Shipping Heavy Equipment to Guyana

The four ways to ship machinery to Guyana

Container, flat rack, RoRo and breakbulk, with where each one lands. RoRo availability is by U.S. coast; the other three are booked on the services that run when the cargo is ready.

What the U.S. ships to Guyana

U.S. exports to Guyana by machine class, 2025 against 2024, as reported by the United States to UN Comtrade^[1]. Units are as declared; the average is customs value divided by units.

A dash means the quantity was not reported for that year. Classes the U.S. did not ship here in either year are left out.

Import duty on machinery in Guyana

The most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty applied to each machine class, as a simple average of the national tariff lines under its HS subheading^[2]. Preferential rates under trade agreements can be lower.

The range shows the lowest and highest line within the subheading; a dash means every line has the same rate.

Worked example: a $100,000 excavator

Import duty: 0% of $100,000 CIF is $0 (HS 8429.52, 2023 tariff)^[2].

No VAT or sales tax is levied on import (GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority), checked October 2026)

Total duty and tax: $0, or 0% of CIF.

• Excise, port charges, broker fees and any registration tax are extra. The final rate depends on the exact tariff line your broker declares.

Vehicles and other taxes

Capital equipment in the GRA's listed codes (HS 8429, 8426, 8428, 8430) is customs duty free and VAT zero-rated; standard VAT is 14%. Used cars and pickups pay age-based excise. Duty on used heavy road trucks was not confirmed.

Source: GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority); CARICOM Secretariat CET, checked October 2026.

• Import duty: Listed capital-equipment codes duty free (CARICOM CET 0–5% for chapter 84 lifting and earthmoving codes)
• VAT: VAT 14% (zero-rated for listed capital equipment)
• Other charges: Petroleum contractors import under Stabroek Petroleum Agreement Art. 21.1; excise applies to used cars and pickups
• Age limits: The 8-year used-vehicle age limit was removed on 1 October 2020. Used vehicles need an inspection certificate from the country of export (ATJ is the authorised agency, with US partner sites) since 1 February 2025. Left-hand-drive vehicles other than tractors cannot be registered unless the Minister directs otherwise.

Documents for Guyana

The papers a machinery shipment to Guyana usually needs at destination. Your consignee and their customs broker confirm the list for the exact cargo.

• Commercial Invoice
• Packing List with Serial Numbers
• Bill of Lading
• Vehicle Title (US export)
• Inspection Certificate (used vehicles)
• Soil-Free and Phytosanitary Evidence
• Broker TIN and ASYCUDA Declaration

U.S. export rules

What every shipment from the U.S. has to clear before it sails, whatever the destination.

Electronic Export Information (15 CFR 30)U.S. Census Bureau

Electronic Export Information is filed in AES for each Schedule B number worth more than $2,500 going to one consignee on one conveyance, and for every vehicle whatever its value. For vessel cargo it is due at least 24 hours before loading; the Internal Transaction Number (ITN) goes to the carrier with the booking.^[4][5]

Applies to: Any Schedule B line over $2,500, and every vehicle

Used self-propelled vehicles: 72-hour ruleU.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. regulations count self-propelled construction and agricultural machinery as vehicles. A used one must be filed in AES at least 72 hours before export, whatever its value or destination, and the ITN, the VIN or serial number and the ownership documents go to CBP at the port of export. Filing after departure is not allowed.^[6][7][5]

Applies to: Used machines that drive: excavators, loaders, dozers, tractors, trucks

ISPM 15 wood packagingIPPC, administered in the U.S. by USDA APHIS

Wood packaging and dunnage must be heat-treated to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, or fumigated, and carry the IPPC mark with the US country code, the facility number and HT or MB. Marked wood can be reused; repaired or remanufactured wood must be treated and marked again.^[8]

Applies to: Crates, skids, blocking and dunnage

Export classification under the EAR (ECCN or EAR99)BIS (U.S. Department of Commerce)

An item subject to the EAR is either listed on the Commerce Control List under an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) or classified EAR99, the basket for items not listed. The ECCN’s reasons for control, read against the Commerce Country Chart, decide whether the destination needs a license. An EAR99 item rarely needs one, but no item, EAR99 included, may go to a person under a denial order or to a prohibited end use or end user without BIS authorization.^[9][10][11]

Applies to: Every export of goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations

Clearance notes for Guyana

Coastal wet seasons run roughly May to July and mid-November to January; avoid them for site deliveries.

• Georgetown has 125 t mobile harbour cranes; TriStar Phase 1 operates, with container and RoRo terminals still planned.
• Vreed-en-Hoop is an oil shore base, not a public cargo port.
• Use the listed HS code on the declaration; Guyanese brokers file through ASYCUDA.
• The Demerara channel is shallow (5.7 m inner, 9.0 m outer chart datum), so vessel size and draft drive port choice.
• No direct US to Georgetown RoRo service was confirmed, so machinery moves lift-on/lift-off.
• The left-hand-drive registration bar limits US-built road trucks.

Questions buyers ask

Export checklist (PDF)

A one-page checklist with the facts on this page for shipping Guyana: methods, duty, rules and documents. Give it to your customs broker.

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