Costa Rica is Australia's main trading partner in Central America (except Mexico). Australia's principal exports to Costa Rica includes ships, boats and floating structures, medicaments (including veterinary), starches, paper and paperboard, insulin and wheat gluten.
As a member of the Central American Common Market (CACM), Costa Rica agreed to reduce its general external tariff to a maximum of 15 %, with a number of exceptions.
Textiles and apparel will become free of duty, immediately if they meet the agreement's rules of origin requirements, promoting new opportunities for US and Central American fibre, yarn, fabric and apparel manufacturing.
Costa Rica levies sales taxes of 13 % on the majority of goods and services, whetther locally manufactured or imported. A variable selective consumption tax is also applied to a large number of locally manufactured goods and to about half of all goods imported. Among the highest taxed articles are arms and ammunition, costume jewellery, fireworks, new and used motor vehicles and wine and beer.
Goods certification, labelling and packaging
The Ministry of Health has to test and register domestically manufactured or imported pharmaceuticals, feeds, chemicals, and cosmetics before they can be sold in the country. Regulations exist for imported goods, but older regulations do not always reflect current accepted international norms, including safety practices.
Labelling: There are no single requirements in Costa Rica for making the origin of general goods. However, Costa Rican food labelling regulations follow the Codex Alimentarius and require that all domestic and imported food contain labelling (in Spanish) with the following specifications: product name; list of components; quantitative order; nutritional content; name, and address of importer; expiration or best-used-by date and metric weight.
Specific labelling requirements apply to pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, pesticides, vaccines, hormones, veterinary preparations, poisonous substances and mouthwashes.
Sanitary and phytosanitary certificates are compulsory for importing bulk grain and horticultural products. Zoosanitary certificates are compulsory fro importing fresh and frozen meats.
Import documentation: Costa Rica generally does not require any special documentation for the entry of goods other than commercial invoices, bills of lading, and airway bills.
Mail shipment requires only postal documentation.
Bulk agricultural products require phytosanitary certificated.
Imports of cosmetics, chemicals, toxic products require and import permit from the Costa Rica Ministry of Health. The permit can be obtained with the presentation and approval of quantitative-qualitative analysis certificates and free-sale certificates, which must be provided by the foreign exporters.
For imports from CAFTA countries, Costa Rican importers must present to Customs Authority the necessary information that can certify the origin of the goods. There is no specific format to present this information. The local importer can use any format available for this purpose.
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