When arriving or leaving Cuban airports, travelers will be able to have 5,000 pesos in their pockets instead of the 2,000 authorized until now. Inflation has forced the Government to increase the limit in order to charge much higher customs taxes to those who bring merchandise. The new rule came into effect this Tuesday with its publication in official Gazette.
On the other hand, the entry and exit of pesos in cash by post, air and sea, in any denomination or other payment instruments or credit titles, is prohibited.
Those who violate the limits will be sanctioned with the confiscation of the money, in addition to the possible legal actions that may entail, both civil and criminal.
The rule also recalls that the import and export of demonetized pieces and specimens of Cuban pesos with numismatic or patrimonial character are subject to specific regulations.
On the other hand, the entry and exit of pesos in cash by mail, air and sea is prohibited.
The entry and exit of Cuban pesos in the country was regulated from 2012 in 2,000 pesos. Although 2019 there was an update of the norm, whose origin is in 1999, the amount was not modified, which remained paralyzed as if the cost of living had not evolved in those years.
On this occasion, the Central Bank of Cuba has been forced to make a significant increase. Despite the low value of 5,000 pesos, which at the official exchange rate is about 200 dollars and barely 50 on the black market, it represents an increase of 3,000 pesos with respect to the previous amount.
The spectacular rise in prices since the beginning of the Ordering Task, which has tripled in many cases, has left the previous amount, 2,000 pesos, in a ridiculous amount. Travelers paying taxes at Customs no longer had enough cash to catch a taxi as prices had doubled or even tripled.
With the new norm, residents who return to Cuba and carry pesos will no longer have to stand in long queues to change foreign currency into national currency at the exchange boxes (Cadeca) of the airports, something that congested the air terminals and delayed the departure of the newcomers.
For years, what was not possible, on the other hand, was to get the now-defunct CUC out of the Island. Both the 2012 and 2019 regulations stated exhaustively: “The export and import of the means of payment called legal tender convertible peso, in any denomination, is prohibited.”
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
