Florida-based Tammy Levent never imagined that bringing both her laptop and iPad through customs at Cancun International Airport for a work trip in June would result in an approximately $200 fine.
An entrepreneur in the travel industry and owner of Elite Travel Management Group, Levent is no stranger to Cancun. For the last decade, she's visited two to three times a year for work, often bringing neophyte travel agents with her for trainings.
When Levent arrived at the airport this time, she had two check-in suitcases and a carry-on with her. Passing through customs, she was flagged to one of the tables where her luggage was examined by an agent. The agent pulled out her iPad and laptop, telling her, "You can't have both," she recounted to USA TODAY. She said she's always brought these devices with her before, and this was the first time it was an issue.
As the gateway to Mexico's most visited city, Cancun International Airport is also the busiest airport in the country with over 13 million passengers annually and 500 daily flights.
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Unlike in the U.S., where there's no limit on how many laptops you can fly with, many of these passengers may not know that Mexican customs regulations only allows one portable computer per foreign arrival, including laptops and tablets. Otherwise, travelers face taxes of up to 19% of the deemed value of up to $4,000 of the device, according to the country's General Rules for Foreign Trade, under Baggage and Passenger Allowance .
Levent said her older generation iPad was considered worth much more than it really is by the agent, making her fine higher than she felt was fair. "This was wrong," she said about her experience.
"At the end of the day you want tourism but you’re driving people away," Levent said. "You have huge companies like pharmaceutical companies... (bringing bring groups in) and they’re coming with laptops and iPads."
Beachgoers enjoy before the potential arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, on July 3, 2024. ELIZABETH RUIZ, AFP via Getty Images
Why are travelers being fined for multiple electronic devices at Cancun Airport?
The law isn't new. Travelers from abroad can bring "a portable computer equipment known as laptop, notebook, omnibook or similar," according to the Mexican Customs list . If passengers don't pay the 19% tax on extra portable computers, it will be confiscated.
"This has actually been in effect for a very, very long time," Michael Boguslavskiy, a travel agent for Caballeros Vacations who specializes in trips to Cancun, told USA TODAY. "It's massively outdated list at this point but it's still there." (For example, you can only bring in 10 DVDs, if people still travel with those.)
However, there's been recent uptick in customs actually implementing the law and charging tourists, according to the Riviera Maya News .
"It was never strongly enforced but now they are enforcing it worse than they ever have before," Boguslavskiy said.
Cancun Customs Administration did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Boguslavskiy said some possible reasons could be due to an increase in passengers carrying multiple devices with the possible intention to sell them. "Obviously, that’s not the case with 99% of people bringing a laptop and an iPad, but it's up to customs as they choose to view it," he said. Or it could just be to increase tax revenue from the influx of visitors.
It's also not the only way Mexican customs can feel like smoke and mirrors to travelers, according to Boguslavskiy. Only two cameras are allowed tax-free, and technically, cigarettes exceeding 10 packs can be fined or confiscated. Since there's a duty-free store right before customs, people stock up on cheap tobacco thinking "it's safe," only to have it seized shortly after purchasing, he said.
Upset with her Cancun Airport experience, Levent sent complaint letters to Mexican officials. In a return letter by the Cancun Customs Administration, Levent was told the luggage inspections are done at random.
Boguslavskiy sends the customs list to all his clients heading to Mexico and advises every traveler going abroad to "please be up to date with what the local rules of customs are."
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