Yes, it was a Covid buy, but 40 years in the planning. We found what we thought was the perfect boat. The only problem was it was in Los Angeles. With Covid travel restrictions in place it became an un-seen purchase – very scary. After much grief and expense the boat arrived in Victoria.
A few years later I heard about this Mexican Temporary Importation Permit (TIP) during one of the BCA fleet meetings. They said if your boat had a TIP applied to it that was not cancelled when the boat left Mexico, you were in for a “world of hurt”. Apparently, if you have the original TIP document in hand, you can cancel it when applying for a new TIP. Having looked through all our boat documentation (old receipts and emails, etc.), I did not find any TIP document. I also knew that one of the boat owners lived in San Diego and there was a high likelihood that the boat had been in Mexico. This was confirmed when I found an old Mexican chart stuffed deep in a locker.
So the next step was to see if my boat had a TIP. I found a web site (1) where I could enter the hull ID. Sure enough, our boat had an outstanding TIP applied to it. Nowhere on the boat was the original TIP document. Damn!
So I turned to the fount of all knowledge (Google) and found an article that said if you send an email to this address with proof that the boat is no longer in Mexico, they will cancel the TIP. Four months went by without a word from them – not even an acknowledgement that anything was being done.
At this point I figured it was time to start paying someone to do this. We were planning to leave for Mexico and this had to get cancelled. So I contacted BC Connection Yacht Management Services (2). They responded within an hour. They said the online database was not always accurate and it would cost me $50 US for a report. Two days later they confirmed that the TIP was still active.
They then gave me two options: 1) If the boat is in the USA, get a CBP form 1300 signed and stamped and pay 215 USD. 2) Get an international departure paper and pay 1500 USD. I went for option 1.
BC Connection sent me very detailed instructions on how to fill out the CBP Form 1300, even going so far as to proofing the form before and after visiting the CBP office.
We then set sail for Port Angeles to visit the CBP office there – remember, the boat had to be in the USA. The form 1300 is a transit form that stated we were leaving Port Angeles, USA and heading to Ensenada, MX the next day. We were really only going to be in Port Angeles for a day, then head back to Victoria to wait for September.
I was a little worried about what the form was stating versus what we were actually doing, and how the CBP officials were going to deal with this. When we crossed the border, I checked in with the CBP Roam app. When they called us to confirm, the conversation went something like this:
CBP: “What’s the purpose of your trip?”
Me: “I’m coming to see you guys”.
CBP: “Why?”
Me: “Well it’s a bit of a long story, I have this thing called a TIP on my boat…”
CBP: “Oh, you need a Form 1300 signed”
I got the feeling I wasn’t the only boat to do this. Anyways, they signed and stamped the form the next day without even looking at the boat.
After getting BC Connection to confirm the form was correct, I mailed the original to them in San Diego which they received the next week. I sent them the 215USD and the TIP was cancelled the next day.
I may find out that I could have done this myself in Ensenada when we arrive with our own Form 1300, but it was worth not having to worry about it. We have enough things to worry about getting ourselves and the boat ready to leave.
It was a fairly painless process and not that expensive. Hopefully this helps out future boaters…
(1) Mexican TIP database: https://portalsat.plataforma.sat.gob.mx/aduanas_cpitv_internet/index.aspx?ref=gettingfr.ee#
(2) BC Connection: https://www.bcconnection.com.mx/
Currents PDFs
Comments