Countries › Panama › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Courier and low value imports in Panama: tax free shipments up to B/.100, the B/.100 to B/.2,000 simplified band and courier licensing

Courier and low value imports in Panama: tax free shipments up to B/.100, the B/.100 to B/.2,000 simplified band and courier licensing

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

Express courier shipments into Panama are governed by ANA Resolución 049 de 2025. Documents and small consignments with a customs value of B/.100 or less, not subject to permits or restrictions, pay no duties or taxes; shipments above B/.100 and below B/.2,000 pay taxes through a broker declaration that may group several consignees; above B/.2,000 or for restricted goods the normal import procedure applies per air waybill. Courier companies need ANA authorization with a fiscal bond of at least B/.20,000.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates as legal tender; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the balboa's value is on a par with the US dollar (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Courier shipments exempt from duties and taxes (customs value up to)	100 PABANA Resolución 049 de 2025 art. 11 (b), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Upper limit of the taxed simplified courier band	2000 PABANA Resolución 049 de 2025 art. 11 (c), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Minimum fiscal bond for courier authorization	20000 PABANA Resolución 049 de 2025 art. 3 numeral 18, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	1 PAB per USDBalboa at par with the US dollar (Superintendencia de Bancos), as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Courier shipments are classified in categories: (a) correspondence, documents and goods without commercial value, which pay no taxes; (b) small consignments not prohibited, restricted or subject to non tariff regulation, with a customs value of B/.100 or less, which pay no taxes; (c) consignments not subject to restrictions with a customs value above B/.100 and below B/.2,000, which pay taxes; (d) all other consignments, including restricted goods, which follow the general import for consumption procedure for each air waybill; (e) goods under regimes other than definitive import or export, which follow the ordinary procedure.
Example: A B/.85 online purchase of clothing sent by courier: category (b), no duty or ITBMS. A B/.450 purchase: category (c), duty and ITBMS per the tariff. / US$85 order: tax free; US$450 order: duties and ITBMS apply.ANA Resolución 049 de 17 de febrero de 2025, Gaceta Oficial 30234-A of 12 March 2025, art. 11, 2025-02-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. Category (a) and (b) shipments are released on the courier manifest using the exit control form for tax exempt courier goods (Annex 2) until ANA enables a simplified declaration module. Category (c) shipments are declared by a licensed customs broker in a declaration that may cover several air waybills of different consignees. Shipments above B/.2,000 follow the general clearance process.ANA Resolución 049 de 17 de febrero de 2025, Gaceta Oficial 30234-A of 12 March 2025, arts. 17, 19, 25 and 26, 2025-02-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Couriers must transmit the express manifest two hours in advance, present the declaration within six business hours after the transport unit reaches the separation facility (otherwise goods go to temporary storage or deposit), correct discrepancies within five business hours, and answer to ANA for differences in quantity, nature and value. Shipments are subject to risk profiling and random inspection; irregular goods are detained.ANA Resolución 049 de 17 de febrero de 2025, Gaceta Oficial 30234-A of 12 March 2025, arts. 10, 21 to 23, 2025-02-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. To be authorized as a courier, an applicant must be registered and domiciled in Panama, not have been sanctioned for customs crimes in the last ten years, and file, among other items, a lawyer's application, DGI tax clearance, RUC, a certificate of no customs fraud with B/.0.50 in fiscal stamps, the Ministry of Government authorization for parallel mail services and a fiscal obligation bond in favour of ANA and the Comptroller General of at least B/.20,000, adjustable to its trade volume.
Cost to do it: Fiscal bond of at least B/.20,000 (US$20,000) plus legal and filing costs.ANA Resolución 049 de 17 de febrero de 2025, Gaceta Oficial 30234-A of 12 March 2025, arts. 2 and 3, 2025-02-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. The resolution entered into force three months after its publication in the Gaceta Oficial on 12 March 2025, repealed Resolución 672 de 2020 and Resolución 406 de 2021, and adopted the IATA Cargo XML standard for electronic air cargo data.ANA Resolución 049 de 17 de febrero de 2025, Gaceta Oficial 30234-A of 12 March 2025, arts. 34, 38 and 39, 2025-02-17 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: From June 2025 Resolución 049 de 2025 replaced Resolución 672 de 2020 and Resolución 406 de 2021 as the courier rules.

Category	Content and value	Taxes	Procedure
a	Documents, goods without commercial value	None	Manifest and exit control form
b	Unrestricted goods, customs value up to B/.100	None	Manifest and exit control form
c	Unrestricted goods, above B/.100 and below B/.2,000	Duties and taxes	Broker declaration, may group consignees
d	Other goods, including restricted goods	Duties and taxes	General import procedure per air waybill
e	Goods under other regimes	Per regime	Ordinary procedure

Courier categories under ANA Resolución 049 de 2025 art. 11.

Worked example

An online retailer abroad ships a B/.95 (US$95) order of cosmetics with no health permit requirement: category (b), released without taxes.
A B/.1,200 (US$1,200) order of electronics: category (c), the courier's broker files a declaration and the buyer pays duty, ITBMS and any ISC shown in the tariff.
A B/.2,500 order goes through the full import process with the B/.100 administrative fee for declarations of B/.2,000 or more.

Step by step

Check whether the goods need a permit from another agency; if so, the shipment falls in category (d) whatever its value.
Ensure the commercial invoice shows the true value; ANA profiles packages by description, weight and value.
For category (c), budget duties and ITBMS and the courier's broker fee.
Couriers: apply to ANA with the documents in art. 3 and the B/.20,000 fiscal bond before operating.

Common traps

The B/.100 threshold is on customs value; restricted or regulated goods never qualify for the tax free category.
Undervaluing courier packages is a customs offense and goods are detained if irregularities are found.
Couriers that miss the six business hour window must move goods to temporary storage, adding cost and delay.

Sources

Related: Panama 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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