The Tenerife Free Port of Santa Cruz.

Tenerife FREE PORT Santa Cruz has been an internationally privileged harbor with special status since 1852. It's a bonded area,  as called in USA terms. Therefor, it's indirectly a free economic and free trade zone. The latter means that the normal shopper doesn't have access to it. 

The people from the  Navy sailing academy boat are not allowed into this space either, although their ship could anchor on its doorstep. 

The special bonded conditions may apply to the whole area or a part of the port..
A map where you will locate the port can be found, here.

Imported consignments may be held or transformed without customs duties before reexporting them. Often, no duties apply for loading or offloading vessels which are normally a great cost factor.

Does Free Port mean you can shop cheaper on Tenerife?

This is not the case. Whatever comes from foreign places will carry more or less import duty depending on tariffs when it's offloaded and enters the city. However, it's the cut of luxury taxes for everybody on the island and tax refunds for tourists at the airport that make shopping in Tenerife so exciting. 

An example of import tax to pay for a normal business owner of Tenerife.

Lets assume that you get a large sea freight post parcel for your boutique in Puerto de la Cruz with the latest fashion articles from Italy. If this happens once too often you will be detected. You will have to fetch it at the Customs department inside the Santa Cruz port.

For over 150 years, now, Santa Cruz de Tenerife which is a province of Spain  has been deviating ocean freight consignments to other places.

Now, it even has become more interesting for Europe since more and more countries have joined the EU.

The processing or transforming of merchandise is the most interesting but, few investors are aware of it as far as this Canary Islands free International trade status is concerned.

Tax incentives are great for creating companies for such investments for international business between Europe, Africa, America and Asia in the Canary Islands Free zone which are regulated by the REF.

Handling of imported goods at the Tenerife free port.

Once deviated from provisional storage houses within customs of the biggest of all Canary Islands no final import charges should apply once the goods arrive at their destination. 

Why?

They are shipped from a free zone place in Europe to a different destination within.

Please, get in touch with an experienced international forwarding agent in the capital Santa Cruz. He should be able to explain details for the use of the Tenerife Free Port.

Working out profitability

To make deviating from Santa Cruz Harbor a saving we must first calculate all possible costs involved. They need to be compared to expenses which would occur when importing via sea freight directly into other European ports. This is why you need to have all your costs worked out by the experts beforehand.

The time factor for deviation and or/transformation in a Free Port should also be taken into consideration to make international business ventures viable.

Free Port information from an official source.

And now I would like to give credit to the following economically important article that concerns a special port of Europe which is at the same time outside of it, more of which find here.

It talks about the new Type 2 control zone. This is a little confusing, but still confirms the principle of a special free zone for tax and investment incentives, as mentioned above. Let me just quote two paragraphs that read as follows:

"With its implantation, the goods that enter the said ports will be considered outside of European Community territory, enabling the companies located within the zone to benefit from tax exemptions or deferrals, and be able to use the installations as storage or for perfecting operations.

The companies based in the zone will be eligible to enjoy the benefits of the economic and fiscal regime (REF) of the Canaries. The potential benefits include registering under the Canaries investment reserve (RIC) or to become ZEC companies. They also remain exempt from the payment of the IAJD and IGIC duties ? ie VAT on investment assets."

Ports are so important for trade. But, they are also important for a community because they provide work and a way of living which means movement and activity.
A port always means progress.

Also important in the context of the Free Port the Puerto Franco

The World Trade organisation

International trade

International trade laws

Education master degree for international trading

Back from Tenerife Free Port to Santa Cruz Tenerife

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