Other Taxes - The Bahamas Customs Department

Departure Tax (Passenger Tax)

  • Departure Tax is collected from all persons departing for a port outside The Bahamas.
      • BS$29.00 for air departure
      •  BS$18.00 by cruise ship is collected
      •  BS$ 20.00 for pleasure vessel passengers (if more than three pax)

 Harbour Duties

  • Harbour duties include taxes such as tonnage, pierage and wharfage. 

Customs Duty

  • Customs duty ranges from 0% to 220% and is collected on all imports. The average rate of duty is 5% to 35%. Specific rates of duty are also applicable to some items (mostly petroleum, beer, tobacco products).
    Rates are outlined in the Tariff Act 2013. 

Boarding Fees

  • Boarding fees are fees charged for entering of pleasure vessels within the Bahamian waters:
    • BS$150.00 for pleasure vessels up to 35’ in length
    • BS$300.00 for pleasure vessels over 35’ in length 

Excise Duty

  • Excise duty is calculated and charged on locally produced products when put up for retail sale. Currently, excise duty is collected on locally produced alcoholic spirits, beer and vitamalt. 

Royalties

  • Royalties are collected on the export of:
    • Crawfish meat or tails: .25 per lbs.
    • Whole Crawfish: .08 per lbs.
    • Conch: .03 per lbs.
    • Sponge: .03 per lbs. 
  • Royalties are collected on the export of: (Changes effective July 1st, 2022)
    • Spiny Lobster from $0.25 to $0.35 per lb.
    • Conch:  from $0.03 to $0.10 per lb.
    • Stone Crab and stone crab claws (new) from $0.25 per lb.

Landing Fees

Landing fees are charges collected from private and commercial aircraft at “Government Owned Family Island Airports” on the maximum take off weight of the aircraft. (These fees are administered by Civil Aviation)

Container Fees

  • There is a BS$75.00 charge to move a container from the dock to a site or premises. There is also a BS$0.25 charge for every container that is landed and exported in and out of Freeport Container Port.

Other Fees

  • Fuel Surcharge 0.01 cent per gallon excluding aviation
  • Security Fees
    • Vehicles $10.00
    • Containers $10.00 per Twenty foot equivalent unit
  • Fee for heavy duty vehicle (aggregate) $3.00 per tonnage
  • Processing Fees on imports 1% of transactional value (minimum $10.00 maximum $750.00)