2005News

No old cars, but trucks are okay

The Director General of the Customs Department ordered all cars that are five years old or older to be returned by their consignees, to their original destinations. If they are not shipped out within ten days the Customs officials will seize the vehicles. The same decree also applies to electric equipment currently at the different port facilities. Also included in the decree are vehicles that have been salvaged by insurers in the United States, because such vehicles are banned under decree 671-02. The Customs office told reporters from Listin Diario that that they had notified shippers last October that there was a ban on cars five years old or older, based on Laws 147-00. The move was also communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Relations so that it could advise the different Dominican consulates not to authorize any shipping documents for such vehicles. In today’s Listin Diario, Customs chief Miguel Cocco reaffirmed his determination to keep to the letter of the law regarding older vehicles. However, he did explain to journalists that the law does not apply to heavy- duty equipment such as semi-tractors, dump trucks and construction equipment. Because of their high initial costs this type of equipment when new is too expensive for local companies to acquire. The trucking union is one of the strongest in the Dominican Republic.