Shipper suggests how to cut import costs

http://www.dominicantoday.com 08/03/07

SANTO DOMINGO.- The president of P.O. Box International (POBI) recommended the users of air and marine transport companies to benefit from the Dominican Republic’s recent entry to the Free Trade Agreement.

Hernán González said that the importers of product from the DR-CAFTA nations can reduce or eliminate the import taxes via the certificate of origin of those items, which must come together with the invoice, as the Customs Agency stipulates.

"If the acquired article is made in the United States or within the Free Trade countries, tell the supplier to register it in the invoice and to attach it to the certificate by origin, in order to reduce or eliminate the import tax with the application of the DR-CAFTA,” he said.

González also guaranteed that the shipping cost -which includes freight, customs management and insurance are the only things that importers will have to pay, apart from the legal taxes that are registered in the invoices.

He said that an article’s FOB cost is the same cost placed on board, “which means that if in the invoice the cost of the article is 100 dollars and the delivery cost in our address in Miami, of 25 dollars, the FOB cost will be 125 dollars," he said.

González said that if the total of the invoices of imported articles has a FOB cost lower 200 dollars, these are exempt from paying import duties and taxes.

He stressed that all shipments must arrive in the country accompanied by their commercial invoice. The order of purchase or invoices of its package must have, among others, the name of the company, its address, the fax and telephone numbers , the email address, the invoice number and the description of the package’s content, as well as its cost in U.S. dollars," he added.