Ravaged by Dominican Customs

Taylor · Mar 14, 2005

I'm starting comapany in the DR, and recently imported all the necessary goods required. After doing a fair bit of reasearch, I felt somewhat prepared. The goods arrived, and I submited the REAL invoices for the products, thinking it's best to follow the rules.

Customs ignored the TRUE invoices, and decided to assing their own values to the products, which is more than twice the value that I paid. Then, they charged taxes based on the value that they assigned, plus a shipping value that they assigned (again not the amount that I paid). And to make matters worse, each tax (there is not only one) is calculated on the value INCLUDING the previous tax, so effectively you pay tax on tax.

What bothers me most is that I'm in a town where almost NO ONE pays any tax. I felt that I sould follow the rules and try to give back to the country. And in return they are trying to blatently rob me.

My point is to anyone who is naive enough to think that following the rules is the right thing to do: Think again. It would seem the only way to get a fair value is to cheat. It's a shame, because this kind of attitude will never get this county out of the thrid world.

stewart · Mar 14, 2005

Taylor said:
I'm starting comapany in the DR, and recently imported all the necessary goods required. After doing a fair bit of reasearch, I felt somewhat prepared. The goods arrived, and I submited the REAL invoices for the products, thinking it's best to follow the rules.

Customs ignored the TRUE invoices, and decided to assing their own values to the products, which is more than twice the value that I paid. Then, they charged taxes based on the value that they assigned, plus a shipping value that they assigned (again not the amount that I paid). And to make matters worse, each tax (there is not only one) is calculated on the value INCLUDING the previous tax, so effectively you pay tax on tax.

What bothers me most is that I'm in a town where almost NO ONE pays any tax. I felt that I sould follow the rules and try to give back to the country. And in return they are trying to blatently rob me.

My point is to anyone who is naive enough to think that following the rules is the right thing to do: Think again. It would seem the only way to get a fair value is to cheat. It's a shame, because this kind of attitude will never get this county out of the thrid world.

Sorry for all the frustration. Welcome to the DR!!!

O-riginal · Mar 14, 2005

Taylor said:
I'm starting comapany in the DR, and recently imported all the necessary goods required. After doing a fair bit of reasearch, I felt somewhat prepared. The goods arrived, and I submited the REAL invoices for the products, thinking it's best to follow the rules.

Customs ignored the TRUE invoices, and decided to assing their own values to the products, which is more than twice the value that I paid. Then, they charged taxes based on the value that they assigned, plus a shipping value that they assigned (again not the amount that I paid). And to make matters worse, each tax (there is not only one) is calculated on the value INCLUDING the previous tax, so effectively you pay tax on tax.

What bothers me most is that I'm in a town where almost NO ONE pays any tax. I felt that I sould follow the rules and try to give back to the country. And in return they are trying to blatently rob me.

My point is to anyone who is naive enough to think that following the rules is the right thing to do: Think again. It would seem the only way to get a fair value is to cheat. It's a shame, because this kind of attitude will never get this county out of the thrid world.

that's sad to hear but it sounds like DR Politricks, along with personal gains within the customs dept, I'm sure. If I were you and had the ability of exporting from the United States to DR, I'd look for a way to do it or find a Co that would do it for you. That way you're not charged import fees, there's an agreement that was just signed called the CAFTA-DR, meaning free trade for exports from the US to DR, (no fees). Hope that will help in your future business moves.

Pib · Mar 14, 2005

O-riginal said:
that's sad to hear but it sounds like DR Politricks, along with personal gains within the customs dept, I'm sure. If I were you and had the ability of exporting from the United States to DR, I'd look for a way to do it or find a Co that would do it for you. That way you're not charged import fees, there's an agreement that was just signed called the CAFTA-DR, meaning free trade for exports from the US to DR, (no fees). Hope that will help in your future business moves.

I am a bit disconnected from the cruel, cold world of International Transport, but if I am well-informed this accord is not yet been applied.

We are supposedly signatories of the GATT agreement, we are not supposed to be doing this, but welcome to the DR. It is the game of the cat and mouse, and as I said in another thread, importing stuff on your own without the assistance of a good customs broker is suicide, pretty much as needing a blood transfussion and expecting a turnip to be the donor.

O-riginal · Mar 14, 2005

Pib said:
I am a bit disconnected from the cruel, cold world of International Transport, but if I am well-informed this accord is not yet been applied.

We are supposedly signatories of the GATT agreement, we are not supposed to be doing this, but welcome to the DR. It is the game of the cat and mouse, and as I said in another thread, importing stuff on your own without the assistance of a good customs broker is suicide, pretty much as needing a blood transfussion and expecting a turnip to be the donor.

You are right it has not been applied, yet has been signed, which should have it going into effect sooner than never. I've actually been looking for a start date. I figured I'd attempt to give an idea to possibly get a better answer to the problem. I can't say that I know too much about GAAT, except what it stands for and a simple overview of how it operates. Please feel free to educate me, I'm actually interested in doing some exporting to DR from the US and would appreciate whatever help or knowledge I can get. Peace.

Pib · Mar 14, 2005

O-riginal said:
I can't say that I know too much about GAAT.

You don't need to, really. In 1998 I attended a month-long course at the Customs Department on how things will be under GATT. I keep that knowledge filed under "Things that I Know Only to Take Space in my Head". It was never applied. In short it means that Customs is supposed to take the importer's declaration at face value, quickly release their merchandise and any investigation of the values declared should be done after the fact. Fat chance.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to get yourself a reputable broker BEFORE you even consider starting importing and have "the facts of life" explained to you in detail.

Good luck, and welcome to hell.*

*Importing is hell here.

MrMike · Mar 14, 2005

Yes, importing is hell.

Customs exists for no other reason then to rob you. Chances are you were being punished for trying to do things legally. The customs agents would never be able to feed their families if everyone imported legally. You cut the thieves out and pissed them off. They want to make sure you bribe someone on your next shipment, even if it's just to make sure they accept the real value of your merchandise.

The ability to import things at a fair price is the one thing that assures you of either succeeding or failing in business here. As far as I can tell this is the most closely guarded secret of any Dominican business that does importing: how they get their goods into the country and how much they pay to whom. Have you noticed none of the businesses here seem to give a damn about competition? They've got connections in the aduana, and they're betting you don't. It's the DR version of the old-boy network.

Pib · Mar 14, 2005

MrMike said:
The customs agents would never be able to feed their families if everyone imported legally.

MrMike is right, plus Customs always assumes that you are cheating (just like everybody else) so it compensates. Your first mistake was declaring your values.

Even though I am not employed in this area anymore, I am still bound by professional and personal ethics so I won't go into much detail, but the reality is that pretty much everybody here cheats. Most out of necessity. There are the truck-sized loopholes in the legislation that large companies take advantage of, and there is plain old bribing... and anything in between.

O-riginal · Mar 14, 2005

Pib said:
MrMike is right, plus Customs always assumes that you are cheating (just like everybody else) so it compensates. Your first mistake was declaring your values.

Even though I am not employed in this area anymore, I am still bound by professional and personal ethics so I won't go into much detail, but the reality is that pretty much everybody here cheats. Most out of necessity. There are the truck-sized loopholes in the legislation that large companies take advantage of, and there is plain old bribing... and anything in between.

Is there any other method besides paying off connects who work inside etc?? I have a huge family that is well "connected" in DR, so I'm sure importing will not be too much of a problem, but I'm very independent and would rather not use that leverage, so any advice as to how to get the goods (cars, car parts, etc..) once in DR w/o an overwhelming amount of hassle or luck that customs will charge me well below the price I should pay, or should I just lean on what has been proven to work? (bribes)

Pib · Mar 14, 2005

O-riginal said:
Is there any other method besides paying off connects who work inside etc?? I have a huge family that is well "connected" in DR, so I'm sure importing will not be too much of a problem, but I'm very independent and would rather not use that leverage, so any advice as to how to get the goods (cars, car parts, etc..) once in DR w/o an overwhelming amount of hassle or luck that customs will charge me well below the price I should pay, or should I just lean on what has been proven to work? (bribes)

Two words: reputable broker.

Seachange · Mar 14, 2005

Pib said:
Two words: reputable broker.

Now that's a true oxymoron. There's no such animal as a "reputable" broker.

rellosk · Mar 14, 2005

Seachange said:
Now that's a true oxymoron. There's no such animal as a "reputable" broker.

I sure there are many brokers that are reputable ("having a good reputation"). You might not think of them as being reputable ("honorable") because the nature of the beast requires that they play the system which by design is dishonest.

mondongo · Mar 15, 2005

coincidence?

--> In 2003, the Central govt derived ~20% of its income from "Aduanas" related activities.

--> In 2004, this same number increased to ~32%.

The fact that you are being mugged more aggresively at the airports is backed up by the Central Bank data.

badpiece33 · Mar 15, 2005

Taylor said:
I'm starting comapany in the DR, and recently imported all the necessary goods required. After doing a fair bit of reasearch, I felt somewhat prepared. The goods arrived, and I submited the REAL invoices for the products, thinking it's best to follow the rules.

Customs ignored the TRUE invoices, and decided to assing their own values to the products, which is more than twice the value that I paid. Then, they charged taxes based on the value that they assigned, plus a shipping value that they assigned (again not the amount that I paid). And to make matters worse, each tax (there is not only one) is calculated on the value INCLUDING the previous tax, so effectively you pay tax on tax.

What bothers me most is that I'm in a town where almost NO ONE pays any tax. I felt that I sould follow the rules and try to give back to the country. And in return they are trying to blatently rob me.

My point is to anyone who is naive enough to think that following the rules is the right thing to do: Think again. It would seem the only way to get a fair value is to cheat. It's a shame, because this kind of attitude will never get this county out of the thrid world.

Welcome to DR

Take advantage whenever you can because if the Govt can they will f%^k you over every time. Make as many friends in high places as you can and you will soon learn to love it here.
Badpiece

Pib · Mar 15, 2005

rellosk said:
I sure there are many brokers that are reputable ("having a good reputation"). You might not think of them as being reputable ("honorable") because the nature of the beast requires that they play the system which by design is dishonest.

[Blazing Saddles]You use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore![/BZ]

That's exactly what I meant.

Chris · Mar 15, 2005

Don't ever present invoices yourself. Give your customs broker a good selection of invoices. Your customs broker can help with exactly how to present these... invoices with transportation, without transportation, first cost only and so on. Walk away. Let the hokey pokey happen. If you have a good customs broker, you'll soon get your goods minus nothing and an invoice from the customs broker. Pay. Take your goods and walk away. Consider yourself exceptionally lucky if you average between 9 - 11% including customs broker's fees over a period of a year.

Seachange · Mar 17, 2005

Think for a moment ...

rellosk said:
I sure there are many brokers that are reputable ("having a good reputation"). You might not think of them as being reputable ("honorable") because the nature of the beast requires that they play the system which by design is dishonest.

How do you think "brokers" got their name???

Honorable and broker simply do not fit together. It's a lot like saying mild-mannered crocodile.

Hillbilly · Mar 17, 2005

If you have leverage

Don't be stupid! USE IT!

Oh my God,, that is like saying, "My father is De Bakey, but I want Joe Blow to do my heart transplant!"

Sheesh, where do these guys spring up from????

"Blazing Saddles" that was funny!

HB

rellosk · Mar 17, 2005

Pib said:
[Blazing Saddles]You use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore!

Great movie!

pescador · Mar 29, 2005

Consider yourself exceptionally lucky if you average between 9 - 11% including customs broker's fees over a period of a year.

?9-11% tax for imported goods? I was understanding it was in the neighborhood of 50-60%.
from another thread about importing kit cars.

OK, please someone clear this air. If I import sporting equipment into the DR, whats the "out the door" tax rate I'll pay?
? Both the extreme high (read: getting robbed and spat on) and the best I can hope for?

Pib?

Pescador

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