Yes, I did at first consider buying a newer one in the USA and importing it here, but then I saw this at <
Importing a car into the Dominican Republic > which looked to me like a disqualifier -- tell me, what do you think?
"As a new resident you can bring in a car at little or no duty if you have owned it for two years, and it is less than five years old."
[and quote] "In the United States obtain the original title, certified by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and then legalized by the nearest Dominican Consulate. Obtain the original registration for the previous three years. Also, you must have a residence visa, an original Dominican Consular invoice stamped at the nearest Dominican consulate, an original drivers license, the license plates, and a valid passport. Make sure you have copies of all these documents.
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Therefore I figured that being required to own the (newly purchased substitute car) in the USA for at least 2 years before shipping it to DR (and having to show DR Customs the car's annual USA registration papers (proving who owned it) for the last THREE years, killed that idea. Is that DR1.com info post (linked above) true or false?
BG:
First off, that information is out of date. It clearly does not reflect the 17% first placa instituted after the DR-CAFTA agreement was signed.
They currently are sticking to the 5 year rule, whether you bring it in with/without residency.
If the vehicle is in your name, registered for at least one year, fits the 5 year rule, and you have residency, you can bring it in on a reduced tax schedule. Those reduced taxes are only on the value of the car itself,
not on the ITBIS 16%, or the first placa 17%.
My information above is valid as of today and comes from a client who regularly imports and has auto dealerships here in the US and in San Francisco de Macoris.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
