COUNCIL OF STATE ______ JUAN ESTEBAN LAZO HERNÁNDEZ, President of the National Assembly of People's Power. LET IT KNOW: That the State Council has agreed to the following: WHEREAS: Decree-Law No. 17 of November 24, 2020 "On the Implementation of the Monetary Ordering Process", establishes the monetary and exchange unification. WHEREAS: Decree-Law 22, of April 16, 1979, as modified by Decree-Law 244, of April 18, 2007, puts into effect the “Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba for non-commercial imports ”, which is necessary to update in correspondence with the new economic and social conditions of the country. THEREFORE: The State Council, in the exercise of the powers conferred on it in paragraph c), of Article 122 of the Constitution of the Republic, adopts the following: DECREE-LAW No. 22 “Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba for non-commercial imports ”Chapter I Nature of the Tariff Article 1. The Customs Tariff, together with the other legal provisions in force on the matter, integrates the customs regime of the Republic of Cuba, for imports without commercial nature carried out by natural or legal persons located in the national territory, with the exception of Cuban state legal entities. CHAPTER II ADMISSION OF PRODUCTSArticle 2. Products whose importation is not prohibited, whether they are sent as cargo, postal packages or unaccompanied luggage, or come as equipment belonging to passengers in general and Cuban ship crews, are admitted upon entry into Cuba. or aircraft and seafarers, after compliance with the established requirements and the payment, as appropriate, of the customs duties established in this Tariff. Article 3. All products that are imported, including those that are exempt from the payment of duties or that enjoy the exemptions established in this Decree-Law, are declared to Customs in the established manner, except for the exceptions required by the international reciprocity. CHAPTER III BASIS OF THE DEBT Article 4.1. The debt that is established in this Tariff, applicable to products imported by natural or legal persons residing in the national territory, is paid in Cuban pesos, calculated on the import value in United States dollars (USD) and is based on a ad valorem duty. 2. Ad-valorem duty is understood as the percentage that is applied to the value of the imported products. CHAPTER IV VALUATION OF THE PRODUCTS Article 5. For the purposes of the liquidation of the ad-valorem duties established by this Tariff, it is the Customs authority to take one of the following methods as the basis of the value due: a) The Customs declaration; b) the purchase invoice; c) the reference value determined by Customs; and d) the value-weight alternative. The valuation alternative to be used in the case of miscellaneous items is the value-weight one, and it is applied in accordance with what has been approved for this purpose by the General Customs of the Republic. For the purposes of applying what is established in this Article, sundries are understood to be footwear, clothing, food, personal and household hygiene items, costume jewelery, perfumery and the like. Products for which there is no reference value, the reference price that is available is taken as a basis. CHAPTER V EXEMPTIONS AND FRANCHISES Article 6. Non-commercial imports made by political asylees and refugees are exempt from paying customs duties upon entering the country for the first time. Article 7. Non-commercial imports of the following products are also exempt from paying customs duties: a) Prepared pharmaceutical products, wheelchairs for the disabled, scientific, technical, art and literature books; musical scores; educational records, tapes, stills and motion pictures; prostheses, when they replace or substitute an organ or part of it; and the equipment, books or materials destined for the blind; b) used personal items brought with them by passengers in general and by Cuban crew members of ships and aircraft and seafarers; c) household goods and personal effects of people who arrive in Cuba for the purpose of permanent residence, in accordance with the provisions of current legislation; d) products for the personal use of foreign scholarship recipients residing in Cuba, as long as they maintain that condition and according to the regulations issued by the Minister of Finance and Prices; and e) the medals, decorations and prizes awarded abroad, and the products that Cuban citizens receive as gifts or prizes for their status as scientists, athletes, artists and others, provided that their origin is proven with the corresponding document. Article 8. In addition, products imported by the persons included in the exemptions established in laws 981, of October 3, 1961 and 1089, of December 31, 1962, as well as those products that also enjoy exemptions. Article 9. Products are admitted free of duties and taxes, which as temporary importation, are brought by foreigners in their capacity as artists, athletes, specialists, scientists, journalists and filmmakers, passengers in transit and those people who arrive in the country under circumstances specials. Article10. Materials and objects to which this benefit is granted by international agreements to which Cuba is a party are exempt from paying customs duties. CHAPTER VI LIMITATIONS Article 11. Passengers included in the customs classification as tourists can only import their personal effects, defined in Article 2 of the Convention on Customs Facilities for Tourism. The Minister of Finance and Prices may establish exceptions to the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Customs may require a guarantee of up to five thousand Cuban pesos for the temporary importation of personal effects brought by tourists, which in their opinion are of high value; This amount will be reimbursed at the time of re-export or if it is not re-exported, it is entered into the State Budget. Article 12. The total value of the products included in each shipment cannot exceed two hundred United States dollars (USD). Article 13. In the case of products belonging to passengers, the value of the products included in the luggage cannot exceed one thousand United States dollars (USD). CHAPTER VII ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS Article 14. Without prejudice to the criminal liability that may have been incurred, Customs performs, according to the established procedure, the administrative confiscation of imported products in the following cases: a) When their entry into the national territory is prohibited; b) when the nature and functions of an article, the repetition of imports made, or the quantities of the same product are such that, in the opinion of the customs authority, they are commercial in nature; c) when the products are brought or sent by fraudulent declaration; d) the excesses of what is established in articles 12 and 13, as well as the limits established in the complementary provisions to this Decree-Law; e) products imported by tourists that are not for their personal use, when they refuse to re-export them; and f) when the products are brought or sent in violation of the provisions of current legislation. Article 15. Without prejudice to the criminal responsibility that may have been incurred, when the customs authority determines the existence of repeated importation of an article or miscellany, it may temporarily limit the right to import, admitting only the personal effects of the offender, carrying out the administrative confiscation. of the rest of the products, as legally established. FINAL PROVISIONS FIRST: The Minister of Finance and Prices, having heard the opinion of the interested organizations, establishes the list of products whose importation without commercial character is prohibited; This list can be varied in the opportunities that are considered pertinent. SECOND: The Minister of Finance and Prices is empowered to: a) Authorize the importation of products above the values established in articles 12 and 13. b) Establish variations in the tariff scales of this Tariff, when it responds to the interests of the nation. c) Grant total or partial exemptions from the payment of customs duties established by this Tariff, in those cases where circumstances so advise. d) To dictate how many complementary provisions are necessary for the application of what is provided in this Tariff. THIRD: The Head of the General Customs of the Republic is empowered to: a) Approve the procedure for the temporary limitation of the right to import of natural persons, in accordance with the conditions regulated in this Decree-Law. b) Establish the list of reference values for the purpose of determining the amount owed for the settlement of ad-valorem rights. FOURTH: Repeal Decree-Laws 22 “Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba for non-commercial imports”, of April 16, 1979 and 244 amending Decree-Law 22, of April 18, 2007. FIFTH: This Decree-Law enters into force on January 1, 2021. BE PUBLISHED in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. GIVEN in Havana, on the 24th day of the month of November 2020. Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández
