit this information to PROCOMER with 
the application, it must submit it and wait for it to be approved by PROCOMER 
before starting to export the goods in ques tion.  PROCOMER shall have a maximum 
of five business days within which to reach  a decision, which it shall immediately 
make known to the relevant Customs Cont rol Office.  The Customs Control Office 
may verify, by means of post-facto controls, that the information supplied is correct. 
 
III. Information required for the granting of the status of Customs Service auxiliary:  
 
(a) Name and identity of the staff members who will deal directly with the National 
Customs Service. 
(b) Sworn statement showing that the regist ered owner has granted the appropriate 
authorization to operate on the premises in  which the activity under the Regime will 
take place. 
(c) Sworn statement, registered with a notary , attesting to the existence of a place 
suitable for the safekeeping of the documents which, in accordance with its status as a 
Customs Service auxiliary, it is required to  keep;  this document may be produced 
within a maximum of ten business days from the time of notification of auxiliary 
status. 
IV. Documentation:  
 
(a) Certificate of legal personality issued not  more than three months previously. 
(b) Special power of attorney if the applicati on is made by a person other than the legal 
representative, with express mention of the f act that the power of attorney authorizes 
him to submit the application for admission to the Regime and acquisition of the status of Customs Service auxiliary. 
(c) Notarized copy of the front and back of the ID document of the legal representative 
and the staff member who will deal direc tly with the National Customs Service. 
(d) Notarized copy of the enterprise's legal certificate. 
(e) If the applicant is a natural person, the following must also be included: 
(i) Notarized copy of the front and back  of the applicant's ID document. 
(ii) Recent certificate (less than 30 calendar days old) issued by the Costa Rican 
Social Security Fund certifying that he does not work for the Costa Rican 
State or its institutions. 
(iii) Certificate from the Offenders Register  (to be procured directly from the 
entity responsible for labour matters).  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 23 
 
 
  Article 9— Procedure for authorizing admission to the Regime.   Within two business days of 
submission of the application, PROCOMER must notify the applicant of any missing documentation, 
or of any requirement which has not been met, gr anting a period of ten business days for compliance 
with the requirements set out in this notification. 
Within no more than three business days of receipt of all of the required information, the technical 
unit of PROCOMER must forward an opinion to COMEX;  the opinion must include an assessment 
of the aspects set out in these Regulations a nd a recommendation, with supporting arguments, on 
whether or not Inward Processing Regime status shoul d be granted to the applicant enterprise.  Once 
the analysis has been completed, COMEX shall gran t or reject the application within three business 
days following receipt of the complete application. 
Article 10.— Procedure for approval as a Customs Service auxiliary.   As soon as COMEX has 
granted the Regime, the Management Unit shall send the Directorate a certified copy of the file 
containing the information and docum entation submitted by the enterprise, so that the Directorate may 
satisfy itself that the file conforms with the provisi ons of Article 8 of these Regulations relating to the 
application for the granting of the status of Custom s Service auxiliary.  If the Directorate determines 
that the information provided does not meet the requi rements of the aforementioned article, it shall, as 
quickly as possible, inform PROCOMER, which shall gi ve the enterprise a formal warning, in relation 
to this application, giving it 10 busi ness days within which to comply. 
Once the file is complete, the Directorate shall process the application for registration as a Customs 
Service auxiliary, in accordance with the following parameters: 
(a) Enterprises located inside a free zone industrial park :  The Directorate-General of 
Customs must issue any resolution granting auxiliary status within at most two business days of 
being notified by PROCOMER of the granting of the Inward Processing Regime.  In these cases, the Directorate will not carry out a prior inspecti on of the installations.  Nevertheless, once the 
enterprise is operating under the Regime, the cust oms authority, using its statutory powers, may 
carry out the visits and inspections it considers pe rtinent and, if it finds any failure to comply 
with the requirements that the installations mu st meet, shall take the appropriate steps to 
establish the penalties for which the legislation provides. 
(b) Enterprises located outside a free zone industrial park :  In the case of enterprises located 
outside a park, once the file is complete, the Re gistration Department shall request the Customs 
Control Office to inspect the installations, in  accordance with Article 80 of the Regulations 
implementing the General Customs Law.  The Customs Control Office shall have at most 10 business days from the notification of this re quest to send the corresponding inspection report 
to the Registration Department.  Once the report h as been received and found to be in order, the 
Directorate shall grant the enterprise the status  of Customs Service auxiliary within at most 
15 business days of receipt of the file forwarded by PROCOMER.  If the plant is not ready for inspection because it is under construction or m achinery and/or equipment has still to be 
installed, PROCOMER shall also forward the file to the Directorate, in which case the interested 
party shall inform the Registration Department in writing of the time from which the inspection 
of the installations can be arranged. 
When the resolution approving the status of Cust oms Service auxiliary is issued, the Directorate 
shall, at the same time, furnish the computer code required for electronic data transmission. 
The administrative decisions relating to the inspectio n of the installations and the final resolution 
deciding the application for the granting of the status of Customs Service auxiliary shall be 
communicated to PROCOMER. 
Article 11.— Inspection of the installations.   The customs authority shall carry out the inspection of 
the installations to which the previous article refers , by verifying the presence of those elements that G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 24  
 
  affect the control of the goods, including those relating to the existence of appropriate infrastructure 
for the protection and safekeeping of the merchandise, the existence of areas set aside for the different 
operations, labelling and surveillance. 
The authority must carry out the inspection in accordance with the re quirements set out in a resolution 
of general scope issued by the Directorate, whic h shall be duly published in the Official Journal La 
Gaceta . 
Article 12— Other authorization applications.   Within a period of not more than five business days, 
the Management Unit shall process the types of application listed below directly, without any 
requirement for authorization from COMEX, except where exceptional or especially complex issues require the involvement of COMEX: 
 
(a) Application for inward customs clearance of goods. 
(b) Extension of the merchandise necessary for production, in accordance with Articles 15 and 
18 of these Regulations, as well as changes in the authorized domestic sales percentage. 
(c) Extension for new products to be manufactured  and re-exported, within the authorized tariff 
heading.  The application relating to this aut horization must include any additional machinery, 
equipment and spare parts to be used in making the new products. 
(d) Changes in the percentages of scrap and re sidue or waste or the residue tolerance of 
merchandise entering under the Regime. 
(e) Application for the approval of new plants  or warehouses.  These installations must be 
approved by the Directorate before they can be operated. 
(f) Application for readjustment of the financial year. 
(g) Application for the subcontracting of services. 
(h) Application for the provision of services. 
(i) Application for the transfer of property. 
(j) Application for the loan of machinery and equipment.  The in ward-clearance formalities shall 
be accomplished directly in the Customs Control Office. 
The Management Unit shall inform the Customs Control Office and the Registration Department 
of these arrangements immediately, so that  the appropriate checks can be carried out. 
  
CHAPTER II 
Regime modalities  
Article 13— Modalities.   The Inward Processing regime has two modalities: 
(a) One hundred per cent re-export, direct or indirect :  this modality is available to Regime 
beneficiaries which re-export, directly or indirectly, the whole of their production. 
(b) Re-export, direct or indirect, and domestic sale modality :  this modality is available to 
beneficiaries which re-export, directly or indi rectly, and/or sell their production on the domestic 
market, under terms and conditions pr eviously authorized by COMEX.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 25 
 
 
  Regime beneficiaries that re-export indirectly u nder either of these two modalities must prove to 
PROCOMER that an economic relationship exists , and the merchandise they transfer for the 
purposes of the said indirect re-exportation must qualify as intermediate products as defined in 
Article 2 of these Regulations. 
 
CHAPTER III 
One Hundred Per Cent Direct or Indirect Re-Export Modality  
Article 14.— Destination of output.  Enterprises operating under this modality may not sell their 
products on the domestic market.  The productio n plant must produce solely for re-export. 
Article 15.— Scope of the  modality.   Goods such as the following may enter under this modality: 
(a) Raw materials, primary forms, including mixtures (prepared or semi-manufactured, for 
example). 
(b) Semi-manufactured products, goods to be used  for administrative ac tivities specific to the 
operating or production area of the beneficiary. 
(c) Goods necessary for food preparation, furnitu re and utensils required for serving food, and 
appliances, furniture and fittings for trai ning and security and for medical care and 
rehabilitation, for the sole use of employees dir ectly associated with the operating, production, 
administrative and transport processes of the enterprises. 
(d) The manufactured goods or processed products  required, and commercial, industrial or 
scientific samples. 
(e) Labels, tags and similar items added to the product for re-export. 
(f)  Containers, packing material and wrapping. (g) Chemicals or other identifiable materials in  the quantity and quality required for use in the 
process, even if they are used up or disappear w ithout being incorporated into the end product, 
with the exception of fuel. 
(h) Machinery, equipment, parts, accessories a nd spare parts involved in the production process, 
mechanical, electrical, measuring, monitoring, ve rification or testing apparatus used in the 
operation of the enterprise. 
(i) Moulds, dies, forms, tools and other devices used in conjunction with other apparatus. 
(j) Samples, models, patterns and similar items  necessary for the production system and staff 
training. 
Article 16.— Length of stay.  The permitted length of stay for merchandise entering under this 
modality shall be as follows: 
(a) Twelve months for semi-manufactured prod ucts and the other merchandise envisaged in 
Articles 15 (a), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (j) and 18 of these Regulations. 
(b) Five years for merchandise not mentioned in the previous subparagraph.  This period may be 
extended for identical periods, subject to the pr ovision of a new customs lien and before the 
expiry of the lien originally granted, without prejudice to any actions taken by the competent 
authorities of the Regime in the event of failure to comply with its requirements. 
The list of depreciation methods and percentages contained in the Regulations implementing the 
Income Tax Law shall be used for the purpo se of applying the appropriate depreciation 
percentages. 
 G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 26  
 
  Article 17.— Expiry of the length of stay.   Expiry of the periods specified without the merchandise 
having been re-exported or definitively imported sh all provide the basis for the Customs Control 
Office to act in accordance with the provis ions of Article 43 of these Regulations. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
The Direct or Indirect Re-Export and Domestic Sale Modality  
Article 18— Scope  of the modality.   Merchandise such as the following may enter under this 
modality: 
(a) Raw materials, primary forms, including mixtures (prepared or semi-manufactured, for 
example). 
(b) Semi-manufactured products, goods to be used  for administrative ac tivities specific to the 
operating or production area of the beneficiary. 
(c) Goods necessary for food preparation, furnit ure and utensils required for serving food, and 
appliances, furniture and fittings for trai ning and security and for medical care and 
rehabilitation, for the sole use of employees dir ectly associated with the operating, production, 
administrative and transport processes of the enterprises. 
(d) The manufactured goods or processed products  required, and commercial, industrial or 
scientific samples. 
(e) Labels, tags and similar items added to the product for re-export. 
(f)  Containers, packing material and wrapping. 
(g) Chemicals or other identifiable materials in  the quantity and quality required for use in the 
process, even if they are used up or disappear w ithout being incorporated into the end product, 
with the exception of fuel. 
(h) Machinery, equipment, parts, accessories and spare parts involved in the production process, 
mechanical, electrical, measuring, monitoring, ve rification or testing apparatus used in the 
operation of the enterprise. 
(i) Moulds, dies, forms, tools and other devices used in conjunction with other apparatus. 
(j) Samples, models, patterns and similar items  necessary for the production system and staff 
training. 
In all cases, the merchandise in question must be directly related with the generation of 
operating capacity. 
 
Article 19.— Permitted length of stay.   The permitted length of stay for merchandise entering under 
this regime shall be as laid down in Articles 16 and 17 of these Regulations. 
 
Article 20.— Domestic sale.   To sell products on the domestic market, the beneficiary of this modality 
must pay, at the time of inward clearance into  the Regime, the portion of the duties and taxes 
corresponding to the merchandise envisaged in Ar ticle 18 of these Regulations to be used in 
manufacturing the final product, in accordance with  the domestic sale percentage previously 
authorized by COMEX for the current financial year.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 27 
 
 
  For these purposes, prior to the commencement of domestic sales by the beneficiary, PROCOMER 
shall inform the Customs Control Office and the Dir ectorate of the authorized percentage of sales on 
the domestic market requested by the enterprise, t ogether with the FOB value in Central American 
pesos to which that percentage corresponds, so that the customs office may set up the required 
monitoring arrangements. 
If COMEX authorizes the beneficiary to sell on the dom estic market a higher percentage than that of 
previous periods and, as a result, the percentage or iginally paid on machinery and equipment is lower 
than the new percentage, the enterprise shall firs t itself assess and pay the tax corresponding to such 
difference. 
If the beneficiary sells on the domestic market a perc entage lower than that originally envisaged, the 
difference may not be carried over to a later period.   If the enterprise sells a percentage higher than 
that authorized, then at the time of the domestic  sale it must pay the duties and taxes owed, in 
accordance with Article 55 of the General Customs Law. 
The proportion of goods brought into the national cu stoms territory shall be calculated according to 
the following formula:   DS (Domestic Sales) VALUE x 100
 = Percentage of Domestic Sales 
 TS (Total Sales) VALUE 
 
 The tax payable on machinery, equipment and raw materials shall be calculated as follows:   TT (Total Tax) x per cent Domestic Sales = Tax Payable.  
The beneficiary enterprise must indicate in the a nnual operations report the pe rcentage and the final 
amount in colons of the total and local sales made  during the period.  If the report shows that the 
beneficiary sold on the domestic market a percentage  higher than that authorized and did not pay the 
corresponding duties and taxes at the time of sal e on the domestic market, PROCOMER shall inform 
the Directorate and the Customs Control Office in orde r that they may initiate the appropriate ordinary 
and penalty administrative proceedings and immediat ely advise the enterprise in order that it may 
proceed with the payment of the relevant duties and taxes plus interest. 
If the beneficiary enterprise can prove to COMEX' s satisfaction that the tax charge on the raw 
materials incorporated in some of its final products is  greater than that paid by that final product when 
coming from abroad, it may request to be authorized  to pay the taxes on the final goods entering the 
domestic market at the time of definitive importation of those goods.  In this  case, the provisions of 
the first paragraph of this article shall only appl y to the inward clearance of machinery and equipment 
into the Regime.  The request shall be submitte d to PROCOMER, which shall deal with it in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9 of these Regulations.  If the request is approved, 
the taxes on the final good inward-cleared onto the dom estic market shall be calculated on the basis of 
its value for customs purposes.  If the natural or  legal person purchasing the said products qualifies for 
exemptions for such purchases, it may take advantage of them. 
For all purposes, PROCOMER shall notify the Custom s Control Office of the percentage of sales 
made on the domestic market by the beneficiary, according to the details it provided in its regime 
application.  This percentage shall be verified at  least once a year by PROCOMER, on the basis of an 
official certificate to be provided by the benefici ary enterprise to the Operations Management Unit 
with the annual operating report.  Failure to meet this requirement shall place the enterprise under the 
obligation to pay the whole of the tax for the machin ery and equipment.  This without prejudice to the 
exercise by customs of its auditing powers under the law. G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 28  
 
  At the request of the beneficiary and in exceptional cases, PROCOMER, subject to COMEX's 
approval, shall inform the Customs Control Office of  those special inputs used in products destined 
one hundred per cent (100 per cent) for export, in orde r that they may be entered with one hundred per 
cent (100 per cent) suspension of payment of customs duties.  For this purpose, the beneficiary must 
keep records of the inputs in question such that the customs authority can carry out the relevant 
controls. 
In the case of locally purchased raw materials which have been incorporated in the final product and 
on which internal taxes are payable, the pr ocedure laid down for this purpose by the 
Directorate-General of Ta xation shall be applied. 
 
CHAPTER V 
Obligations of Regime beneficiaries  
Article 21.— Additional obligations.   In addition to the obligations set down in Article 182 of the 
General Customs Law, the following obligations are also incumbent on Regime beneficiaries: 
(a) To have been granted the status of a Custom s Service auxiliary and to keep the information 
furnished to the Directorate up-to-date. 
(b) To commence operations within the time-lim it set down in Article 182(a) of the General 
Customs Law. 
(c) To keep merchandise which h as been inward-cleared under the Regime solely in the main 
plant, secondary plants and/or warehouses previ ously authorized by PROCOMER and approved 
by the Directorate for each beneficiary, which shall be regarded as a customs operation zone. 
(d) To keep a satisfactory, up-to-date record of the operations carried out under the Regime, 
according to the modality approved. 
(e) To comply with labour provisions  and pay employer's contributions. 
(f)  To keep separate inventory records, using the FIFO method, along with all accounting and 
operating records, for merchandise entering the co untry, according to the end use of the final 
product. 
(g) To carry out its customs transactions us ing the means and procedures established by the 
Directorate for the Regime. 
(h) To comply with the customs legislation, th ese Regulations and other related rules applicable 
to the Regime. 
(i) To submit to PROCOMER, on the forms it provi des, an annual operations report containing 
at least the following information: 
(i) Overall movements, in terms of quantity, weight and value, of the merchandise admitted, 
balances in process, balances in stock, productio n re-exported or sold on the domestic market. 
(ii) Use or consumption of spare parts, accessories and the like, and balances in stock. 
(iii) Movements of machinery and equipment. 
(iv) Photocopy of the sworn income tax declaration. 
(v) Certificate of net sales by market (domestic  or foreign) in terms of value and quantity, 
issued by a certified public accountant.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 29 
 
 
  (vi) Profit-and-loss account, balance sheet, pre-clos ing trial balance, in Spanish and in colons. 
(vii) In the case of enterprises, legal personality and capital structure. 
(viii) A certificate issued by a competent professional person or body independent of the 
enterprise concerning the percentage of scrap, residue, waste and residue tolerance of the 
production process, for each type of me rchandise entering under the Regime. 
(ix) Document proving that taxes on machinery,  equipment and merchandise have been paid, 
in the event of the domestic sale percentage au thorized for the financial year in question 
having been exceeded. 
This report must be submitted to PROCOMER within four months of the end of the 
authorized financial year, using the forms designed for that purpose 
 
Article 22.— Precautionary suspension .  As a precautionary measure, COMEX shall automatically 
suspend any beneficiary from Regime benefits if  it has failed to obtain approval for its annual 
operating report within the said time-limit of four months. 
Such suspension shall also be ordered if the cust oms office notifies COMEX that the beneficiary has 
failed to lodge the customs lien deed, duly entered in the Register of Liens, within the time-limit laid 
down in Article 41 of these Regulations. 
The precautionary suspension shall apply to the importation of raw materials under the Inward 
Processing Regime and shall be communicated to the Directorate not later than the business day 
following its entry into effect, pr eferably by electronic means, w ith copies to the Customs Control 
Office and PROCOMER, for the appropriate action;  the suspension shall remain in place until the 
anomaly has been rectified.  The preceding is w ithout prejudice to the provisions of Article 49 of 
these Regulations.  Moreover, neither permits nor authorizations may be processed by PROCOMER. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
Scrap, residue, waste and residue toleran ce for merchandise entering under the Regime  
Article 23.— Uniform percentage of scrap, residue, waste and residue tolerance.   PROCOMER 
shall authorize, on the basis of the information fu rnished by the enterprise, a percentage for scrap, 
residue, waste and residue tolerance for merchandise subject to the Regime and used in the production 
process.  PROCOMER shall communicate these per centages to the Customs Control Office by the 
means specified by the Direct orate-General of Customs. 
The said percentages shall be those to be used by the Customs Control Office as a valid basis for 
writing down inventories with respect to merchandise  inward-cleared into the Regime;  the preceding 
without prejudice to the customs authority's powers of verification and control. 
The Customs Control Office may not apply any reduction to the quantities and weights of 
merchandise entering in percentages different from those authorized by PROCOMER or from those 
resulting from its own inspections. 
Article 24.— Change in percentages .  In the event of changes in c onditions and efficiency levels in 
the production structure of beneficiaries, these percentages may be changed, with the prior 
authorization of PROCOMER. 
Article 25.— Customs monitoring of approved percentages .  If the customs authority becomes 
aware of information indicating that the percenta ges approved are not in accordance with reality, it 
shall forward the relevant information to PR OCOMER, which shall resolve the issue within G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 30  
 
  30 calendar days, without prejudice to any action which the customs authority may be responsible for 
taking. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
Destruction and donation of m erchandise entering under the Regime  
Article 26.— Treatment of scrap, residue, waste, containers, packaging and wrapping .  At any 
time, Regime beneficiaries may freely dispose of  containers, packaging and wrapping used in 
transporting raw materials, merchandise, mach inery and equipment purchased under the Regime, 
whether by re-exporting them, destroying them, donating them, recycling them or entering them for home use.  For this purpose, the beneficiary must record the said operations in its books, so that the 
customs authority can verify, at any time, the fa te of such containers, packaging and wrapping. 
Moreover, Regime beneficiaries may, at any time, enter for home use, re-export, destroy, donate, 
recycle or freely dispose of residue and waste resulting from their production process. 
For these purposes, they need only submit to PR OCOMER, together with the annual operations 
report, a breakdown containing the description of th e goods and the percentage and use accorded to 
them, so that PROCOMER may carry out a documen tary check on the information, in accordance 
with the percentages of scrap, residue and waste approved. 
In the exercise of its powers, the Directorate-Ge neral of Customs may carry out periodic audits, for 
which purpose it may request the reports submitted to PROCOMER by the beneficiary enterprises. 
Article 27.— Destruction of machinery, equipment and other merchandise.  Machinery, 
equipment and other merchandise entering under the Re gime, including that mentioned in Article 26 
of these Regulations, may be destroyed in accordance with the following principles: 
(a) The beneficiary must file the corresponding application for destruction with the Customs 
Control Office.  If materially possible, this app lication shall be transmitted electronically by the 
beneficiary to the Customs Control Office. 
(b) The customs authority shall arrange for an offi cial to participate in the destruction of the 
merchandise, in accordance with the procedur es laid down by the Directorate-General of 
Customs. 
(c) Once the information on the merchandise has be en filed or transmitted, the merchandise shall 
be destroyed within not more than one business day,  if it is perishable, or three business days, if 
it is not. 
(d) Once the application for destru ction has been filed, the customs official shall coordinate the 
proceedings within the above-mentioned time-limits  with a view to witnessing, together with a 
representative of the beneficiary, the destructi on of the goods and verifying the preparation of 
the corresponding report. 
(e) If the above-mentioned time-limits expire wit hout the official having put in an appearance, 
the beneficiary may proceed with the destructi on in the presence of a witness and shall prepare 
the corresponding report, a copy of which must be forwarded to the Customs Control Office, 
within 24 hours of the destruction of the mercha ndise.  The preceding shall be without prejudice 
to any disciplinary liability that might attach  to officials guilty of such an omission. 
Article 28.— Donations of merchandise .  Beneficiaries may donate semi-manufactured merchandise, 
residue, waste, seconds, samples, spare pa rts and accessories, and capital goods, through the 
Directorate-General for the Administration of Property and Administrative Contracting of the  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 31 
 
 
  Ministry of Finance, in accordan ce with the terms laid down in the Regulations for the Registration 
and Supervision of Central Administration Property. 
Donations may be made to institutions recognized as being of public interest or social benefit or 
non-profit-making, state educational centres or ins titutions, or other state agencies that request 
donations in kind and which are registered with th e Directorate-General for the Administration of 
Property and Administrative Contracting.  The register  of enterprises authorized to receive donations 
must be consulted by the beneficiary before f iling the donation application and by customs for the 
purpose of authorizing the donation. 
If materially possible, the Regime beneficiary sha ll transmit the donation application to the Customs 
Control Office electronically, together with the in formation concerning the goods it intends to donate. 
For purposes of inspection and authorization of the donation, customs shall have a maximum of three 
business days from receipt of the communication fro m the beneficiary.  If these three days pass 
without customs having taken action on both counts , the beneficiary may proceed with the donation 
and must then so inform the Customs Control Offi ce within 24 hours of the event, by forwarding a 
copy of the corresponding report. 
Every donation must be supported by a document rece ipted by the institution to which the goods were 
donated and attesting to the participation of the cu stoms authority, if it attended within the specified 
time-limit. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
Contracting, Subcontracting, Transfers and Loans of Machinery and 
Equipment Entering under the Regime  
Article 29.— Provision of services.   Regime beneficiaries whose total production is re-exported may 
use spare capacity of machinery and equipment to provide services to other enterprises operating 
under the Inward Processing Regime, one hundred per cent re-export modality, or the Duty-Free Zone 
Regime, in each case under strict customs superv ision and with the prior written consent of 
PROCOMER. 
Article 30.— Subcontracting of services.   Beneficiaries may subcontract, subject to an application to 
PROCOMER through the media established for the pur pose, a part of their production or production 
process provided that they carry out production op erations and do not become trading companies 
only.  PROCOMER shall ascertain that the enterprise is in compliance with the provisions of Article 31 of these Regulations and, if appropriate, shall issue the authorization within three business 
days of submission of the application.  The said authorization shall be sent to the Department of 
Statistics and Registration of the Directorate using the mechanisms or electronic media established for 
the purpose   The subcontracting may be with: 
 
(a) Other Inward Processing Regime or Duty -Free Zone Regime beneficiaries, provided 
that at least 50 per cent of the total produc tion volume of the enterprise covered by the 
Regime is produced by the subcontractor; 
 
(b) any natural or legal person established w ithin the national customs territory, provided 
that at least 50 per cent of the total produc tion volume of the enterprise covered by the 
Regime is produced by the beneficiary. 
 G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 32  
 
  In this case, the Regime beneficiary enterprise ma y transfer the raw materials and semi-finished 
products involved in the subcontracting arrangement. 
 Moreover, if the production process so requires, the inward processing enterprise may subcontract, 
under the same contracting arrangement, to several enterprises at once. 
The term of the contractual relati onship between the beneficiary and the subcontracted enterprise shall 
be set by PROCOMER according to the needs of the beneficiary, and may be extended if 
PROCOMER considers that the reasons for grantin g the authorization still apply, in which case it 
must so inform the Directorate. 
Materials and merchandise forming the subject of a subcontracting arrangement may not remain for 
more than six months outside the enterprise be nefiting from the Inward Processing Regime.  This 
period shall be reckoned from the time at which th e customs transit of the materials and merchandise 
forming the subject of the subcontracting arrangement is authorized. 
The subcontracting enterprise must present, in th e annual report, a breakdown of the results produced 
by that date under the subcontracting arrangement , in the format specified by PROCOMER and the 
Directorate, which shall include a sworn statement submitted by the legal representative of the beneficiary indicating in detail in quantities and measurement units all the inventories of the 
merchandise sent to the subcontractor.  Moreover, it shall state that the merchandise was returned to 
the subcontracting enterprise within the specified period of six months, detailing the products received 
in quantities and measurement units, and any waste ge nerated and delivered as a result of the process. 
If the term of the contractual rela tionship is less than one year, the breakdown in question must be 
presented within ten business days of the end of the subcontract. 
Where an extension of the contractual relations hip between the beneficiary enterprise and the 
subcontractor is being sought, the report must be submitted together with the application 
three business days before the expiry of the subcontracting arrangement. 
In all cases, PROCOMER shall forward to the Cu stoms Control Office the breakdown provided by 
the beneficiary enterprise in relation to the re sults of the subcontracting arrangement within 
five business days of its being approved. 
If PROCOMER detects any irregularity in the subc ontracting process, it shall immediately inform the 
Customs Control Office and the Directorate, for appropriate action. 
Article 31.— Requirements for applications to subcontract.  An application to subcontract must be 
submitted to PROCOMER on the form specified fo r the purpose.  This form must contain the 
following information and be accompanie d by the following documentation: 
(a) Breakdown of the processes to be subcontracted. 
(b) Sworn statement by the beneficiary enterprise attesting to: 
(i) The existence of up-to-date inventories of raw materials, products in process 
and finished products; 
(ii) the fact that it is up-to-date with its tax obligations. 
For the purpose of authorizing the subcontrac ting arrangement, PROCOMER shall verify the 
following:  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 33 
 
 
  (a) That in the subcontracting arrangement the percentages laid down in Article 30 of these 
Regulations are not exceeded.  For this purpose, it shall take into account the subcontracting 
arrangements in process, if any. 
(b) That the report to be submitted by the be neficiary at the end of the subcontracting 
arrangement is not outstanding.  In the event of applications for an extension the report must be 
submitted within the time-limit specified in Article 30 of these Regulations. 
(c) That the beneficiary enterprise is up-to-date with the payment of contributions to the Costa 
Rican Social Security Fund, which shall be verified in accordance with the provisions of 
Article 74 of the Law Establishing the Costa Rican  Social Security Fund and its Regulations. 
Article 32.— Registration of subcontractors .  Enterprises wishing to be subcontracted by beneficiary 
enterprises must register with PROCOMER by completing the appropriate form.  When registering 
they must: 
(a) Describe the activity; 
(b) provide a sworn statement attesting to th e existence of up-to-date inventories of raw 
materials, products in process and finished products; 
(c) show that they are up-to-date with their tax obligations by providing a sworn statement; 
(d) make available to the authorities of the Minist ry of Finance, in the exercise of their powers 
relating to merchandise under customs control,  any information or documentation requested 
concerning the use and destination of the mercha ndise forming the subject of the subcontracting 
arrangement, and allow the authorities to verify th e circumstances if they consider it appropriate. 
PROCOMER shall transmit to the Director ate the list of registered enterprises. 
Article 33.— Responsibility for merchandise forming the subject of the subcontracting 
arrangement.  As the beneficiary, in its capacity as Custom s Service auxiliary, is directly responsible 
for merchandise entering under the Regime, it shall ensure the correct use and disposal of the 
merchandise forming the subject of the subcont racting arrangement and compliance with the 
time-limit on its stay in the installations of the subcontracted enterprise. 
To this end, it shall apply all the appropriate cont rols and keep up-to-date the registers in which the 
departure and return of the merchandise is recorded , so that the customs au thority can, on request, 
obtain access to information on the use and disposal of the merchandise. 
The beneficiary shall be liable for payment of any customs or tax obligations arising from failure to 
comply with the terms and conditions of subcontr acting arrangements, in accordance with the legal 
and other provisions governing the matter. 
The subcontracting arrangement shall be subject to the customs supervision and control provided for 
in the Law and its Regulations. 
Article 34.— Failure to fulfil the terms of the subcontr acting arrangement and other obligations .  
Whenever a competent authority finds failure to fu lfil some requirement or obligation pertaining to 
the Regime or any condition pertaining to the author ization to subcontract or any other requirement, it 
shall, within three business days, so inform the competent bodies for the purpose of initiating the 
administrative procedure required by law. 
Article 35.— Transfer of merchandise.   On the basis of a case presented by the beneficiary, the 
Management Unit may authorize a transfer of mercha ndise from one beneficiary to another.  For this 
purpose, prior to the actual transfer, the beneficiar ies must simultaneously cancel the entry customs G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 34  
 
  declaration and the relevant customs lien and su bmit new documentation on behalf of the party 
acquiring the merchandise.  Failure to comply here with shall entitle the Customs Control Office to 
enforce the customs lien, in the manner set down in Article 45 of these Regulations. 
Article 36.— Loan of machinery and equipment.   At the recommendation of PROCOMER, the 
Customs Control Office may authorize loans of  equipment and machinery between Regime 
beneficiaries operating under the one hundred per cent re-export modality, for a fixed period, on the 
basis of an application.  In addition to supporting arguments, the application must set out the detailed 
characteristics of the equipment to be loaned, giving the brand, model, serial number and lien number.  
Liability for the equipment and machinery shall c ontinue to be borne by the beneficiary which 
brought them into the Regime, and the Customs C ontrol Office may enforce the liens in question in 
the event of any instance of non-compliance with requirements.  The lending of equipment and 
machinery shall proceed in accordance with the customs tr ansit procedure in force. 
 
Article 37.— Transfer of machinery and equipment for repair.  The Customs Control Office may 
authorize the transfer of equipment and machinery from the beneficiary's installations to any other 
location within the national customs territory for re pair, for a maximum period of six months, subject 
to the submission of an application which, in add ition to the supporting arguments, must set out the 
detailed characteristics of the equipment to be loaned , giving the brand, model, serial number and lien 
number.  Liability for the equipment and machinery shall continue to be borne by the beneficiary 
which brought them into the Regime, and the Cu stoms Control Office may enforce the liens in 
question in the event of any instance of non-compliance.  
CHAPTER IX 
Deed of customs lien  
Article 38.— Issue of the deed of lien.   For any declaration of entry of machinery and equipment 
under the Regime, the corresponding deed of custom s lien, covering the outstanding portion of the 
customs debt, must be issued and registered. 
Goods qualifying as accessories or spare parts for machinery and equipment, as defined in Article 3 of 
these Regulations, together with samples, models , manuals, patterns and catalogues needed for the 
production process or staff training shall not have to comply with this requirement. 
If the beneficiary so requests, the customs aut hority may place merchandise consisting of samples, 
models, manuals, patterns and catalogues under another customs regime. 
If it is required to extend the customs lien, th e corresponding depreciation percentages shall be 
applied in accordance with the list of deprecia tion methods and percentages contained in the 
Regulations implementing the Income Tax Law, subj ect to the lodgement with the Customs Control 
Office of a certificate issued by a certified public accountant. 
Article 39.— Requirements for the deed of customs lien.  
The first-rank statutory lien in favour of the reve nue authorities on machinery and equipment entering 
under the Regime and any extensi ons, renewals, partial or total cancellations or any other legal 
transaction relating to the said deed must be recorded in writing, on pre-numbered forms duly authorized by the Directorate.  The deed must al so be free of any deletions, smudges or interlinear 
additions, and must be written in letters, without numbers or abbreviations, except where these form 
part of a mark or emblem. 
Any error or omission must be rectified by means of a separate note.  Text on the reverse of the 
document shall also be validated with the signa ture of the beneficiary, in accordance with 
Article 40 (1) of these Regulations.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 35 
 
 
  Article 40.—  Information to appear on the deed of lien.  The deed of customs lien must contain at 
least the following information: 
(a) Surname and first names, ID document and r esidential address in the case of a natural person, 
or the trading name, name, legal ID document and domicile in the case of a legal person;  this 
person shall be the debtor for all purposes; 
 
(b) amount in colons of the tax payable, which mu st be at least equal to the total amount of tax 
paid on the corresponding customs declaration; 
 
(c) the fact that the lien is given as a first-rank lien, showing the name of the Customs Control 
Office in favour of which the lien is given; 
 
(d) origin of the lien – this will be the im portation of the merchandise under the Regime, 
showing the number and date of the customs declaration in question; 
 
(e) description, weight, customs value, and exact quantity of the merchandise given as 
guarantee; 
 
(f) location where the merchandise is to be held , and who is responsible for its safekeeping; 
 
(g) location where the payment of the debt is to be made;  this must be the same as the location 
of the Customs Control Office; 
 
(h) expiry date of the lien or extension, whic h must never exceed the period set down as the time 
for which the merchandise is to remain in Costa Rica; 
 
(i) the fact that if the period for which the me rchandise may remain in the country has expired 
without the merchandise having been re-exporte d or definitively imported, or if it is 
demonstrated that the enterprise has used th e merchandise improperly or disposed of the 
merchandise otherwise than as authorized, th e Customs Control Office shall initiate the 
procedure laid down in Articles 43 to 45 of these Regulations for collection of the debt.  It shall also be stated that at the conclusion of that pr ocedure, and after the period of five business days 
set down in Article 61 of the Law, if voluntary payment of the taxes has not been made the Customs Control Office will proceed to sell th e merchandise by public auction, in accordance 
with the provisions set down to this end; 
 
(j) the fact that entry in the Register of Liens of the Public Registry is mandatory, and shall not 
be subject to the payment of any tax; 
 
(k) place and date of issue of the deed; 
 
(l) signature of the beneficiary or its le gal representative, duly authenticated by an 
attorney-at-law, or failing that, signed by tw o eyewitnesses to the execution of the deed. 
 
Article 41.— Time-limit for the lodgement of the deed of customs lien, duly registered.   T h e  
beneficiary must give the Customs Control Office the original of the deed of customs lien, duly 
entered in the Register of Liens of the Public Re gistry, within a maximum period of two months from 
the date of acceptance of the relevant customs declara tion.  If this requirement  is not met, the Customs G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 36  
 
  Control Office shall notify COMEX immediately to th at effect, for action to be taken in accordance 
with the provisions of Ar ticle 22 of these Regulations. 
Article 42.— Release of the customs lien in the Public Registry.  On the merchandise being 
re-exported or definitively imported, within the estab lished deadlines, the Cust oms Control Office, at 
the beneficiary's request and within ten business days  at most, shall send the appropriate notification 
to the Register of Liens of the Public Re gistry, for cancellation or release of the lien. 
Article 43.— Expiry of the period for which raw mat erials and semi-finished products under lien 
are to remain in the country .  Expiry of the period for which raw materials and semi-finished 
products entering under the Regime are to stay in the country without their having been re-exported or 
definitively imported, shall place the beneficiary under the obligation to pay all taxes, fines, interest 
and other surcharges of any kind arising from its importation. 
The same obligation shall apply to beneficiaries th at have made improper us e of merchandise covered 
by the Regime or disposed of it otherwise than as authorized, without prejudice to any other penalties 
that may be applicable. 
Article 44.— Procedure for collection of the debt.   In any of the situa tions referred to in the 
preceding article, the Customs Control Office shall ac t to collect the debt, following the procedure set 
down in Article 196 of the Law. 
On the issuing of the final order requiring payment of the debt, the beneficiary shall have a period of 
five business days, in accordance with Article 61 of  the Law, as from the relevant notification, to 
settle its debt with the revenue authorities.  
Article 45.— Enforcement of deeds of customs lien.   On the expiry of the period of five business 
days laid down in the preceding article without th e beneficiary having settled the debt, the customs 
authority shall act immediately to enforce the cu stoms lien by auctioning the merchandise given under 
lien, with the base price for the sale being the amount of the debt plus interest, fines and other charges 
applicable. 
 
The procedure for carrying out the auction shall be  that laid down by the General Customs Law and 
its implementing Regulations. 
If a balance outstanding remains after the mercha ndise has been sold, the Customs Control Office 
shall notify the Directorate accordingly, for initiation of the required collection actions. 
Article 46.— Preventive measures.  In any of the situations refe rred to in Article 43 of these 
Regulations, and prior to the initiation of the proce dure referred to in Article 44, the Customs Control 
Office may carry out, as a preventive measure, the detention or seizure of the merchandise, and 
transfer it to premises under customs control, or carry out any other reasonable measure to ensure its 
safekeeping and custody. 
CHAPTER X 
Penalties applicable to regime beneficiaries 
 
SECTION I 
Penalty fines 
Article 47.— Fines imposed on Regime beneficiaries.   In accordance with the provisions of the Law, 
the Directorate shall impose penalty fines on re gime beneficiaries that engage in conduct 
characterized by the said Law as an ad ministrative or customs duty offence. 
  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 37 
 
 
  SECTION II 
Suspension penalty  
Article 48.— Suspensions .  In accordance with the Law, the Directorate shall act to suspend a 
beneficiary's status as a Customs Service auxiliary , for the periods indicated, if it is found guilty of 
any of the following breaches:   (a) Failure to allow the customs authority ac cess to its facilities, production areas, warehouses 
or records of production costs:  suspension for five days; 
 
 (b) non-compliance with the obligation to keep merchandise only in duly approved or 
authorized premises:  suspension for five days; 
  (c) if it destroys merchandise with neither s upervision by nor authorization from the customs 
authority:  suspension of five days; 
 
 (d) failure to keep information for a period of five years:  suspension for one month; 
  (e) non-compliance with a requirement incumb ent on Customs Service auxiliaries for more 
than three months, without good cause:  suspension for one year; 
 
 (f) failure to keep records of its actions in the manner set down by the customs office, failure 
to make register entries or to do so within th e specified deadline, dest ruction of records or 
failure to make records availa ble:  suspension for one year; 
  (g) failure to maintain or failure to send records and reports on its operations or on the 
merchandise imported, re-importe d or re-exported, or failure to do so on the required media 
or forms:  suspension for one year. 
 (h) other breaches established by the Law. 
 
SECTION III 
Cancellation of regime  
Article 49.— Cancellation .  COMEX shall act to cancel Regime status where the beneficiary has 
committed any of the following breaches: 
(a) Fails to commence operations within the time- limit set down in Article 182(a) of the Law; 
(b) after having commenced the production process,  discontinues it for a period of more than 
four months, without good cause; 
(c) suddenly ceases operations, leading to labour pr oblems or other impacts on law and order; 
(d) makes improper use of machinery, equipmen t and raw materials of any kind which has 
entered under the regime, or disposes of it in some way other than that specified, without 
prejudice to the implementation of any other measures applicable; 
(e) has been suspended on two or more  occasions within a period of 12 months; 
(f)  fails to submit the report pursuant to Article 21 (i) of these Regulations within 6 months of 
the end of the authorized financial year; G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 38  
 
  (g) supplies false data in the application fo r admission to the Regime, the annual operations 
report or in any other information he may be asked to provide. 
To this end, the Management Unit, on becoming aw are of the situation, shall gather the required 
information, investigate the matter, and forw ard a recommendation to COMEX for initiation of 
the relevant administrative procedure. 
 
Article 50.— Relinquishment of the Regime.  If the beneficiary decides to relinquish regime status, it 
must so inform the Management Unit and the Customs Control Office in a communication duly 
signed by the legal representative with general power of attorney, unlimited in amount, or with 
sufficient authority for this act.  PROCOMER shall verify that the following requirements have been 
met: 
(a) Certificate issued by a certified public acc ountant listing deeds pe nding settlement or 
inventory at the time of relinquishment.  This without prejudice to any checks which, under its 
legal powers, the Directorate or the comp etent customs office may decide to make; 
(b) the enterprise is up-to-date with its employer's contributions; 
(c) the enterprise announces its intention to reli nquish Regime status by means of a notice 
published in a national daily newspaper; 
(d) the enterprise has submitted its application to  relinquish the Regime to the Customs Control 
Office. 
From the moment that the enterprise informs the Cu stoms Control Office of its intention to relinquish 
the Regime no entry declarations for mercha ndise covered by the Regime shall be processed. 
COMEX, acting on the basis of a report drawn up by the Management Unit, shall authorize the 
cancellation of the Regime for the enterprise and set  it a legally established deadline to return, clear 
into national customs territory, donate to the State or hand over to the customs authority the 
merchandise admitted temporarily, and to complete the required settlements, with notification of the 
customs authorities, in respect of that  which falls within their competence. 
Article 51.— Amendment .  The title of Executive Decree No. 26285-H-COMEX of 19 August 1997 
and the amendments thereto is amended to r ead "Regulations implementing the Duty Refund 
Regime". 
Article 52.— Repeal .  Hereby repealed are Titles I and II of Executive Decree No. 26285-H-COMEX 
of 19 August 1997 and amendments thereto. 
Article 53.— Validity .  These Regulations shall enter into force on the date of publication in the 
Official Journal La Gaceta . 
Done at the Presidency of the Republic, San José, on 4 December 2007.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 39 
 
 
  Amendments to the Regulations implementing  the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, Executive 
Decree No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001 No. 34166-H-COMEX 
 
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC , 
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE  
AND THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE  
In exercise of the authority conferred on them by  Article 140(3) and (18) and Article 146 of the 
Political Constitution;  Articles 25(1), 27(1) and 28(2 )(b) of the General Public Administration Law, 
No. 6227 of 2 May 1978;  Article 2(g), (h) and (i) and Article 8 of the Law Establishing the Ministry 
of Foreign Trade and the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica, No. 7638 of 30 October 1996 and the amendments thereto;   Duty-Free Zone Regime Law No. 7210 of 
23 November of 1990 and the amendments thereto a nd Articles 5, 50 and 175 of the General Customs 
Law, No. 7557 of 5 October 1995 and the amendments thereto, 
Whereas: 
I.—The Duty-Free Zone Regime attracts foreign inv estment, benefiting living conditions thanks to the 
creation of new sources of employment that have a po sitive effect on the quality of life of Costa Rican 
citizens; 
II.—The Industrial Parks are excellent facilitators fo r attracting investment since they offer enterprises 
the location and facilities they need for their export business; 
III.—Although the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law a nd its Regulations grant industrial parks tax 
incentives and special conditions, it is necessary conti nuously to adapt the legislation to the changing 
needs of the market, including the genuine possibility of expansion in order to respond rapidly to the 
requirements of new investment; 
IV.—The Regulations implementing the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law allow enterprises located 
outside an industrial park to expand their operati ons, but there is no such provision for industrial 
parks, so that it is necessary to in corporate rules that prope rly regulate the expans ion of the total area 
available for free zone management enterprises; 
V.— The legal provisions governing the customs system must be interpreted in the manner that best 
ensures the development of the Republic's foreign trade, in keeping with the social and economic 
circumstances prevailing at the time of such interpre tation and with other matters of public interest, in 
the light of the purposes of these provisions. 
VI.—Article 2 of the Regulations implementing the Du ty-Free Zone Regime Law stipulates that in the 
application and interpretation of these Regulations, a balance shall be sought between the flexibility 
and efficiency of the operation of the duty-free zone  regime on the one hand, and adequate monitoring 
and supervision of the correct use of the tax benefits granted on the other. 
VII.—The objectives of the customs regime incl ude facilitating and streamlining foreign trade 
transactions and enabling the proper collection of duties and the repression of illegal practices that undermine the administration and control of foreign trade by the customs service. 
VIII.—Article 20 (b) of the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law reads: 
"(b) Exemption from all taxes and consular fees charged on imports of plant and equipment, on 
accessories and spare parts for such plant and e quipment, and on imports of motor vehicles 
required for their operation, production,  administration and transport activities
. (...)" (Emphasis 
added) G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 40  
 
   
IX.—Article 4 of the Duty-Free Zone Re gime Law, as amended by Law No. 7830 of 
22 September 1998, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta  No. 196 of 8 October 1998, reads: 
"Article 4—The Ministry of Finance, by Regulatio ns issued jointly with the Ministry of Foreign 
Trade, may exempt enterprises operating under the Duty-Free Zone Regime from certain formalities required for definitive and temporary im port and export regimes, having regard to the 
specific features of the Duty-Free Zone Regime, to  bring duty-free zone transactions into line with 
the requirements of users of the service." 
 
X.—Articles 33 bis, 33 ter, 33 quater , 33 quinquies , 33 sexies  and 35 of the Regulations 
implementing the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law provi de for a series of requirements and conditions 
for entering vehicles under the Regime a nd controlling their use and operation. 
XI.—The present customs environment requires an adaptation of the regulations to ensure the 
continuity of customs transactions and enable them  to be carried out efficiently and always under 
transparent customs control.  Now therefore , 
DECREE: 
Amendments to the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, 
Executive Decree No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001 
Article 1—Article 22 bis (a) and (b) and Articles 79 and 83 of  the Regulations implementing the 
Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, Executive Decree No. 29606-H-COMEX of 18 June 2001, are 
amended to read: 
"Article 22 bis.—Free zone park management enterprises may expand or reduce the area of the 
park in question provided they comply with the following conditions and requirements: 
 
(a) The area added must be on land contiguous w ith the area previously authorized as a free 
zone park or mutually separated therefrom by an easement, a public highway, a railway or a 
private road contiguous therewith.  Moreover, the resulting total area following extension or 
reduction must always be maintained as a propert y, or properties, independent for registration 
purposes.  Reductions that affect the minimum infr astructure required for an industrial park to 
be authorized as a duty-free zone or the mini mum total available building area required for 
parks intended exclusively for service-providi ng or marketing enterprises shall not be 
accepted. 
Where the park is expanded on land separated by  an easement, a public highway, a railway or 
a private road, the management enterprise shall guarantee the existence of a single register for 
recording merchandise entering and leaving the free zone park, for the various purposes for 
which the legislation provides. 
(b) If the area is to be extended by adding one or more buildings or specific floors in a 
building, the land on which such buildings are situ ated must also be contiguous with the area 
of the park previously authorized as a duty-fr ee zone, or mutually separated therefrom by an 
easement, a public highway, a railway or a priv ate road contiguous with the area previously 
authorized as a free zone park.  Where floors in  a building are added or excluded, the building 
must be subject to the horizontal ownership re gime and only complete floors may be added or 
excluded;  if a floor is divided into several subs idiary property units, they must all be added or 
excluded, as the case may be.  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 41 
 
 
  Where the park is expanded on land separated by  an easement, a public highway, a railway or 
a private road, the management enterprise shall guarantee the existence of a single register for 
recording merchandise entering and leaving the free zone park, for the various purposes for 
which the legislation provides. 
(c) The park area resulting from the extension or reduction must be such that it can be 
subjected to the necessary procedures for contro lling the entry and exit of persons and goods, 
in accordance with the General Customs La w and its implementing Regulations and the 
corresponding operational policies of th e Directorate-General of Customs. 
(d) If the property or properties to be added do not belong to the enterprise managing the 
park, the application shall be accompanied by a document in which the owner expressly 
agrees to the good or goods in his ownership being assigned to the Duty-Free Zone Regime and undertakes to comply, where appropriate, w ith the laws and regulations governing the 
Duty-Free Zone Regime, as required by PR OCOMER and the Directorate-General of 
Customs.  The fact that the enterprise managing th e park is not the registered owner of one or 
more of the properties that make up the park sh all not limit or diminish its responsibilities and 
obligations as manager, within the terms of Law No. 7210 and amendments thereto and these 
Regulations, and the managing enterprise must th erefore adopt all the contractual provisions 
necessary in its relations with the owners and/ or lessees of properties that make up the park. 
(e) If the infrastructure or buildings of the ar ea for which exclusion is being requested have 
been built using any form of statutory tax c oncession provided for development enterprises 
and duty-free zone park managers, the applican t enterprise shall proceed to refund the taxes 
corresponding to those concessions, as determined by the Ministry of Finance.  For the 
purposes of the corresponding calculation, the beneficiary enterprise shall submit to the Ministry an expert's report by a professional accredited by the Federated College of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica ( Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos de Costa Rica ), 
indicating the amount and value of the material used and the total taxes payable.  The area 
reduction application shall not become effec tive until such taxes have been refunded. 
(f) For the purposes of subparagraph (ch) of Article 17 of Law No. 7210 and amendments 
thereto, an enterprise covered by the Duty-Free Z one Regime shall be considered to be set up 
in a park if it operates within the area authori zed as a park, whether as owner or lessee.  The 
management enterprises shall inform PROCOMER  and the Directorate-General of Customs 
of any change in the ownership or occupation of  the area authorized as a park, by such means 
and in such form as these bodies may specify. 
(g) The conditions and requirements laid down in  this Article shall apply, where appropriate, 
to applications for the authorization of new parks and to existing parks." 
"Article 79.  In accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Law No. 7210 and 
amendments thereto, any beneficiaries deciding to dispose of scrap, by-products or waste 
must notify the municipality for the location wher e they are based to that effect, in writing. 
[Personnel of] the municipality must come to co llect the scrap, by-products or waste within a 
period of three days as from such notification, and shall draw up a report, to be signed by the official at the customs post. 
 
If [personnel of] the municipality fail to app ear within the above deadline, or if the 
municipality indicates it is not interested in taking possession of these items, the beneficiary 
may donate them, destroy them or arrange for th eir inward clearance, subject to payment of 
tax in accordance with the pr ovisions of this Chapter. 
 G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
Page 42  
 
  Municipalities may conclude agreements with beneficiaries for the purpose of authorizing 
them to deliver directly to a third party, designated by the municipality and expressly specified in the agreement, the scrap, by-products or waste whose disposal has been decided.  
The said authorization may be granted for re newable periods of six months maximum and 
shall be used as a substitute for the report to be signed by the official at the customs post. 
Once the parties have signed the agreement, th e duty-free zone regime beneficiary enterprise 
shall not be required to notify the municipalit y every time it decides to dispose of scrap, 
by-products or waste, as long as it is delivered di rectly to whoever has been designated in the 
agreement, on the terms and conditions set out therein. 
At any time, Regime beneficiaries may freely dispose of containers, packing and wrapping 
used in transporting raw materials, mercha ndise, machinery and equipment purchased under 
the Regime, whether by re-exporting them or entering them for home use, in which case they shall comply with the corresponding procedures, or by destroying them, donating them or recycling them, in which case it will suffice for th e beneficiary to record the said operations in 
its books, without the need for intervention by the customs authority, which may in all cases 
and at any time verify the fate of such containers, packing and wrapping." 
"Article 83.—Materials and me rchandise inward-cleared into duty-free zones and those which 
have not been placed under any customs proc edure and whose consignee is a Regime 
beneficiary, shall be subject to abandonment to the revenue authorities in the following situations: 
(a) Where the owner has expressly relinquish ed them, by written notification sent to 
PROCOMER and the competent customs office; 
(b) Where the condition laid down in Article 56(a)  of the General Customs Law is met.  In 
these circumstances, if the merchandise is recovered, up to 24 hours before the day 
designated for the auction, by the consignee a nd the latter has the status of Duty-Free Zone 
Regime beneficiary, the said merchandise may be placed under the Regime with the 
enjoyment of all its advantages. 
(c) Where the condition laid down in Article 56(f) of the General Customs Law is met. 
In such cases, the Customs Control Office sh all proceed in accordance with the relevant 
legislation, and shall notify COMEX accordingly.  In the case of an auction sale, the 
procedure followed shall be that laid down in Articles 73 ff. of the General Customs Law 
and Articles 188 ff. of its implementing Regulations. 
Article 2—Articles 28 bis and 66 ter, whose text is reproduced below, are added to the Regulations 
implementing the Duty-Free Zone Regime Law, Executive Decree No. 29606 of 18 June 2001, 
published in the Official Journal La Gaceta  No. 121 of 25 June 2001: 
"Article 28 bis.—Exceptionally, for reasons of space, bene ficiary enterprises may temporarily store 
merchandise that has entered under the Regime in customs warehouses, subject to authorization by 
the Customs Control Office. 
In this case, the merchandise shall continue u nder the Duty-Free Zone Regime and remain the 
responsibility of the beneficiary enterprise, without prejudice to the responsibilities assumed by the 
customs warehouse." 
"Article 66 ter.—Beneficiary enterprises that have entere d vehicles under the Regime that comply 
with the technical and safety conditions laid down in the General Customs Law and its Regulations, 
with respect to customs transit, may declare a nd carry out with those vehicles internal customs  G/SCM/N/177/CRI/Rev.1 
 Page 43 
 
 
  transit and transfers of materials, merchandise,  machinery and equipment connected with the 
activities of the beneficiary enterprise." 
Article 3—Validity.  These Regulations shall take effect as from the date of their publication in the 
Official Journal La Gaceta . 
Done at the Office of the President of the Republic, San José, on 4 December 2007. 
 
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