The Cuban government announced on Saturday an extension of the duty-free import exemption for travelers bringing food, hygiene products, medicines, and medical supplies into the country for personal use. The new Resolution 311/2024, published in the Official Gazette, extends these measures until January 31, 2025, aiming to improve the population's access to essential goods that are scarce in the country.
According to Resolution 311/2024, the following provisions are authorized:
1. Unlimited duty-free importation of food, medicines, and hygiene products. Travelers can bring these items as accompanied baggage without commercial intent and without value restrictions.
2. Duty-free importation of up to $500 or 50 kg of food, medicines, and hygiene products as unaccompanied baggage, also for non-commercial purposes. This benefit is subject to the value/weight ratio established by the General Customs of the Republic.
3. Increasing the value limit for non-commercial shipments to $500, compared to the previous $200 limit. Additionally, the first $30 or 3 kg of the shipment remains tax-exempt, with a 30% tariff applied to the excess.
4. Easier conditions for air, sea, and postal shipments, allowing individuals to import food, medicines, and hygiene products valued up to $200 or 20 kg, free of customs duties.
The regulations clarify that these benefits apply only if the imported items, such as food, medicines, or hygiene products, are presented to Customs in separate packages from the rest of the luggage.
Amidst a severe crisis and complete governmental paralysis under Miguel Díaz-Canel, this extension aims to mitigate the shortages of basic products in the country, an issue stemming from the regime's own incompetence. These measures have been in place since they were first approved following the protests on July 11, 2021.
Three years have passed, and the country's situation remains dire. Therefore, imports brought in by Cubans from abroad are still essential for many families to access basic medicines such as painkillers.