Ban On Vitamins.

The issue about import licenses is really aimed at retailers. Having large quantities shipped to you immediately means "retailer" in the minds of the customs folk. That's one point.

Another is that if the customs people have any difficulty atr all in knowing what the stuff is so that they know what duty rate to apply (and having to look it up by chemical name in a book qualifies as difficulty for these folk) they will seek to solve the problem by getting it off of their desks and onto someone elses, and the FDA is a real favorite for that purpose since it serves as something of a black hole. Months pass before anything emerges from them, if ever. .

Lastly as others have said, courier services like DHL and Fed Ex maximize problems. You';d think it's be the opposite, but in LOS it is not. Furthermore, shipment by courier adds to the impression that you are receiving it for commercial purposes.

In short: small quantities, sent by regular air mail, is the answer. If you can contrive to have it be hand addressed and not from a commercial vendor (i,.e if you have an obliging friend or relative), even better.