TIP- Temporary Import Permit, this is a piece of paperwork you can consider a boat's "visa". It basically allows you to bring the boat into Mexico along with all of the associated goods without paying duty. There has been a bit of a change in regulations/enforcement of this relatively simple to acquire document. For a long time the enforcement of the TIP and documentation has been handled by Aduana (Customs) yet they had very little knowledge overall on what boats really are and so did not really do that much. Now the new government has formed a new agency called AGACE- they enforce not only TIP regulations but also illegal importation of goods via the sea. So us little boats are getting wrapped up into the same agency overview that handles the container ships.

Here’s a link to a ‘Lectronic Latitude article about their hassles aboard Profligate. http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2013-12-20#.UrW2JrQvu58

Anyone else have any input?