Shipping Heavy Equipment to Panama

The four ways to ship machinery to Panama

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.

Published sailings to Panama

3 carrier services in our trade lane guides call in Panama. Each row links to the carrier schedule it was read from; transit is from the U.S. load port to the port named.

What the U.S. ships to Panama

U.S. exports to Panama 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 Panama

The most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty applied to each machine class, as a simple average of the national tariff lines under its HS subheading^[3]. 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)^[3].

ITBMS: 7% of the duty-inclusive $100,000 is $7,000 (Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas (Panama), checked June 2026)

Total duty and tax: $7,000, or 7% 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

Panama applies a graduated import duty that rises with vehicle age, plus 7% ITBMS (sales tax) on the CIF value. Personal imports over 15 years old are prohibited.

Source: Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas (Panama), checked June 2026.

• Import duty: ≈15% (0–5 yrs), ≈25% (6–10 yrs), ≈35% (11–15 yrs)
• VAT: ITBMS 7%
• Other charges: Vehicles over 6 years need emissions testing; Pensionado retirees may qualify for a duty exemption
• Age limits: Personal vehicle imports are allowed up to 15 years from manufacture; over 15 years is prohibited, and 6+ year vehicles face higher duty and emissions testing.

Rules for used machinery in Panama

Panama requires no import licence: any holder of a commercial licence may import. Soil stuck to machinery is legally barred, and MIDA has sent back containers of dirty machinery parts, so clean thoroughly. Claim U.S.-Panama TPA duty rates with a certificate of origin.

• Licence or permit: No import licences are required in Panama; any company holding a commercial or industrial licence can import freely. Special permits apply only to firearms, ammunition and fertilizers.^[6]
• Inspection: Ley 47 de 1996, Art. 18, bars soil from entering Panama, explicitly including soil adhering to machinery. Inspectors may order treatment, rejection, re-export or destruction at the importer's cost (Art. 21).^[7]
• Documents: Essential documents: the original commercial invoice and the bill of lading (or air waybill). Add a certificate of origin to access U.S.-Panama TPA preferential duties.^[6]
• Trade agreement: The U.S.-Panama TPA (in force 31 Oct 2012) eliminated tariffs on nearly all U.S. industrial goods; the remaining non-agricultural tariffs were phased out over ten years.^[8]

Documents for Panama

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

• Commercial Invoice
• Packing List
• Bill of Lading
• Certificate of Origin
• Import Declaration
• Equipment Specifications

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.^[9][10]

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.^[11][12][10]

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.^[13]

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.^[14][15][16]

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

Clearance notes for Panama

• Qualifying new US-origin vehicles may get preferential duty under the US–Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.
• Balboa (Pacific) and Colón (Atlantic) flank the Canal — choose by final destination.

Questions buyers ask

Export checklist (PDF)

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

Nearby destinations

• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Colombia
• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Costa Rica
• US Export Operations - Heavy Equipment to the World
• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Mexico

All destinations in Central America