I recently left my rig in Costa Rica for a month at the Almacen Fiscal (bonded warehouse) near the San Jose airport. They have an Customs officer on site. I thought he suspended my TIP but the agent mistakenly canceled it. (Yes, I checked the doc for spellings, VIN #, dates...but I didn't actually read it so it's ultimately my fault.) When I returned to Costa Rica a month later, surprise, the TIP was cancelled and they wouldn't issue another for 60 days (90 days after cancellation date.)
The Aduana agreed that it was their mistake but there was no way to fix it in the system. Eventually their IT department was brought in but refused to fix it unless it was an order from the Director of the Aduana. By then, I had spent two weeks and countless hours sitting in various Customs offices and my ship date from Panama to Colombia was quickly approaching.
So, I gave up trying to fix the TIP and had to export my rig by flatbed to the Panama border and hustle south to catch a boat.
I guess, my point is that I had researched the process and thought I was doing everything the right way but in the end, I didn't translate the document I signed. It was a very expensive and time consuming lesson.
Wishing you a better experience...
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