Go with the flow

     So I've been doing business down here for about 4 years now and the best advice I can give anyone is to go with the flow. This place will eat you alive if you are impatient. One of the toughest places on earth to get paperwork done and accepted.  I have had all kinds of setbacks from government and or city. If you are persistent and constantly on it you can succeed.  It takes the patience of Jobe and the tenacity of a wolverine.  This is a difficult place to try and push things through fast.
This part takes the average person from the states a very long time to accept.  It took me a long time to finally figure this part out. If you don't really need it done today you can let it go and keep that attitude, you will go far here.

So here is some correspondence that we were having back and forth with our offices in New York and Nicaragua.

• XXXX can you call DHL and find out if we are ready to go and pick up the machine? We have produced all the paperwork and paid all our bills and even a fine so that we are clear and able to import the machine. We are waiting on DHL and we have sent two messages and called twice as well.  

• Spoke with Ginny (sp?) at DHL JFK.  She said she needs to contact Managua (by email) and will get back to me on it.  Will keep you posted...

• Please have your party in Nicaragua contact Maria – reference hawb (house airway bill) 6ry4606 JFK/MGA.

• Note the prepaid airfreight was DAT (delivery at terminal) meaning door to airport only.
• To be cleared thru Nicaragua customs the consignee needs his own customs broker or they can work with DHL Global Forwarding Nicaragua to have the shipment cleared.

• Please note the Customer has not complete the required documentation in order to DHL NI can be their broker at destination

This is how it starts and if you can't provide the documentation they seize your package.  So the proper documentation is a very loose term. What does that include? So as we found out, it includes anything they ask for.  Even things that can be impossible to prove or provide such as you will see in the following posts.  

Customs in Nicaragua

       So this is going to be a continuation of a series of posts here on Blogger about doing business with customs here in Nicaragua. If you have an import broker or another means of importing things into the country this post really isn't for you. This is a description of my personal experiences with customs here and how they run the show of importing items into this country.  I'm constantly getting emails and messages about people who "know" somebody who can get goods into the country with connections. This is for the average working guy or gal trying to import things into the country. If you have done this in the past with great success god bless you. My experience has been different.

In December of 2015 I bought a 50 year old Consew leather sewing machine off of Craigslist for $400.  The company I bought the machine from had many for sale. The owner of the company where  I bought the machine from was a really nice and specialized in motorcycle leathers. The company was located in New York City.

I purchased the machine with 4 $100 bills and put it in the back of my truck and headed home.  The owner of the company printed a receipt for me and a bill of sale with logo and company address which you will see below.  I had to pay a guy to crate it up and protect the contents. The box was about the size of a small coffin and was packed well.  We included the table that the machine came on and the small electric motor.  The motor is small and not the typical big heavy motor that comes on such machines. This motor allows the machine to work slowly so that a precise stitch can be achieved.  The crate cost me another $200 because it had to be made special for the size of the machine.  I had to pay the guy that built it out of that money and he did a great job.

My office called DHL where we have an account and ordered a pick up. DHL came out the next day and loaded the machine into one of their trucks and it was shipped off to Managua which is the capital city in Nicaragua.  Surprisingly the machine arrived in Managua within a few days. I then flew to Nicaragua to receive the machine and sign for it then pay my import taxes etc.  I knew it would take some time and money to get it. I wasn't thinking that it would be an easy task. I also never thought it would take months and thousands of dollars, attorneys, tax attorneys, letters, bank statements and Nicaragua IRS statements as well.

Customs in Nicaragua

Exact same machine with 25 bids

So this machine was for sale on Ebay recently with 25 bids and the price is the exact same that I paid.  It would be hard for them to say my machine is worth more when on the free market this is all the money it's worth.
Currently we are awaiting a meeting with customs officials  and this will have to take place after I come back. Apparently they can't meet us with short notice.  I have heard that they never even opened my box to inspect the machine but that remains to be seen.

Nicaragua Customs

 So now I am trying to import a $400 machine into the country. This machine is a Consew 227r which is an old Japanese machine for sewing leather. It has a slow moving walking foot and creates a great stitch pattern that looks great. The machine is a commercial grade and can be used to sew very thick leather.
I shipped the machine here using DHL and they received the machine into Managua. It currently sits in customs in their holding warehouse. I have paid $400 for the machine, $500 for all the taxes and import fees. So all in with the original shipping I'm at $1300 and now customs wants to charge me an additional $2000 for reasons unknown.
I drove to Managua last week and met with DHL executives and their head lawyer here in Nicaragua and they tell me that if I can't provide better proof of purchase that my chances of success are dwindling. They want something with electronic proof such as a credit card receipt or cancelled check.  Of course I paid cash for the transaction and have a legitimate bill of sale with the owners logo etc.
So far I have had to provide "proof of solvency" which is proof that I am up to date on all my tax obligations with the DGS here in Nicaragua. I also have to prove that I have a RUC card and am registered to do business here in Nicaragua. My Legal paperwork to prove that I am a business here and have the proper partners and am "up to date" all my taxes and bills.

My machine sewing my bag in NYC. Consew 227r

I will have a meeting with customs next month so that means that I will have the opportunity to travel back to the states and get another receipt hopefully and maybe there is an ATM withdrawal on the same day as the machine purchase so a print out of that might help.  I can report back after the customs meeting on what they would like me to do.  In the end, I won't pay anymore taxes and have heard that you can purchase the same machine in Costa Rica or Honduras for the same money and drive it right across the border.  For the price of the taxes,  I can put 4 more and pay for the gas.

My Singer knock-off purchased in Esteli. 

I do have a file that has a breakdown of all the money that has gone into the machine I imported for all the costs. I can post it later to show exactly what it costs to send a package  with DHL here. So far I  have 2 trips to Managua that are 2 hrs both ways so a total of 8 hours driving and about 2 hours for both meetings.  Gas here is expensive and not to mention the amount of police stops to get to and from where your going.  So I am optimistic still but honestly if I had to bet decent money on whether I will receive it or not I would vote no. My only real recourse is through the American Embassy and possibly they have a connection there that can help me. If not, I can save all of you lots of time and money. I think I can deduct this but need to speak with my CPA first on exactly how.  The real tragedy is that I planned on putting a man on this machine, so that means one less man or woman working.