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Courier, postal, samples, baggage and border traffic in Paraguay

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Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Small shipments have their own thresholds: courier goods are exempt from customs taxes up to US$100 FOB and couriers can clear up to US$1,000 FOB without a broker, while postal items are exempt in whole or part up to US$200 FOB. Samples without commercial value enter free, duty free shop purchases are exempt on arrival up to US$500 FOB, and border strip residents have a special regime for basic goods. Smuggling under US$500 FOB means confiscation without criminal liability, except natural animal and plant products.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation in the planilla of 28 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Courier (remesa expresa) customs tax exemption	100 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 223 num. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum FOB value a courier may clear without a broker	1000 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 223 num. 2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Postal shipment exemption ceiling	200 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 219, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Duty free shop purchases exempt on arrival	500 USDLey 2422/2004 art. 289 num. 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minor smuggling threshold (confiscation without criminal liability)	500 USDLey 6417/2019, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
BCP reference rate used for conversions (28 Oct 2026)	5868.31 PYGBCP planilla de cotizaciones, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Express courier (remesa expresa). The courier regime covers documents and goods carried by companies authorised for priority clearance. Goods are exempt from customs taxes up to US$100 FOB on the conditions set by regulation, and the courier company may clear shipments directly up to US$1,000 FOB; above that a licensed customs broker must clear them. Courier companies must register with customs.
Example: Parcel of PYG 528,148 FOB: exempt from customs taxes. Parcel of PYG 4,694,648 FOB: taxed, cleared by the courier. Parcel of PYG 8,802,465: needs a broker. / US$90 exempt; US$800 taxed but courier cleared; US$1,500 broker cleared.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 40, 41, 222 and 223, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Courier procedures are set by customs resolutions. DNIT lists the operative rules for courier imports and exports, including Resolución DNA 448/2014 (import procedures for courier companies), Resolución DNA 136/2018 (courier exports and simplified export declarations) and Resolución DNA 1057/2019 (consolidated rules on the TERE 2 advance electronic transmission, simplified import declarations and controls).Resoluciones DNA 448/2014, 136/2018 and 1057/2019 (DNIT courier page), Whole resolutions, 2019 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. International post. International postal items handled by the postal operators of the sending and receiving countries are exempt in whole or in part from import customs taxes up to US$200 FOB under the regulations, and pay customs taxes above that value. Customs control over postal items is unrestricted, whatever the sender or recipient. Recipients of non commercial or occasional items for personal or family use may collect them directly.
Example: Postal item of PYG 1,056,296 FOB: within the exemption ceiling. PYG 1,467,078: taxed. / US$180 within the ceiling; US$250 taxed.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 218 to 221, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Samples. A sample is a small representative piece of a product shown or tested to make it known. Samples without commercial value, because of quantity, weight or presentation or because customs makes them unusable, are exempt from customs tax; samples with commercial value pay import or export taxes. The certificate of origin may be replaced by an importer's declaration for small shipments up to a value set by regulation.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 224 and 260, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Traveller baggage and duty free shops. Baggage covers new or used items for the traveller's personal use or gifts, provided quantity, nature or variety do not suggest commercial purpose, under the international agreements in force; a broker is optional. Duty free shops in the primary zone of ports and airports sell foreign and national goods exempt from customs tax, and passengers entering the country may bring goods bought there exempt up to US$500 FOB.
Example: Arriving passenger with PYG 2,640,740 of duty free purchases: within the US$500 FOB exemption. / US$450 of duty free purchases: exempt.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 29, 225 and 289, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Border traffic. In the border strip, basic necessities from abroad can be imported under a special simplified tax and control regime set by regulation (class, value and quantity of goods) and must be consumed only in the border strip, whose depth is set by regulation. Private cars registered in neighbouring countries and owned by non residents can circulate in that strip without duties if not used commercially.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 234 to 236, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Relief, diplomatic and substitution shipments. Relief consignments for disaster victims, and donations to accredited non profit organisations, foundations and universities, are exempt from customs tax and economic restrictions; diplomatic franchises follow the ratified conventions. Goods sent free under a warranty to replace imported or exported goods of the same classification, quality and value enter tax free.Ley Nº 2422/2004 Código Aduanero, Art. 237 to 241, 2004-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Smuggling threshold for small consignments. Where smuggled goods have an FOB value below US$500, the goods are confiscated and the offender is exempt from criminal liability, except for animal or plant products in their natural state, whose smuggling is a crime punishable by five to ten years.Ley Nº 6417/2019 (Código Aduanero art. 336 and 345 as amended), Art. 1 (new art. 336 and 345), 2019-11-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley 6417/2019 (promulgated 1 Nov 2019) rewrote art. 336 and 345: animal and plant products in natural state no longer benefit from the minor smuggling exemption.

Channel	Threshold	PYG equivalent	Effect	Norm
Express courier	US$100	PYG 586,831	Exempt from customs taxes	Art. 223 num. 1
Express courier	US$1,000	PYG 5,868,310	Courier may clear without a broker	Art. 223 num. 2
International post	US$200	PYG 1,173,662	Total or partial exemption	Art. 219
Duty free shop purchases	US$500	PYG 2,934,155	Exempt on arrival	Art. 289 num. 4
Smuggling of small value	US$500	PYG 2,934,155	Confiscation without criminal liability (not for natural animal or plant products)	Ley 6417/2019

Small shipment thresholds in the Customs Code (FOB values; BCP rate PYG 5,868.31 on 28 Oct 2026)

Worked example

An online seller ships three parcels to Paraguayan buyers by courier: US$60 (exempt), US$600 (taxed, cleared by the courier) and US$2,400 (taxed, cleared through a licensed broker). In guaraníes at PYG 5,868.31 these are PYG 352,099, PYG 3,520,986 and PYG 14,083,944.

Step by step

1. Choose the channel: courier for speed, post for low value, regular cargo through a broker for commercial volumes.
2. Keep each courier shipment at or under US$1,000 FOB if you want the courier to clear it without a broker (art. 223).
3. Declare samples as without commercial value only if they truly are, or ask customs to mark them unusable (art. 224).
4. For commercial stock, do not use baggage or border traffic regimes; the quantity test makes them commercial imports (art. 225 and 234).

Common traps

Splitting a commercial consignment into many low value parcels is risky: fraudulent use of split import facilities to cut tax is customs fraud (art. 332 b).
The US$500 minor smuggling relief does not cover natural animal or plant products, which carry five to ten years (Ley 6417/2019).
Thresholds in the Code are FOB, so freight and insurance do not count toward them but the regulations set the conditions for the exemption.
The Code amounts date from 2004; DNIT courier resolutions govern procedure, so confirm current conditions with the courier before relying on the exemption.

Sources

Related: Paraguay 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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