SANTO DOMINGO.- The Customs Agency had warned the Minister of Agriculture in writing of the “difficulties” spurred by the import quotas issued in violation of Dominican Republic’s commitments to the DR-CAFTA trade deal and asked to correct this year’s planned allocations.

In a November 7, 2008, letter to Salvador Jimenez, then Customs director Miguel Cocco complained that contingent import permits had been issued to companies without a National Taxpayers Registry (RNC), providing only commercial names, as well as to unincorporated retailers associations.

Cocco also warned Jiménez that the allocations granted opened the possibility for the beneficiaries to evade the Income Tax payment and practice does not allow Customs’ computer system to assume those imports “from the lack of (the beneficiaries) RNC or Cedula.”

“Adding to the previous is the difficulties the beneficiaries of those quotas generate when the amounts assigned are very small, and the need to make affidavits or consolidations,” says late Cocco in the letter.

Last week the company Granos Nacionales, S.A. said it filed suit in the Arbitration and Administrative Court of RD$ 150 million in damages, against Jiménez; Presidency’s Chief of staff Luis Manuel Bonetti; Industry and Commerce minister Ramon Fadul and his two predecessors Francisco Javier Garcia and Melanio Paredes, for alleged violation of DR-CAFTA clauses by allocating quotas to import beans.