Several associations of vehicle importers have requested the Dominican government to reduce import duties on new motor vehicles in order to make them more affordable by the general public. They also call for the introduction of more stringent regulations to keep run-down motor cars from entering the country because, as they put it, such vehicles constitute a menace to the environment. A couple of years back, due to a cumbersome selective consumption tax, imports of automobiles to the Dominican Republic became extremely expensive. Under strong pressure from the U.S., the government significantly reduced import duties on automobiles.
The Asociación de Concesionarios de Fabricantes de Vehículos (ACOFAVE) and the Asociación de Agencias de Vendedores de Vehículos (ANADIVE) maintain that the government has lost over RD$1500 million in fiscal evasion by “informal” importers. They say that while 90,000 second-hand vehicles entered the country in 1995, barely 3,000 new vehicles arrived in the same year.
They urged the authorities to require import permits and the business domiciles of all those engaged in this trade.