Countries › Panama › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Customs penalties and audits in Panama: 50 percent surcharge on errors, five year post clearance audits, and contraband as a crime from B/.500,000

Customs penalties and audits in Panama: 50 percent surcharge on errors, five year post clearance audits, and contraband as a crime from B/.500,000

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

ANA may audit declarations for five years after acceptance and collect unpaid duties with interest and surcharges; honest errors found at inspection carry a 50 percent surcharge on the duty underpaid, with small quantity and weight tolerances. Contraband and customs fraud are crimes punished with two to five years in prison when the amount at stake reaches B/.500,000, while smaller cases are handled administratively by ANA. Debtors can have their clearances suspended and debts collected through ANA's coercive jurisdiction.

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

Surcharge on duty underpaid because of non fraudulent errors	50 %Decreto Ley 1 de 2008 art. 137, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Post clearance verification period	5 yearsDecreto Ley 1 de 2008 art. 117, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Prescription of import duty	7 yearsDecreto Ley 1 de 2008 art. 78, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Amount from which contraband and customs fraud are crimes	500000 PABCódigo Penal arts. 288-A and 288-B (Ley 34 de 2015), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Prison term for contraband or customs fraud	2 to 5 years yearsCódigo Penal arts. 288-A and 288-B, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Deadline to appeal a classification or valuation decision to the Tariff Commission	8 business daysDecreto Ley 1 de 2008 art. 142, 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. If physical or documentary inspection finds errors that cannot be considered fraud, such as differences in contents, origin, weight, quantity, value or tariff classification that require an additional declaration, a surcharge of 50 percent of the customs duty underpaid applies. No surcharge applies when differences are 3 percent or less in quantity or within a 5 percent weight tolerance for bulk goods; if no duty difference arises, a B/.50 rectification charge applies.
Cost to do it: Surcharge of 50 percent of underpaid duty; B/.50 (US$50) rectification charge.
Example: Misclassification at 5 percent instead of 15 percent on goods with a B/.40,000 customs value: B/.4,000 of extra duty plus a B/.2,000 surcharge. / US$40,000 of goods misclassified: US$4,000 extra duty plus US$2,000 surcharge.Decreto Ley 1 de 2008, arts. 137 and 138, 2008-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

2. ANA may verify after clearance the accuracy of declarations and compliance with customs and trade formalities for five years from acceptance of the declaration, and within that period demand unpaid duties and taxes with interest and surcharges and start punitive actions.Decreto Ley 1 de 2008, art. 117, 2008-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Import duty from any customs destination prescribes in seven years from acceptance of the declaration; the action for customs faults or crimes and the collection of fines prescribe in three years from the event; amounts from technical discrepancies prescribe in seven years from the rectification; fines prescribe in seven years from the final resolution. Any collection step by ANA interrupts prescription.Decreto Ley 1 de 2008, art. 78, 2008-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Regional customs administrations decide disputes over classification and valuation (aforo); their decisions may be appealed within eight business days to the full Tariff Commission, whose rulings are final in the administrative stage.Decreto Ley 1 de 2008, art. 142, 2008-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. ANA may suspend clearances for consignees or consignors in default until they pay duties, taxes and fines, unless the debt is under a pending dispute, and it collects unpaid obligations through coercive jurisdiction under the Judicial Code.Decreto Ley 1 de 2008, arts. 24 and 25, 2008-02-13 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Contraband (introducing or removing goods while evading customs control, even without fiscal loss, or evading duties, including restricted, dual use or prohibited goods, moving non nationalized goods from a preferential regime without complying, hiding cash or negotiable instruments in a customs declaration, and untaxed tobacco) is punished with two to five years in prison when the amount is B/.500,000 or more, measured as the higher of the customs value or all taxes that a legal import would cause.Código Penal art. 288-A added by Ley 34 de 8 de mayo de 2015 art. 2, art. 288-A, 2015-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

7. Customs fraud (evading, in whole or in part, taxes on goods under customs regimes with intent to harm the treasury, including false documents on weight, quantity, value or origin, fraudulent exemption permits, undervaluation, sale of temporarily imported goods without changing regime, and misuse of inward processing goods) is punished with two to five years in prison when the amount is B/.500,000 or more. Officials who contribute face three to six years and disqualification; use of violence or fictitious consignees raises the penalty to three to six years; courts also impose a fine; penalties are halved if the amount is repaid before the case is sent to trial and reduced by a third if repaid before the first instance judgment.Código Penal arts. 288-B to 288-F added by Ley 34 de 2015 art. 2, arts. 288-B to 288-F, 2015-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

8. ANA hears contraband and customs fraud cases where the customs value or the taxes involved are below B/.500,000; at B/.500,000 or more the case is sent immediately to the Public Prosecutor.Código Judicial art. 175 and Ley 30 de 1984 art. 35 parágrafo, added by Ley 34 de 2015 arts. 4 and 5, Código Judicial art. 175; Ley 30 art. 35, 2015-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

9. Knowingly receiving, depositing or converting money from contraband or customs fraud to hide its origin is money laundering punished with five to twelve years in prison.Código Penal art. 254 as worded by Ley 34 de 2015 art. 1, art. 254, 2015-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Situation	Who acts	Consequence
Non fraudulent error found at inspection	ANA	50 percent surcharge on underpaid duty (DL 1 art. 137)
Contraband or fraud below B/.500,000	ANA	Administrative proceedings (Código Judicial art. 175)
Contraband or fraud of B/.500,000 or more	Public Prosecutor and criminal courts	2 to 5 years prison plus fine (Código Penal arts. 288-A, 288-B, 288-E)
Official involvement or violence	Criminal courts	3 to 6 years (arts. 288-C, 288-D)
Repayment before trial	Criminal courts	Penalty halved; by a third before first instance judgment (art. 288-F)

Customs exposure by amount under Ley 34 de 2015 and Decreto Ley 1 de 2008.

Worked example

During inspection ANA finds that a B/.120,000 (US$120,000) shipment of footwear was declared under a line with 5 percent duty instead of 15 percent.
The importer pays the B/.12,000 of extra duty plus a 50 percent surcharge of B/.6,000 (US$6,000), with no criminal exposure because the error is not fraud and the amount is below B/.500,000.
Had the importer used false invoices and the taxes involved reached B/.500,000, the case would go to the Public Prosecutor.

Step by step

Keep invoices, transport documents, origin proofs and classification support for at least five years after each declaration.
Run internal reviews and rectify errors before ANA detects them, which avoids the surcharge.
If ANA disputes classification or valuation, prepare the defence and appeal to the Tariff Commission within eight business days.
Pay or dispute customs debts promptly; unpaid debts can suspend all your clearances.
Train staff and brokers on cash declarations and on prohibited and restricted goods.

Common traps

Contraband does not require a fiscal loss: evading customs control is enough.
The B/.500,000 threshold uses the higher of customs value or total taxes, so high value low duty goods can cross it.
Hiding cash or negotiable instruments in a customs declaration is contraband.
Differences within the 3 percent quantity or 5 percent bulk weight tolerance avoid the surcharge but the declaration still has to be corrected.

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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