Dominican republic Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in dominican republic, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Import Tariffs
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Dominican Republic’s membership in CAFTA-DR provides U.S. exporters with significant advantages regarding tariff treatment.  

Taxes and duties for imported goods (agricultural and non-agricultural) are calculated on the “ad-valorem price,” i.e., CIF (Cost+Insurance+Freight) price in U.S. dollars multiplied by the unified foreign exchange rate. All duties and taxes are collected in Dominican pesos.  There are generally two taxes on imports except for those subject to exemptions provided by law.  These taxes are the following:

Tariff (Arancel, in Spanish): This is the basic import tax which can be as low as 0 percent and as high as 99 percent.  However, after CAFTA-DR entered into effect, most U.S. exports to the DR enter duty free, while others are going through a phase-out process of up to 20 years (ending in 2025).  For more information on CAFTA-DR Tariff Elimination Schedule, visit the U.S. Government Export Portal.

Luxury or Excise Tax (Impuesto Selectivo al Consumo, in Spanish): This is a consumption tax for luxury imports or “non-essential” goods that ranges between 15 and 60 percent.  This tax is calculated on the CIF price.  Luxury goods include, among others, vehicles, perfumes, alcoholic beverages, jewelry, and tobacco. Please note that the Luxury Tax is not a tax affected by CAFTA-DR.

To look up duties and tariffs use, use the Customs Info Database tariff look-up tool, available on trade.gov (free registration required), to estimate duties and taxes.

Additional resource: FTA Help Center. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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