Special Delivery

The Following is Based on a True Story

Having something sent to Brazil using an express delivery service--like DHL, for example--is no simple matter. In addition to the time it takes to arrive from, say, Japan, every package must pass through customs for inspection. When sent, the package must be accompanied by a "CEP number", which, from what I can gather, is similar to an American Social Security number. Nevertheless, when a package is sent from a foreign party outside of Brazil to another foreign party inside Brazil, there is no CEP number, and unless the delivery company is kind enough to tell you to provide, say, a passport number instead when the package is sent, the item is held prisoner at the Sao Paulo customs office. The real kicker is that sometimes, apparently, the recipient must contact the delivery service to find out why his package has not arrived and be told it is being "detained". Then the customer must contact the customs office to discuss the matter and have the goods released.
In addition, the customs office charges a tax for just about every item delivered since it may have resale value; so the government just takes its cut regardless of whether the item is intended for commercial purposes. If you were to send, say, a Windows recovery disk along with driver disks, they would charge about US$35.
Lastly, if you have to leave the country before the package can be released from customs and delivered, which could take over a week after contacting customs, the express delivery service will destroy your property on the 121st day. This is true even if you've spent numerous hours contacting various offices both domestic and overseas, and--in order to avoid being charged double shipping charges for having it shipped back to origin--informed them you will be back to Brazil to receive the package in less than 60 days. Luckily, if you contact them by the 110th day, you can finally receive your package 4 months after it was originally shipped.