I believe that they BOTH did. The purpose of this post is twofold: (1) Maybe my allegations are mistaken in some way and a member here can correct me, (2), If not, this post is a warning to people who use Vimenpaq when items are taxed via customs. A couple things to note: First, I have never had an issue with the hundreds of packages I have received from Vimenpaq that did not pass through customs. Second, but neither did I have a problem with Vimenpaq AND Customs—until recently. I believe that both entities are now “on the take.”
Here’s my case: Rounding to the nearest 10, I ordered a box from Amazon that weighed 10 pounds and contained two items, one with the value of 250 USD and the other of 100 USD.
Care to guess what I paid for tax and transport? How about a whopping RD$ 10,184.00?
First, La Aduana, I paid via BanReservas RD$4,829. Now let’s calculate the tax on the single item with a value > $200.00 USD. 50% of $250.00 is $50.00, converting to pesos: 50(55) = RD$ 2,750.00 the amount of taxes I expected to pay. Well if you look at the invoice total, $350.00 which includes the $100.00 non-taxable item, 20% of $350 is $70.00 (55) = $3,850, it seems that they also taxed me on the item that was non-taxable. The additional money totalling RD$4,829, I cannot account for.
Hamlet Castillo, a bilingual manager at Vimenpaq, confirms that Customs stated that I was charged for the total invoice. So let’s re-state the Customs’ policy: Any package with a single taxable item triggers the same 20% tax on non-taxable items. Up until now, Hamlet has been very helpful. Now he’s talking gibberish. To charge taxes on non-taxble items because they’re in the same box as taxable ones is such a blatant disregard of Customs' own rules.
Now let’s look at the Vimenpaq charges. They charge RD$ 277 per pound, so 277(10) = RD$ 2,770.00. So where does the Vimenpaq charge of RD$ 5,355.00 come from?
a. Correcion DGA RD$ 2,000
b. Desaduanizcion RD$ 1,300
c. Combustible RD$ 322
RD$ 3,622!! That’s more than the transport cost. So the actual transport cost is about 2(277) = RD$ 554.00 per pound.
We have an expression for charges like this in the United States. They are called “padding the bill,” passing on fraudulent charges under the guise of normalcy.
Hamlet Castillo is lying through is teeth when he explains these "normal" charges and I don’t expect any help from him. Vimenpaq is “on the take” and he’s protecting his job. Ditto for La Aduana. The amount of money I’d have to pay a RT Uber to go to their office would be mooted even if they were to refund me, which is highly unlikely, given many similar experiences in this country. If you try to get redress from a business entitiy that cheats you, you will rapidly descend down a rabbit hole of stories and lies that are transparent in their stupidity. I will never order from Vimenpaq another items that passes through Customs. I calculate they they cheated me out of RD$ 4,387.00—from a customer who’s always given them good business.
Here’s my case: Rounding to the nearest 10, I ordered a box from Amazon that weighed 10 pounds and contained two items, one with the value of 250 USD and the other of 100 USD.
Care to guess what I paid for tax and transport? How about a whopping RD$ 10,184.00?
First, La Aduana, I paid via BanReservas RD$4,829. Now let’s calculate the tax on the single item with a value > $200.00 USD. 50% of $250.00 is $50.00, converting to pesos: 50(55) = RD$ 2,750.00 the amount of taxes I expected to pay. Well if you look at the invoice total, $350.00 which includes the $100.00 non-taxable item, 20% of $350 is $70.00 (55) = $3,850, it seems that they also taxed me on the item that was non-taxable. The additional money totalling RD$4,829, I cannot account for.
Hamlet Castillo, a bilingual manager at Vimenpaq, confirms that Customs stated that I was charged for the total invoice. So let’s re-state the Customs’ policy: Any package with a single taxable item triggers the same 20% tax on non-taxable items. Up until now, Hamlet has been very helpful. Now he’s talking gibberish. To charge taxes on non-taxble items because they’re in the same box as taxable ones is such a blatant disregard of Customs' own rules.
Now let’s look at the Vimenpaq charges. They charge RD$ 277 per pound, so 277(10) = RD$ 2,770.00. So where does the Vimenpaq charge of RD$ 5,355.00 come from?
a. Correcion DGA RD$ 2,000
b. Desaduanizcion RD$ 1,300
c. Combustible RD$ 322
RD$ 3,622!! That’s more than the transport cost. So the actual transport cost is about 2(277) = RD$ 554.00 per pound.
We have an expression for charges like this in the United States. They are called “padding the bill,” passing on fraudulent charges under the guise of normalcy.
Hamlet Castillo is lying through is teeth when he explains these "normal" charges and I don’t expect any help from him. Vimenpaq is “on the take” and he’s protecting his job. Ditto for La Aduana. The amount of money I’d have to pay a RT Uber to go to their office would be mooted even if they were to refund me, which is highly unlikely, given many similar experiences in this country. If you try to get redress from a business entitiy that cheats you, you will rapidly descend down a rabbit hole of stories and lies that are transparent in their stupidity. I will never order from Vimenpaq another items that passes through Customs. I calculate they they cheated me out of RD$ 4,387.00—from a customer who’s always given them good business.
