Free zone

[lbfluffy]

My friend lived in Panama years ago. She said there is an area that is called the free zone where there are no taxes for things you want to buy. She bought an emerald necklace and paid no taxes. Do they still have that?

Edited August 2, 2019 by lbfluffy

[Essiesmom]

I believe that disappeared when we handed the Canal Zone back to Panama.  EM

[BillB48]

Actually it is still there and it is one of the largest Free Zones in this hemisphere.  A lot of what I am going to pass is "old" info as I have not been in the Colon Free Zone for quite some time.  In the past all you needed to gain entry into the CFZ was a non Panamanian passport.  While much of the CFZ is comprised of large warehouses, repackaging/assembly facilities and storage areas, there is a section that was largely stores with very normal looking store fronts and product displays of jewelry, watches, clothes, shoes and just about anything else you could think of.  "Officially" if you purchased something in one of the stores it was supposed to be shipped to the airport or your ship where it would be delivered to you.  The transaction was supposed to be handled just like you would find when you go to a duty free shop at the airport, you made your purchase and the merchandise was handed to as you board the plane.   In the CFZ, this is where the wink and the nod come into play... you could walk out of (or ride) with anything you could wear.  In fact if you did not mind pressing your luck you could put your purchases in the trunk of your car.  You just had to leave the trunk open for inspection.  The guards would normally politely close the trunk as you drove out without looking in.

 

The entrance to the store area where you could buy jewelry and the like is very near where the ship docks, provided you dock at the Colon 2000 pier and not in Cristobal.  Most ships now use the Colon 2000 facility.  Again I am assuming that entrance is still located where I described.

 

Keep in mind, where I don't doubt you can get a bargain there, the CFZ is not really set up to cater to the individual customer.  Their main purpose is to provide shippers to be to land goods without tax and  the ability to move those goods in bulk to other final destinations either in Panama or another country.

 

Honestly this is a good time for caveat emptor... the merchandise is duty free.  A lot of times that just makes more room for profit😉!  Good luck🙂.

[BillB48]

Too early and the caffeine had not kicked in!   From the third paragraph, "Their main purpose is to provide shippers to be to land goods without tax"... the sentence should read ... The main purpose is to provide shippers a place to land goods without tax...

[lbfluffy]

16 hours ago, BillB48 said:

Actually it is still there and it is one of the largest Free Zones in this hemisphere.  A lot of what I am going to pass is "old" info as I have not been in the Colon Free Zone for quite some time.  In the past all you needed to gain entry into the CFZ was a non Panamanian passport.  While much of the CFZ is comprised of large warehouses, repackaging/assembly facilities and storage areas, there is a section that was largely stores with very normal looking store fronts and product displays of jewelry, watches, clothes, shoes and just about anything else you could think of.  "Officially" if you purchased something in one of the stores it was supposed to be shipped to the airport or your ship where it would be delivered to you.  The transaction was supposed to be handled just like you would find when you go to a duty free shop at the airport, you made your purchase and the merchandise was handed to as you board the plane.   In the CFZ, this is where the wink and the nod come into play... you could walk out of (or ride) with anything you could wear.  In fact if you did not mind pressing your luck you could put your purchases in the trunk of your car.  You just had to leave the trunk open for inspection.  The guards would normally politely close the trunk as you drove out without looking in.

 

The entrance to the store area where you could buy jewelry and the like is very near where the ship docks, provided you dock at the Colon 2000 pier and not in Cristobal.  Most ships now use the Colon 2000 facility.  Again I am assuming that entrance is still located where I described.

 

Keep in mind, where I don't doubt you can get a bargain there, the CFZ is not really set up to cater to the individual customer.  Their main purpose is to provide shippers to be to land goods without tax and  the ability to move those goods in bulk to other final destinations either in Panama or another country.

 

Honestly this is a good time for caveat emptor... the merchandise is duty free.  A lot of times that just makes more room for profit😉!  Good luck🙂.

Thank you for the information