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In the midst of a prolonged economic crisis, the Cuban government decided to indefinitely extend the exemption from Customs Duty for the importation of raw materials dedicated to productive processes, a measure that benefits both state-owned and private enterprises.
The decision was formalized in Resolution 21/2026 of the Ministry of Finance and Prices (MFP), signed on February 3 and published on February 17 in the Official Gazette No. 20.
The standard states:
"Extend the exemption from the payment of Customs Duties, granted by Resolution 329, issued by the authority on November 11, 2024, until economic conditions require it.”
The provision will have retroactive effect from the beginning of the year, as the Gaceta itself specifies: “This Resolution applies to operations carried out from January 1, 2026.”
More than 230 tariff subheadings benefited
According to the Cuban News Agency (ACN), the exemption covers "more than 230 tariff subheadings" primarily related to the agricultural sector: animal feeds, fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary medicines, seeds, agricultural tools, and supplies.
The Ministry of Finance and Prices detailed that in 2025, 110 entities benefited from this fiscal policy.
Among the most imported products under this exemption were sugar, animal feed, wheat flour, edible fats, and beans. Some of these items are among "the most marketed by Non-State Management Forms," as acknowledged by the state agency.
The measure applies to "all economic actors, both state and non-state," which includes state-owned enterprises, private micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, and self-employed workers who meet the established requirements for importing raw materials or productive inputs.
Cost reduction in a crisis context
According to the MFP, the extension aims to reduce import costs and, by extension, the production costs of domestic goods, including those generated in partnerships between state entities and the non-state sector.
The Ministry states that this "can contribute to the containment of the prices of the country's productions."
Additionally, it is reaffirmed that the benefit "is granted automatically," which—according to the official version—streamlines the import processes by not requiring additional procedures to request the exemption.
An exemption without an expiration date
The original measure, outlined in Resolution 329 dated November 11, 2024, exempted from the customs tariff until December 31, 2025, those who imported inputs for production.
With the new resolution, the benefit remains in effect without setting a specific deadline, being conditioned on the evolution of the economic situation.
In the legal grounds published in the Gaceta, the Ministry recalls that Law 113 "On the Tax System," dated July 23, 2012, in its Article 284, states that: "The Customs Tax is collected through customs tariffs."
Nevertheless, the legislation itself empowers the minister in charge to relax these burdens. According to Resolution 21/2026:
"The Final Provision Second, paragraphs a) and f), empowers the Minister of Finance and Prices, when they deem it advisable due to economic and social circumstances, to grant exemptions, total or partial, permanent or temporary bonuses, as well as to waive specific tax debts determined administratively (…) and to modify the forms and procedures for the calculation, payment, and settlement of taxes."
The official text also argues that:
"It is necessary to maintain the treatment described in the previous Whereas until economic conditions demand otherwise, which entails extending the aforementioned Resolution 329 of 2024."
Continuity of a tariff liberalization policy
This decision comes just a month after authorities announced a new extension of the tariff exemption for the non-commercial importation of food, medicine, hygiene products, and medical supplies, in effect since 2021.
Both measures reflect the growing dependence on imports to sustain both basic consumption and internal productive processes, in a context marked by a shortage of foreign currency, a decline in national production, and structural difficulties within the Cuban economy.
Although the Government presents the indefinite extension of the exemption as a mechanism to stimulate production and alleviate costs, the official wording itself—“until economic conditions demand it”—raises questions about the actual duration of the crisis that necessitates maintaining such exceptional measures as a permanent policy.
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