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Guatemala Importer of Record and IT Shipping

Guatemala Importer of Record requires an insurance certificate, a CIF calculation, and the ability to navigate the complex local sale process.

Guatemala Importer of Record at a Glance:

Importer of Record

  • Guatemalan customs requires a commercial invoice entirely in Spanish
  • A certificate of insurance may be needed to confirm your equipment is covered in case of damage or other issue during the import process

IT Shipping & Logistics

  • Securing air freight to Guatemala may take a few days, due to limited wide-body service
  • Last-mile delivery typically only takes a day or two

Importer of Record and Pre-Shipping Documentation

Pre-Shipping Documentation and Certificates

To import IT hardware into Guatemala, you will need to provide a commercial invoice. This invoice must be entirely in Spanish to be accepted by Guatemalan customs. You will also need to submit the typical import paperwork with your shipment (i.e. bill of materials, master airway bill, etc.). Once the proper paperwork has been completed and the taxes and duties have been paid, your shipment should be able to clear through customs quickly.

Additionally, shipments to Guatemala require an insurance certification with a CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) calculation. This certificate ensures that both the cost of equipment and import are protected throughout the shipping process. FGX can help you establish the proper valuations and obtain your insurance certificate before import.

Local Sale Transactions

Guatemalan customs closely scrutinize the financial documents of each shipment for economic and security reasons. They typically review the origin of each transaction, whether or not payment for the imported goods is required, and how the ownership will be managed in-country. Depending on the set-up of your local entities in the U.S. and the status of your entity in Guatemala, you may have to undergo a more complex process to properly import your equipment.

IT Shipping & Logistics

While it is not difficult to obtain air freight to Guatemala from the U.S., flights do not happen daily. You should allocate an additional few days into your timeline so that a lack of air freight availability does not prevent your shipment from being delivered in time.

Guatemala is fairly small (in land mass), and we rarely deliver equipment outside of Guatemala City. Once we have delivered your equipment to Guatemala and it has cleared customs, you should only need a few days for last-mile delivery.

FGX manages all of our client’s shipments door-to-door (or door-to-datacenter). This case study showcases how we navigated IT logistics and importation into Guatemala at the time that it was written. Regulations and challenges are constantly changing and exact shipping requirements may have changed. To learn more about FGX and how our global shipping platform can help your company, reach out here.