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Mexberry

Jul 24, 2012, 8:09 PM

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Sending checks by courier

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Last fall, whilst we were staying in Nuevo Vallarta, I had to send some funds from my HSBC account in Canada to my solicitor also in Canada. So I simply made out the check, and sent it via DHL courier from Puerto Vallarta to my solicitors in BC. No problem - the funds were not coming from nor going to a Mexican bank. The check exceeded $10k which I understand is the limit for transferring funds from a 'mexican' bank. A few days go by and my solicitor had not received the envelope, tracking showed that the envelope had not left GDL.By this time we were in the US so I sent a replacement check , cancelled the first one and claimed for non delivery from DHL.
Nine months later the mexican federal tax office sends some correspondence which our agent in PV received claiming that we had exceeded the $10k transfer amount and that there is now a fine that amounts to $180k pesos! Someone had opened the letter whilst it was in transit through GDL and saw the amount drawn on HSBC , but they did not bother to check that it was a Canadian bank account not mexican!
It has been suggested that I get a attorney that is familiar with Mexican taxes transferring of funds etc. Can anyone make a recommendation as to a reliable person who might be able to sort out this ridiculous mess. All they have to do is look at the check - it has nothing at all to do with transferring funds from Mexico.

Aaron+

Jul 25, 2012, 4:23 PM

Post #2 of 2 (1350 views)

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Re: [Mexberry] Sending checks by courier

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Before engaging an attorney, I would recommend sending a registered letter to Hacienda stating the relevant facts. If you were a tourist in Mexico at the time you sent the DHL packet to your attorney, all the better, note that you have no resident status. Request that Hacienda issue a formal cancellation of the fine. Be sure to keep a copy of your receipt for the outgoing. I suspect any formal legal action in Mexico would only complicate matters, cost you even more, and not have the desired result. (Oh, and if you have no property in Mexico, you could just let Hacienda stew and not return to Mexico, but that is not the preferred route.)

You might want to contact Milko Rivera Hope, Business and Tourism Counsellor, Embassy of Mexico, Ottawa, mrivera@embamexcan.org, enclosing a draft of the letter you would send to Hacienda, and ask if he could recommend any changes to the letter, and also if he could recommend an officer, by name, in Hacienda to whom the letter should go (presumably higher than the clerk that sent you the message). (You could call that Embassy to check for the current occupant. I just got his name off their website, but the GOM is notorious for maintaining outdated info online.)

Would note that I find it curious that you did not just make an electronic transfer from your Canadian HSBC account to your attorney´s Canadian account, but then that's past history.