Visitors flying into Cancun Airport no longer need to worry about paying a hefty customs fee for bringing in more than a single tablet or laptop. But the tax appears to still be in place at other airports in Mexico.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama announced on Facebook that the Mexico device tax was being axed at CUN as it hurts the area’s tourism image. It wasn’t immediately clear, however, if other Mexico states also are dumping the controversial tax.
As previously reported by Open Jaw, travelers to Mexico in the past few weeks have been pulled over by customs officers who demand they pay large fees, sometimes hundreds of U.S. dollars, for bringing in what the government deems to be an excessive number of devices.
The Mexican government’s website has a long list of items that people can bring in without paying taxes, whether items are new or second-hand. For electronics, this is what the site says is allowed: Two cameras or camcorders and camera gear; three cellphones or other wireless devices; one GPS; one electronic organizer; one laptop, notebook, omnibook or other portable computing device; one portable copier or printer; one CD burner (not much danger of that) and one portable overhead projector and its accessories.
USA Today said a 19% tax of the “deemed value: of up to $4,000 for a second device was being charged. The rule has been on the books for years, but only recently did visitors begin complaining about enforcement at Mexico’s airports.
Lezama said the tax was hurting Quintana Roo.
“Due to several situations detected at the Cancun International Airport regarding the fee to residents and tourists in a process that has affected the image of the destination, and has generated discomfort and inconveniences of our visitors, prohibiting tourists from bringing personal equipment of more than a laptop and a tablet ... we have decided to eliminate the criteria that imposed a fee to incoming passengers bringing a computer and a tablet to Cancun International Airport,” she said in her Facebook video.
Lezama apparently didn’t mention Tulum airport, and her authority is limited to the state of Quintana Roo. Which means that, in theory, visitors could still face taxes flying into Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City and other airports in the country.
“The newly changed Customs law … applies only to the Cancun International Airport,” The Riviera Maya News states. “The Friday announcement in the electronics limit change is not country-wide.
“The electronics limit lift announced for the Cancun airport does not include other international airports around the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel, Tulum, Chetumal are not included in the updated Customs tax exemption,” their story said. “There is no word on if they will be in the future.”
