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Christopher

Jul 11, 2005, 5:39 PM

Post #1 of 15 (4557 views)

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Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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I searched without much luck so if anyone might have some information regarding a customs broker in the port of Vera Cruz that can clear a 20ft container of personal goods we are shipping July 25.

Thanks,

Chris

Christopher

Jul 13, 2005, 1:01 PM

Post #2 of 15 (4504 views)

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Re: [flysouth] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Please, someone must have some helpful information on getting shipped stuff cleared out of the Port of Vera Cruz?

Thanks,

Chris

"El Gringo Jalapeño"

Jul 14, 2005, 7:39 AM

Post #3 of 15 (4476 views)

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Re: [flysouth] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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What are you shipping? Is it a "menaje de casa"? There are several companies that work with the "aduana". I will try to check with some friends who work in Veracruz and can suggest some options, but first I need more information.
¡Gracias!
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

Christopher

Jul 14, 2005, 2:40 PM

Post #4 of 15 (4463 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Thanks Roy for your reply.

Yes, it is for my "menaje de casa" (in my wife's name who is a Mexican Citizen).

From what I have read here and understand I (we) shouldn't have to pay duty or taxes on anything (unless maybe because it's brand new) but only have to pay for the customs clearance and port fees? Is this correct.

I would like to get an idea ahead of time what to expect them to charge her (us). I will be keeping a low profile when we go to the port. My wife and her father and brothers will be doing all the talking and negotiating. He has a small trucking business and will be bringing one of his trucks to be loaded with our goods from the container.

The Mexican consulate in Toronto said the more detailed the "menaje de casa" is the less chance of them wanting to open boxes.

I look forward to your reply,

Chris

ignacio

Jul 21, 2005, 12:46 PM

Post #5 of 15 (4420 views)

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Re: [flysouth] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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We had our 'menage de casa' brought from California to Veracruz in 2000.

What we did is go to the Mexican Consulate in San Jose, CA., where they gave us some forms to fill, which had mostly to do with electrical appliances brands, models, and serial numbers, then they took these papers, processed them and gave them back to us.

The papers were given to the moving van people and the merchandize arrived here in Veracruz, without having to shell out any money, other than the cost of the moving van.

My wife was also Mexican citizen at the time, and perhaps this helped, but I don't know for sure.

Good luck !

I live in Boca del Rio, the south city on metropolitan Puerto de Veracruz. I don't believe that you need to see any 'aduana' brokers to get your stuff in here.

Christopher

Jul 21, 2005, 9:06 PM

Post #6 of 15 (4398 views)

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Re: [ignacio] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Thanks for your reply.

My Wife just got off the phone with the broker and he wants $8000 pesos as his fee to clear our 20ft container coming from Canada and $3000-$4000 pesos for incidental expenses and $6500 pesos to truck our belongings from Vera Cruz to Pachuca, Hidalgo (approx 4 hour drive).

I think the $6500 pesos is fair for trucking our belongings but it's the other two fees I'm concerned about.

Anyone care to jump in and let me know if this is reasonable or not???

Thanks

Christopher

Aug 4, 2005, 12:15 PM

Post #7 of 15 (4347 views)

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Re: [flysouth] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Precious time has gone by and now all of our belongings are sitting in a 20 foot container enroute from Halifax, Canada to the Port of VeraCruz and nobody else has added anymore helpful information for my situation.

My Wife (Mexican Citizen) just got off the phone with the Broker Association of VeraCruz who told her they have government brokers that rotate on a weekly basis that their services are free except for a fee of $100 peswos for a government receipt but they can't give us the name of who the broker will be on the date or week our container arrives in VeraCruz which is Aug 26th. He told us the port fees will be between 7000 to 8000 pesos. The shipment has my wife's name as the consignee which we were told she can assign to the broker once we have one using a letter. The shipper in Canada said he will email me an express bill of lading to give to the broker/port authority.

Now we just need to find a truck with a trailer that the container can sit on and drive it to Pachuca, Hidalgo.

If anyone has any information on a reliable truck and trailer we can hire please reply and any other info that may help us with the transactions that will happen once our container arrives in VeraCruz.

Many thanks,

Chris and Alma

Christopher

Aug 6, 2005, 9:31 AM

Post #8 of 15 (4325 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Hi Roy,

I've been eagerly waiting for your reply. Please help!

Thanks,

Chris

Adrian

Aug 8, 2005, 6:59 AM

Post #9 of 15 (4307 views)

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Re: [Christopher] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Chris
From my own experience in Sept. 2003 of moving to Tampico (with 20' container and Mexican wife) I can say that c.MN$7500 is very reasonable for port fees - the Port of Altamira here in southern Tamaulipas charged me just over MN$10,000.

The 'incidental expense' seems a bit high but my guess is that the broker is hedging his bets against having a lot of complications - no one can really tell until the papers are presented to Aduana. Our shipment, with several tons of tube radios was held up because they 'found' an open bottle of liquor (which begs the question, who the hell opened it??). The liquor was confiscated and several other small items disappeared at the same time.

As for trucking, bear in mind that you have a limited time to return the container to the port so the shipping company that owns it may have it collected. With lines like Maersk, P&O and MSC this is usually 7 days - or until their next ship arrives! If you are going to trailer the container to Pachuca, make sure that the unit can actually get to its final destination without problems - low power lines across the streets and tight turns here made it unfeasible to bring a container truck to our final address in Tampico and we had to unload and reload on to much smaller vehicles.

Well - things to think about. Hope it all goes well.

Adrian

Christopher

Aug 8, 2005, 4:49 PM

Post #10 of 15 (4297 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Adrian,

Thanks for all the information and tips. I will make sure to keep these in mind when our container arrives.

I will also make a point of checking out the height of the powerlines at our casa to see if this will also be a problem for us too or not.

Many thanks again,

Chris

Marlene

Aug 9, 2005, 7:47 PM

Post #11 of 15 (4275 views)

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Re: [Adrian] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Adrian, when you transported your belongings across the high seas, did you use your wife's name for the Menaje de Casa or your own? I am curious after reading the previous posts, because the information I have gathered and am experienced with is that the Aduana is far harder on Mexicans who have been living abroad than they are foreigners entering the country.

The open liquor bottle made me chuckle. When my friends (he is Mexican) who were living in England, shipped their things to the port of Manzanillo, the Aduana seized 2 tables from a matching set of 3, saying they were made of "new" wood. The remaining table is a great conversation piece now.

bakirita

Nov 17, 2005, 9:01 AM

Post #12 of 15 (4210 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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We are planning to move to Colonia Úrsulo Galván between Coátepec and Xico in February if we can get our acts together. We are currently investigating how to get our stuff there. We know about the menaje to casa...and paperwork. Any advice about shipping a containter through Veracruz vs. driving our stuff there with a pick-up and something attached to haul vs. a proper moving company or any other method? I have read on Mexico Connect that stuff can easily be stolen at the Port of Veracruz. Is this so? We have many many boxes of books we are unwilling to part with which are the bulk (hah!) of our problem -- we estimate 75 pound boxes. We may ship some economy rate via the usps. We are willing to pare down to essentials, but are still left with quite a bit in the way of art and ceramics. It seems best to EITHER ship a lot or a little, nothing in between. We'd rather not ship a lot as we are not attached to our furniture. Hi, Roy! Esther B.

"El Gringo Jalapeño"

Nov 17, 2005, 7:26 PM

Post #13 of 15 (4192 views)

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Re: [bakirita] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Esther:
Thanks for writing! Remember I have been in Xalapa for the last 33 years and, for good or bad, never brought down a "menaje de casa"(didn't have enough valuable junk 30 years ago!). I wish I could give you pat answers, but I know you can get more recent and certain information from someone who has brough down their menaje in the last year. ¡Perdoname! as the song goes. Please let us know how things work out and I will keep my eyes and ears open for more current options. ¡Suerte!
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

ignacio

Nov 21, 2005, 7:55 PM

Post #14 of 15 (4163 views)

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Re: [bakirita] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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We moved from San Jose, CA to Veracruz in Feb. 2000, using a Mexican-US authorized moving van outfit.

Our menage de casa consisted of all our furniture, and some 50+ boxes of books.

The cost of the whole thing, including paperwork and the movers was I believe around $8,000 including delivery to our door here in Veracruz.

No containers nor involvement with Mexican Aduana people was necessary, other than the forms prepared by the Mexican Consulate in California.

If you would like to get the moving van name and the address/phone number we used to contact them then, please let me know and I'll try my best to locate the info. for you.

bakirita

Nov 22, 2005, 6:34 AM

Post #15 of 15 (4154 views)

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Re: [ignacio] Customs Broker in Vera Cruz

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Thank you for your reply! We would be going a bit further, but this is certainly less than we thought we would have to pay. AND we are mailing some books sack mail. Could you look into the name of the company? It would be much appreciated.