Dominican Republic
Information for governments and traders
| Preventive measures taken by the Directorate General of Customs (DGA) due to the COVID 19 pandemic | The DGA has attempted to address the impact of the emergency situation due to the COVID 19 pandemic by adopting the following measures: (1) Elimination of the surcharge for late declaration (Art. 52 of Law No. 3489), through an application submitted to the customs administration. (2) The period from Friday, 20 March 2020, until three working days after the lifting of the state of emergency will not be included when calculating the number of days goods were kept at the bonded warehouse for any purpose (fiscal, re export or cargo consolidation). (3) From 24 March, customs administrations will not count the days under lockdown in calculating the period of time after which goods are declared abandoned. (4) From 24 March, for procedures involving digital signatures, support will be provided via the email address firmasdigitales@aduanas.gob.do and by phone. (5) From 24 March, the following applications can only be submitted by email (info.corresporidenciayarchivo@aduanas.gob.do): applications for the payment of tax under Law No. 253.42, applications for exemption from the payment of tax under Provision No. 7204, and WTO quota authorizations (technical rectifications). (6) From 23 March, the administrations will be open for payments until 3 p.m. Users are therefore invited to make payments electronically. (7) The registration of importers/exporters, inclusion of administrators and access authorizations may be carried out digitally from 23 March, provided that the requirements established by the DGA have already been met. Details of these requirements can be found at www.aduanas.gob.do. Applications must be sent to unidadregistro@aduanas.gob.do. (8) From 26 March, the administrations will stop clearing containers at 5 p.m., due to the curfew imposed by the Government. (9) From 2 April and for the duration of the emergency, the collection of all import taxes via the Integrated Customs Management System will be temporarily suspended on masks, clothing, medical protective equipment and devices, machines and appliances required to combat the pandemic. This suspension of taxes specifically includes customs duty, where applicable, and tax on the transfer of goods and services (ITBIS). (10) With regard to the clearance of vehicle imports during this emergency, the DGA, in order to minimize the risk of infection from the coronavirus and reduce the presence of persons and taxpayers at its facilities in the country's ports, has adopted a number of measures to facilitate the import of vehicles that will take effect from 20 March. |
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| Trade facilitation measures taken due to the COVID 19 pandemic | Customs intelligence: The following measures have been implemented since 20 March 2020 to mitigate customs risks and maintain trade facilitation: (1) The risk analysis has focused on items that are of key importance in the current circumstances, such as medicines and medical industry products, with a view to mitigating the risks of, inter alia, counterfeits and expired products. The same applies to the analysis of imports of high risk products, such as contraband cigarettes. (2) An analysis of businesses with low risk profiles is under way in order to speed up the clearance of these businesses' goods, so that efforts can be focused on cases of a more sensitive nature. (3) Through the World Customs Organization's Customs Enforcement Network Communication Platform, the task force is keeping abreast of the various modus operandi used internationally in order to gather information on confiscations made by other customs administrations. (4) According to information from administrators at each border crossing, the transit of goods is occurring twice a week at land border crossing points. The goods in custody are clothing, alcohol and juices. (5) Vehicle related applications will be handled remotely. It is hoped that the following applications can be received by email: • applications for payment of tax and clearance of vehicles; • applications for the correction of vehicle related manifests or characteristics; • applications for the clearance of buses. |
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| Trade facilitation measures taken due to the COVID 19 pandemic | Customs administrators have been instructed to authorize, as of 2 April, the clearance, using tariff preferences, of imports on goods from the European Community, without the submission of the EUR.1 Movement Certificate. This is subject to prior evaluation of the risk profile of the taxpayer and the submission of a document in which the taxpayer commits to providing said certificate when it is subsequently issued. | |
| Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) | The Single Window for Foreign Trade continues to operate as usual. However, due to COVID 19 measures, assistance is being offered remotely as of 26 March. Institutions are accepting copies of plant and animal health certificates, which are being reviewed electronically. A number of resources have been created to coordinate the granting of authorizations in the Single Window for Foreign Trade, which enables importers and exporters to schedule inspections (if necessary) and monitor the authorization process at the port. Users in need of assistance can call (+1) 809 547 7070, ext. 2662 and 2663, email gestiónyprocesosvuce@aduanas.gob.do or visit the website: www.vucerd.gob.do. |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | ||
| Ministerio de Agricultura | ||
| Ministerio de Defensa | ||
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | ||
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | ||
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad | ||
| Mesures prises pour faciliter les échanges dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID-19 | Renseignements douaniers: En ce qui concerne l'atténuation des risques en matière douanière et le maintien de la facilitation des échanges, les mesures ci-après sont mises en œuvre depuis le 20 mars de cette année: 1) L'analyse des risques a été centrée sur les produits qui, en raison de la situation actuelle, constituent des priorités, comme c'est le cas pour les médicaments et les articles de l'industrie médicale, dans le but d'atténuer les risques liés à la contrefaçon, aux produits périmés, etc., de même que l'analyse des importations qui correspondent à des produits à haut risque comme les cigarettes de contrebande. 2) Des travaux d'analyse sont en cours pour les entreprises à faible profil de risque afin d'accélérer le dédouanement des marchandises de ces entreprises de manière à concentrer les efforts sur les profils les plus sensibles. 3) Grâce à l'outil de communication du Réseau douanier de lutte contre la fraude (CENcomm) de l'Organisation mondiale des douanes, l'équipe est tenue informée des différents modes opératoires utilisés au niveau international, afin d'alimenter les profils liés aux saisies effectuées dans d'autres postes de douane. 4) Aux points de passage frontaliers terrestres, deux passages par semaine sont effectués, en fonction de la communication obtenue avec les administrateurs de chaque poste frontière. Les marchandises surveillées sont les vêtements, l'alcool et les jus de fruits. 5) Les demandes relatives aux véhicules seront traitées à distance et il est prévu que les demandes ci-après puissent être reçues par courrier électronique: • Demandes de paiement de taxes et de dédouanement de véhicules • Demandes de correction de manifestes ou de caractéristiques concernant des véhicules • Demandes de dédouanement d'autobus |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | ||
| Ministerio de Agricultura | ||
| Ministerio de Defensa | ||
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | ||
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | ||
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad | ||
| Mesures prises pour faciliter les échanges dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID 19 | Il a été décidé qu'à partir du 2 avril les administrateurs des douanes autoriseront la mainlevée avec application des préférences tarifaires aux importations de marchandises originaires de la Communauté européenne sans présentation du certificat de circulation des marchandises EUR.1, après évaluation du profil de risque du contribuable et présentation d'un document d'engagement de délivrer ce certificat émis a posteriori. |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |
| Dirección General de Aduanas | |
| Ministerio de Agricultura | |
| Ministerio de Defensa | |
| Ministerio de Medio Ambiente | |
| Ministerio de Industria y Comercio | |
| Instituto Dominicano de la Calidad |