Flying into San Jose Del Cabo w/Cam gear...

[PamelaH]

I am flying to Cabo in January and I'm just learning about this. It's horrifying. Another person on here posted that he asserted that his equipment was not professional, he owned it and he did not owe taxes in Mexico and the extortionist let it go. 2 other people on the boat got hit, though.

Does anyone know what the actual law is? Not that they care and, as I understand it, they will take your passport and withold it until you pay up which put you in a bad position. I'm really rattled hearing that even with the Aggressor people stepping in this guy got hit for $600.

How has this been allowed to go on? It almost seems like a diplomatic issue. Does it happen at other Mexican airports? It's gross

 

[js1221]

I was there with a group in September and two divers from the group were profiled, pulled aside and required to pay the tax.

According to the law, camera housings are considered and accessory and can be taxed. That is true for all of Mexico but, as far as I know, it only happens in Los Cabos. The current tax rate is 19% of the value of the housing. They use the internet to look up the housing and whatever value is indicated, that is the figure they use. This means if you have a 10 year old camera, as one of the members of the group did, and an internet search shows it was $500.00 in 2003 then they are going to tax you on the $500. This camera did not have a separate housing as the camera is integrated within the case. This is only supposed to apply to housings though. Another member of the group was taxed $150.00 for two Backscatter MW-5300 video lights the he brought to use with his GoPro. He did not even have a housing.

Both members were traveling solo, and had two large bags (one with clothes, one with dive gear) and a carry on. Both were not told to use the go/no go light, they were just told to go to the inspection area. When their camera equipment was found, they were taken to another room, their passports seized and they were told they had to pay the tax. Both tried to explain to the agent that the items they were trying to tax were not taxable under the law, but they were ignored. Both requested to speak to a supervisor, one never came. Knowing the had a boat to board they need up paying the tax, under protest. Oh, and you can only pay with Visa/Mastercard, no AMX or cash.

They were not allowed to call us and tell us what what going on and were threatened with arrest if they got on their phones. We filed a complaint with the airport but they said they had no control over Customs. Since we were arriving and still had to leave through that airport we decided not to make any further complaints, at that time. Apparently the State Department is aware, thanks to other complaints, but I think it is still too small a matter for them to care about. We have decided, should we ever have to to fly into Los Cabos again, that we will fly to Mexico City and take a domestic flight to Los Cabos. This alleviates going through Customs there.

 

[O-ring]

Here's another thread on it - Profiling of Divers at Los Cabos Airport

TL;DR - one of my buddies has paid thousands over several Socorro trips because he keeps getting nailed with his A1 and Nauticam setup.

 

[peterak]

This means if you have a 10 year old camera, as one of the members of the group did, and an internet search shows it was $500.00 in 2003 then they are going to tax you on the $500. This camera did not have a separate housing as the camera is integrated within the case. This is only supposed to apply to housings though. Another member of the group was taxed $150.00 for two Backscatter MW-5300 video lights the he brought to use with his GoPro. He did not even have a housing.

Thanks for the info. So, UW cameras, housings and other accessories are subject to tax? How about non-UW cameras?

 

[js1221]

Thanks for the info. So, UW cameras, housings and other accessories are subject to tax? How about non-UW cameras?

By law, only the housings are supposed to be subject to tax. That said the Customs officers seem to be interpreting the law as they see fit. I would print out a copy of the law and take a copy of the receipt for your housing. It may not help but it can’t hurt.

You are allowed to take 2 cameras into Mexico. Those two are not supposed to be subject to tax. If you have more than 2 phones it could be an issue. I only say this because they could consider your phone a camera. If you then have a non-UW camera and perhaps a GoPro, plus your phone, see where I’m going with this.

 

[Failed captcha]

Jesus. For 600 bucks I'd gladly make the drive from San Diego if I was there.

 

[CWK]

I flew into Cabo from LA on 17th November. I had my housing in a Nauticam soft case prominently visible atop my roller suitcase and I also had a dive gear bag. The customs officer to whom I gave the customs declaration immediately pointed to my Nauticam case and demanded to know what was in it. I said that it was my camera. He then asked if I had a drone, to which I replied no. I was then asked to push the red button and allowed to head to the exit. Before the exit, another customs officer stopped me and pointed to the Nauticam soft case and demanded to know what it was, and I replied that it was my camera. She then asked if I was bringing in food, to which I replied no. I was then allowed to exit.

They were clearly targeting the Nauticam soft case and I was prepared to be taxed, but they didn't mention housing at all. Your mileage may vary.

 

[CWK]

FWIW, I asked the staff at Sea Creatures in Cabo if the housing problem had been solved and they said it was still there but customs enforces it randomly.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I was hemming and hawing about which hit to take - extra ~$200 to fly through Mexico City, or risk getting "taxed" on my TG-5 setup - and decided the former was preferable. I did that on my last Cabo run and had no problems, albeit I did disassemble my setup and scatter the bits about my luggage for good measure.