Costa Rica Suspends Requirement that a Copy of Official Export Documents be Provided for All Countries
According to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, the Costa Rican government has temporarily suspended for all countries the requirement that exporters must furnish a copy of official export documents for imports to Costa Rica. Costa Rica initially implemented this requirement on March 5, 2004.
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Sources at the U.S. Embassy noted that while this suspension is temporary, in all probability it will be quite some time before any such requirement is reinstated. These sources explained that the Costa Rican government will have to reach individual agreements with each country.
Embassy sources have previously explained that the Costa Rican government decided to require copies of official export documents because importers in Costa Rica have been submitting undervalued and fake documents in order to avoid paying duties. These sources now note that the Costa Rican government is exploring other means of obtaining such export information.
Costa Rica Had Previously Delayed Implementation of Requirement for U.S., EU
Costa Rica originally delayed implementation of this requirement with respect to exports from the U.S. on March 4, 2004. In March 2004, Costa Rica also delayed implementation of its requirement for the European Union (EU) countries. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/10/04 and 03/30/04 news, 04031020 and 04033015, for BP summaries of these delays.)
BP has previously reported that the Bureau of Census (Census) objected to Costa Rica's new requirement because providing a copy of the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) or Automated Export System (AES) record for U.S. exports violated the confidentiality provisions on the release of SED information contained in the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR) at 15 CFR Part 30.91.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/05/04 news, 04030530, for BP summary of Census' warning to exporters not to comply with Costa Rica's requirement.)