Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Customs penalties and appeals in Costa Rica: fines in pesos centroamericanos, 50% reductions, contraband above US$5,000 and the Tribunal Aduanero Nacional

Customs penalties and appeals in Costa Rica: fines in pesos centroamericanos, 50% reductions, contraband above US$5,000 and the Tribunal Aduanero Nacional

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Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

Costa Rican customs infractions are punished with fixed fines of 500, 1,000 or 4,000 pesos centroamericanos (US$1 each), a fine of twice the unpaid taxes when the loss exceeds 1,000 pesos, and suspension for customs agents and other auxiliaries. Voluntary correction before any customs action avoids the fine, and accepting the adjustment and paying early halves it. Contraband involving goods worth more than 5,000 pesos is a crime with three to five years in prison; administrative decisions can be challenged within ten business days before the Dirección General de Aduanas and then the Tribunal Aduanero Nacional, with no guarantee required.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent. Customs amounts fixed in pesos centroamericanos are converted at one peso centroamericano to one US dollar (Acuerdo Monetario Centroamericano art. 42) and paid in colones at their equivalent.

Key facts

Fixed customs fine, lowest tier	500 pesos centroamericanosLey 7557 art. 236, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Fixed customs fine, highest tier	4000 pesos centroamericanosLey 7557 art. 238, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Fine for customs tax infraction (loss above 1,000 pesos CA)	2 times unpaid taxesLey 7557 art. 242, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Fine reduction for accepting and paying early	50 %Ley 7557 art. 233, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Criminal contraband threshold (customs value)	5000 pesos centroamericanosLey 7557 art. 211, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Deadline to file customs revisión or appeal	10 business daysLey 7557 art. 198 and 204, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Tribunal Aduanero Nacional decision deadline	30 business daysLey 7557 art. 204 bis, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Limitation period for customs sanctions	4 yearsLey 7557 art. 231, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Customs infractions are sanctionable even for mere negligence; legal entities are liable when their internal organisation failed its duty of care; errors without tax effect, force majeure and fortuitous events exempt; the power to sanction lapses four years after the infraction; and fines bear interest from three business days after they become final.Ley 7557, art. 231 and 231 bis as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 231 and 231 bis, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. No fine applies if the infringer voluntarily corrects and pays before any customs verification; the fine is reduced by 50% if the infringer accepts the adjustment and pays in the regularisation stage or within the appeal period after an immediate control, or pays a fine without tax adjustment before the sanction procedure is notified.Ley 7557, art. 233 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 233, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. A fine of 500 pesos centroamericanos applies to, among others, failing to reexport on time, omitting required documents or information with the declaration, filing with errors causing a fiscal loss above 100 pesos centroamericanos or incomplete descriptions, and breaking customs seals.
Example: ₡227,410, or ₡113,705 with the 50% reduction. / US$500.00, or US$250.00.Ley 7557, art. 236 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 236, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. A fine of 1,000 pesos centroamericanos applies to keeping goods outside authorised places, denying customs access to premises or records, and breaching safety rules for dangerous goods.
Example: ₡454,820. / US$1,000.00.Ley 7557, art. 237 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 237, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. A fine of 4,000 pesos centroamericanos applies to declaring compliance with a non tariff requirement that was not met, acting in a clearance without authorisation, an importer or exporter not answering a post clearance information request, destroying goods without supervision and late reexport of leased goods.
Example: ₡1,819,280. / US$4,000.00.Ley 7557, art. 238 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 238, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Any breach causing a fiscal loss above 1,000 pesos centroamericanos that is not a crime or an infraction punished with suspension is a customs tax infraction fined at twice the unpaid taxes.
Example: Unpaid taxes of ₡1,364,460: fine ₡2,728,920, or ₡1,364,460 with the 50% reduction. / US$3,000.00 unpaid: fine US$6,000.00, or US$3,000.00.Ley 7557, art. 242 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 242, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Contraband conduct involving goods with a customs value up to 5,000 pesos centroamericanos is an administrative infraction fined at the customs value; keeping foreign goods for sale without customs or local purchase documents also triggers a 15 calendar day closure of the business.Ley 7557, art. 242 bis and 242 ter as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 242 bis and 242 ter, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Contraband, including evading customs control or holding undocumented foreign goods for sale, is punished with three to five years in prison and a fine of three times the customs value when the goods exceed 5,000 pesos centroamericanos; evading taxes by deceit is punished with three to five years and four times the unpaid taxes when they exceed 5,000 pesos centroamericanos; aggravated cases carry five to fifteen years.
Example: Goods with a customs value of ₡9,096,400: fine of ₡27,289,200 plus prison. / US$20,000.00 of goods: fine US$60,000.00.Ley 7557, art. 211 and 212 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 211 and 212, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. Final acts of a customs office that determine taxes, impose sanctions or cause harm can be challenged by a recurso de revisión before the customs office or the Dirección General de Aduanas within ten business days of notice; the DGA decides within 20 business days of receiving the file; admission suspends enforcement and no guarantee or payment is required.Ley 7557, art. 198, 201 and 203 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 198, 201 and 203, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

10. Acts of the Dirección General de Aduanas, including denials of a revisión, can be appealed to the Tribunal Aduanero Nacional within ten business days; the tribunal must decide within 30 business days of receiving the appeal.Ley 7557, art. 204 and 204 bis as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 204 and 204 bis, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

11. The Tribunal Aduanero Nacional is an autonomous body attached to the Ministerio de Hacienda that decides customs appeals as the last administrative instance, with five members (three customs lawyers and two trade specialists) appointed for a single six year term.Ley 7557, art. 205 to 207 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 205, 206 and 207, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Worked example

A post clearance audit finds a valuation error that left US$3,000.00 (₡1,364,460) of taxes unpaid. The importer owes the taxes plus interest and a fine of twice the loss, US$6,000.00 (₡2,728,920); accepting the adjustment and paying in the regularisation stage halves the fine to US$3,000.00. Had the importer corrected and paid before any customs action, there would be no fine.

Step by step

On any notice, check the ten business day deadline to file a revisión or appeal.
Weigh the 50% reduction for accepting and paying early against the merits of contesting.
Run periodic internal reviews and correct errors voluntarily before customs acts, which removes the fine.

Common traps

Fixed fines are in pesos centroamericanos, so their colón cost rises when the colón weakens.
Negligence is enough for liability (art. 231 bis).
Holding foreign goods for sale without import documents can close the shop for 15 days (art. 242 ter).
Repeat contraband infractions within four years suspend customs auxiliaries (art. 242 bis).

Sources

Related: Costa Rica country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

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