Equipment appraisals in Guatemala.
Lukes & Lukes appraises sugar mills, coffee mills, plants, machinery and fleets located in Guatemala for buyers, parent companies, insurers, lenders outside the country, courts and arbitral tribunals. The report is prepared under USPAP. The site visit, the interviews and the documents are handled in Spanish by the appraiser who signs it: Jared Lukes, CMEA, who lived in Antigua Guatemala, plans to retire there, and runs the firm from Minnesota.
At a glance
- What it is
- A USPAP appraisal of machinery, equipment or vehicles located in Guatemala, written for intended users in the United States or for international parties.
- Who orders it
- Buyers and investors, parent companies, insurers, lenders outside Guatemala, and counsel in litigation and arbitration.
- Sectors
- Sugar mills, coffee mills, palm oil, power generation and transmission, apparel maquila and fleets.
- Values reported
- FMV for transactions and disputes. OLV and FLV for collateral and recovery. RCN for insurance.
- Documents read
- Fixed-asset inventories, FEL electronic invoices, DUCA customs declarations and filings in the Registro de Garantías Mobiliarias.
- What it is not
- A collateral valuation for a bank supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos, or a court-appointed perito's report. Those are signed by professionals registered in Guatemala.
Typical assignments
When does equipment in Guatemala need a US-standard appraisal?
When the decision is made outside the country. A foreign investor buys a sugar mill or an apparel plant and has to allocate the purchase price. A parent company insures its plant in Escuintla. A US lender finances an agribusiness's machinery. A foreign investment reaches arbitration and the case turns on what a power plant, a transmission line or a factory was worth at a date.
- Acquisitions: FMV and purchase price allocation for a company or plant in Guatemala
- Agribusiness: sugar mills, coffee mills, palm oil extraction and their field equipment
- Insurance: replacement cost new for a plant insured from abroad
- Lending from abroad: OLV and FLV for a lender outside the Guatemalan banking system
- Disputes and arbitration: plant and equipment value, condition and rebuttal (litigation support)
The records and the season
What records decide the value of equipment in Guatemala?
Ownership and liens first. A security interest in machinery is filed in the Registro de Garantías Mobiliarias, and an earlier filing generally takes priority. In an apparel maquila operating under temporary import, the equipment can belong to the foreign parent rather than the Guatemalan operating company; the DUCA customs declaration shows it.
Identity and cost come from the fixed-asset inventory and the FEL electronic invoices. Condition comes from the plant, and at a sugar mill it depends on the season: during the zafra the equipment is running, and between harvests it is torn down for repair. The appraiser reads the records in the original Spanish and walks the plant with maintenance.
Which report you need
Who signs an equipment appraisal for each purpose in Guatemala?
The intended use decides who may sign. Regulated Guatemalan purposes are reserved for professionals registered in the country. International purposes follow the reader's own standard.
| Purpose | Who signs | Lukes & Lukes |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase, sale or purchase price allocation for a foreign investor or parent | A qualified appraiser the parties and the auditor accept | Yes |
| Insurance placed from abroad | A qualified appraiser the insurer accepts | Yes |
| Lender outside Guatemala taking machinery as collateral | An appraiser the lender's policy accepts, usually under USPAP | Yes |
| International arbitration or US litigation | A party-appointed or court-qualified expert | Yes |
| Collateral valuation for a bank supervised in Guatemala | A valuer on the Superintendencia de Bancos registry | No |
| Court-appointed perito in a Guatemalan court | A professional in active standing with a colegio | No |
The standard
Is a USPAP appraisal accepted for equipment in Guatemala?
Yes, for intended users outside the Guatemalan regulated system. USPAP governs the appraiser, not the location of the asset: a buyer, an insurer, an auditor or a US court reads a USPAP report the same way whether the boiler is in Texas or in Escuintla. A report can state its consistency with the International Valuation Standards (IVS) when an international reader asks for it.
What you get
What does an equipment appraisal in Guatemala include?
- Scope, intended use, intended users and the premise of value, in writing
- The ownership and lien facts in the Registro de Garantías Mobiliarias, where the assignment calls for them
- An itemized appendix valuing each asset, with photographs from the inspection
- Values in US dollars or quetzales, with the exchange rate and its date stated
- Senior review before delivery, and a report in English, Spanish or both
Common questions
Answers, up front.
Will a Guatemalan bank accept your appraisal for a loan?
No. A collateral valuation for a bank supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos is prepared by a valuer on its registry. Our appraisal serves buyers, parent companies, insurers, lenders outside Guatemala, US courts and arbitral tribunals.
Can you appraise a sugar mill in Guatemala?
Yes. We value the factory equipment (mills, boilers, turbogenerators, evaporators, centrifugals) and the field equipment (harvesters, tractors, cane loaders and haulage), asset by asset. The inspection is scheduled with the zafra in mind, because condition reads differently in operation and under repair.
Do you inspect outside Guatemala City?
Yes. We inspect plants, farms and fleets across the country: Guatemala City, Escuintla and the south coast, Petén, the Verapaces and the western highlands. The site visit and the interviews are handled in Spanish.
What currency is an equipment appraisal in Guatemala reported in?
In the currency the intended user needs: US dollars or quetzales. The report states the exchange rate used and its date.
Ready when you are