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.