The eleven stages of the operation, in order, with who does what and how long each one usually takes.
Bringing a machine from Europe to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama is not complicated. It is long, which is a different thing. There are eleven stages, each with its own owner, and the problems almost always come from skipping one or doing it out of order.
Here is the full journey, as it actually unfolds.
Before you look at any offers: what it has to produce, at what rate, in what format or material, and what space and what power supply you have available. Write down the voltage and frequency of your switchboard. That figure decides purchases further down the line, and almost nobody notes it at the start.
For every machine you are interested in: make, model, serial number, year and country of manufacture. That last detail is not a curiosity: it decides whether the machine enters at zero duty under the agreement between Central America and the European Union, or pays the general tariff.
Confirm that the selling company exists and that the machine is the one they say it is, on a live video call that you direct yourself. It is the stage that saves the most money and the one most people skip.
With the technical data sheet in hand and before you negotiate price: which tariff heading applies, what it actually pays on arrival, and whether that heading carries any restriction, prior permit or certification. Ten minutes on the phone that reorder the whole operation.
With the real dimensions and weight of the dismantled machine, ask for two or three quotes. This is where you find out whether it fits in a container or needs a flat rack, which is what moves the cost most. And it gives you an argument for the negotiation.
A price without an Incoterm means nothing. Put the rule in writing with the full named place and, on top of that, who dismantles, who crates, who provides the crane at origin and how far each party goes. Whatever is not written down is not included.
A sale contract separate from the Incoterm, which covers neither warranties nor what happens if the equipment does not work on arrival. Payment in milestones: deposit against the signed contract, balance against the shipping document or against a satisfactory inspection. Never the full amount up front.
And a warning worth repeating: if an email turns up at the last minute changing the bank account, check it by phone on a number you already had. It is the most common fraud in the sector.
This is where you request the EUR.1 certificate or the exporter's origin declaration, which is what activates the zero duty. It is applied for before shipment: asking for it with the machine already at the port of destination is a race against the clock. Along with the commercial invoice, the packing list and export clearance in the European Union.
Dismantling, crating in ISPM 15 treated wood, haulage to the port and loading. Sea transit from the Mediterranean to the Central American Caribbean runs to about two weeks, plus the transhipment, which in this region is usually in Panama. Use those days to have everything for the next stage ready.
Your customs broker files the DUCA-D, the declaration that applies to goods from third countries. If the machine lands in one country and is cleared in another — common enough in Central America, where the convenient port may be on the other side of a border — the intermediate leg travels under a DUCA-T, in transit, without being cleared.
The storage clock starts running from unloading. Clearance that drags on costs money every day, and that is the line item that most often runs out of control for want of a single document.
Inland haulage, crane at destination and the manoeuvre to get the machine into your plant — measured beforehand, not on delivery day. Then the electrical connection, which in this region almost always means a transformer, and commissioning. If the equipment is complex, concentrate the technician's visit here and take the chance to train your people.
We locate and identify the machine, gather the technical documentation, set up the verification video call, coordinate the proof of origin and the loading at origin with the seller, and prepare the data your freight forwarder needs in order to give you a firm quote.
We are not an exporter, an importer, a customs broker or a freight forwarder, and we do not hold your money. Clearance is handled by your customs broker and the freight by your logistics operator, which is where they belong.
For the figures, what it costs to bring a machine over. For duty and origin, European machinery in Central America. To verify without travelling, checking everything from a distance. And for the electrical side, conversion to the Central American grid.
Guidance note, September 2026. Timings are typical, not guaranteed, and procedures change: always confirm each stage with an authorised customs broker in your country and against the specific tariff heading for your equipment. This page does not constitute customs, legal or tax advice.