Shipping a car to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic?

Importing a car into the Dominican Republic.

Importing a car into the Dominican Republic can be a difficult task, sometimes making buying a car a simpler alternative. If you choose to ship your car to the DR there are a few things you need to know ahead of time. Be aware that the process can be painstaking at times, so have patience, and keep good records in order to make the process as smooth as possible.

As a new resident you can bring in a car at little or no duty if you have owned it for two years, and it is less than five years old. You can bring in a brand new car if you pay duty on it, and you cannot bring in a car older than five years old under any circumstance.

In the United States obtain the original title, certified by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and then legalized by the nearest Dominican Consulate. Obtain the original registration for the previous three years. Also, you must have a residence visa, an original Dominican Consular invoice stamped at the nearest Dominican consulate, an original drivers license, the license plates, and a valid passport. Make sure you have copies of all these documents.

On the Dominican side, you must find out the tax imposed on your particular vehicle. Contact the Dominican Customs Office (809-688-7070 Ext. 289,) and tell them the vehicle make/model/year. They will tell you the tax to be paid for your vehicle upon arrival. These rates change as the exchange rate changes, so you might pay more or less depending on the day. Note that while most brands are in the system, some years of well known brands may not be listed. Thus, it is best to bring in a car of which there are hundreds on the road in the DR. For example, Toyota Camry or Corolla, or Honda Civic, etc. There have been cases of people having to pay excessive charges because the specific year of a brand is not listed in the system, and the vehicle was taxed at the rate of a similar vehicle.

The shipping company will charge an average of US$2,000 for shipping a vehicle depending on size. Montero Shipping, for example, charges this fee for shipping a vehicle. It includes the consular letter and certification by the Dominican government. Also, the vehicle will be shipped in a container, as opposed to being shipped in the open ocean air on a cargo ship.

If you want to use your residency and the one year rule* you must get the history of title certificate and registration certificate from DMV (around $20). This is to show that you’ve owned the vehicle for over a year.

It is advisable to use a customs clearance agent, but try to have all calculations done BEFORE you bring the car. The charge is about $10,000 pesos, around $310 US dollars. Remember that customs can be a very corrupt department. Even if you have everything in order, they can look for ways to make you pay more.

Also, agree to a price for the services with the Customs broker prior to shipping the vehicle. Ideally, you should choose an agent with experience in vehicle clearance.

Take all the paperwork from the shipping company and send it to your customs broker to do the initial legwork. If you let the shipping company send the papers themselves then you would have to have a power of attorney for someone else to receive the paperwork for you in the DR.

Once you get to customs in the Dominican Republic you have to purchase the right to the interview for 300 pesos. Also at exonerations, Aduanas no longer accepts papers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The new days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Caution: These days might change without notice.

Make sure you have photocopies of your last and most recent passport, cover to cover, to include blank pages. Also, have copies of all original paperwork. Aduanas requires originals and copies. A lot of people are sent away because they do not have these papers.

Many people who ship their vehicles through smaller or less organized shipping companies have problems with their manifest because their vehicles are shipped under the name of the shipping company, and not the owner. In order to save money some people choose to ship their vehicles with less reliable companies, and their vehicles can take up to three months to arrive, and can be subjected to the elements on the cargo ships. If you decide to ship with a smaller company you might have to pay an extra US$ 2,000 dollars to ship your car in a container, which is highly recommended.

There are laws that won't allow to bring a car in if it is too old. I think 5 years is the maximum age but you'll have to confirm. Also, if you've never brought in a car to the country you may be eligible to get it in duty free. It's worth looking into! Check out the Dominican Customs web site below:

DR has strict rules on importing cars. They must be fairly new.http://dr1.com/realestate/info/importing_car.html