Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Trade and customs in Costa Rica: how the Central American customs code, the Ley General de Aduanas and PROCOMER fit together

Trade and customs in Costa Rica: how the Central American customs code, the Ley General de Aduanas and PROCOMER fit together

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

Costa Rican customs law has three layers: the Central American Uniform Customs Code (CAUCA IV, approved by Ley 8881 of 2010) and its regulation, the national Ley General de Aduanas 7557 heavily reformed by Ley 10271 of 2022, and its regulation Decreto 44051-H of 2023. Goods are placed under definitive, temporary, duty free, processing or drawback regimes, and anyone using the main regimes must be in the Ministerio de Hacienda tax registry and current on tax, customs and social security payments. PROCOMER runs the single window for foreign trade and the free zone and inward processing regimes, and charges up to US$3 per customs declaration.

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

Regional customs code applied	CAUCA IV (Ley 8881) and RECAUCA (Decreto 42876) Ley 8881; Decreto 42876, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
National customs law	Ley 7557, Ley General de Aduanas, as reformed by Ley 10271 of 2022 Ley 7557; Ley 10271, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
National customs regulation	Decreto 44051-H of 2023 Decreto 44051-H, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
PROCOMER contribution per customs declaration (cap)	3 USDLey 7638 art. 9(b)(i), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Limitation period for customs duties	4 yearsLey 7557 art. 62, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Value of one peso centroamericano	1 USDAcuerdo Monetario Centroamericano art. 42, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Costa Rica approved the full revision of the Central American Uniform Customs Code (CAUCA IV, COMIECO resolution 223-2008) and its amending protocol; the national customs regulation states that this approval was given by Ley 8881 of 4 November 2010, published in La Gaceta 236 of 6 December 2010.Ley 8881, approving COMIECO resolution 223-2008 (CAUCA IV), whole text; recital I of Decreto 44051-H, 2010-11-04 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. The Central American regulation to the code (RECAUCA, COMIECO resolution 224-2008 and annex) was put into effect in Costa Rica by Decreto 42876 of 28 January 2021, published in La Gaceta 49, Alcance 51, of 11 March 2021.Decreto Ejecutivo 42876, publishing COMIECO resolution 224-2008 (RECAUCA), whole text, 2021-01-28 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. The Ley General de Aduanas governs the entry and exit of goods, vehicles and transport units and customs clearance, in line with regional and international rules applied by the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas.Ley 7557, Ley General de Aduanas, art. 1, 1995-10-20 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Goods may be placed under definitive regimes (import and export), temporary regimes (national and international transit, transshipment, sea or air transit, customs warehouse, temporary import and export, ship stores), duty free regimes (free zone, reimport in the same state, reexport), processing regimes (inward processing and temporary export for outward processing) and the drawback regime; new regimes can be created by regulation.Ley 7557, art. 110 as reformed by Ley 10271, art. 110, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. To use the definitive import or export regimes, free zone, inward processing, outward processing, drawback, national transit, customs warehouse, ship stores or temporary storage, taxpayers and customs auxiliaries must first be registered in the Ministerio de Hacienda registry and be current on tax, customs and employer social security obligations.Ley 7557, art. 110 bis added by Ley 10271, art. 110 bis, 2022-06-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. The current national customs regulation is Decreto 44051-H, signed on 18 May 2023 and in force from publication; it repealed Decreto 25270 of 1996 except its Titles II and III.Decreto Ejecutivo 44051-H, Reglamento a la Ley General de Aduanas, art. 597 and 598, 2023-05-18 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. PROCOMER administers a single window for foreign trade (VUCE) that centralises import and export procedures, and supports COMEX in administering the special export regimes.Ley 7638, art. 8(b) and (c), 1996-10-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. Importers and exporters fund PROCOMER through a contribution fixed by executive decree of up to US$3 per export or import customs declaration.
Cost to do it: Up to US$3 (₡1,364.46) per import or export declaration.
Example: Ten import declarations a month: up to ₡13,644.60. / Up to US$30.00 a month.Ley 7638, art. 9(b)(i), 1996-10-30 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. The customs authority may collect unpaid duties, interest and surcharges for four years; the importer has the same four years from payment to claim a refund of amounts paid in error.Ley 7557, art. 62, 1995-10-20 official text · verified 2026-10-29

10. The peso centroamericano, the unit in which Ley 7557 fixes thresholds, guarantees and fines, is a regional unit of account worth one US dollar; the Consejo Monetario Centroamericano can change it by consensus.Acuerdo Monetario Centroamericano (CMCA resolution CMCA-RE-3/217/99), art. 42, 1999-01-22 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Group	Regimes	Guide page
Definitive	Import, export and their modalities	trade/importing-goods, trade/exporting-goods
Temporary	Transit, transshipment, customs warehouse, temporary import and export, ship stores	trade/temporary-imports-and-inward-processing
Duty free	Free zone, reimport in the same state, reexport	trade/free-zone-trade-rules, trade/temporary-imports-and-inward-processing
Processing	Inward processing, temporary export for outward processing	trade/temporary-imports-and-inward-processing
Drawback	Devolutivo de derechos	trade/temporary-imports-and-inward-processing

Customs regimes under Ley 7557 art. 110 and where this guide covers them

Worked example

A company that files 40 import declarations a year pays at most US$120.00 (₡54,578.40) in PROCOMER contributions, on top of duties, the 1% import tax and 13% VAT covered in taxes/customs-duties.

Step by step

Register with the Ministerio de Hacienda tax registry and keep tax, customs and CCSS payments current before the first shipment (Ley 7557 art. 110 bis).
Classify the goods and check duties, preferences and non tariff permits.
Appoint a licensed customs agent for imports, or file directly where the law allows it (exports, free zone, courier).
Keep commercial, transport and origin documents for at least the four year review period.

Common traps

Arrears with the CCSS or Hacienda block access to the main customs regimes (Ley 7557 art. 110 bis).
Many articles of Ley 7557 were rewritten or repealed by Ley 10271 of 2022, so older guides and pre 2022 fine tables are out of date.
Fines and thresholds are stated in pesos centroamericanos, so their colón cost moves with the exchange rate.

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

← CCSS insurance and tax status of foreign residents in Costa Rica: what immigration law requiresImporting goods into Costa Rica: customs agents, documents, payment, deferred payment, de minimis and courier shipments →

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