Ivan de Jesus Garcia, president of the Federacion Dominicana de Comerciantes, a leading union of storeowners, opposes the proposal of the Mejia administration to change the present form of consular invoice for a US$100 stamp. The stamp will require the legalization by the consul in the city where the export originates. García says that the measure will make even more tedious and bureaucratic the present trade procedure. "It will do no good to eliminate the consular invoice if it is replaced by other procedures to legalize the stamp as has been announced," he said. He denounced that the consular invoice is only used today by two countries in Latin America: Bolivia and the Dominican Republic. He said that the other countries have discarded it as it is but an anachronism out of context with the modernization of these countries. As these nations have advanced, they are aware it is but an obstacle, corroborated Horacio Alvarez, executive director of the Dominican Association of Exporters. According to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the new mechanism proposed by the Mejia administration will not annul the participation of the consul, as the latter is required to revise the consular invoice, stamp it and legalize it so that merchandise can be dispatched to the DR. The new stamp will cost US$100 and the legalization an additional US$30, as reported in Hoy newspaper.
