The Prepayment Account facility provides a service where a Broker or Importer/Exporter can deposit with Customs, an amount of cash sufficient to cover an expected duty or tax liability on declarations to be processed. It is used mainly to pay duties and taxes on goods imported or as security pending processing of a proper declaration.
Advantages:
By using a prepayment account a declaration that is directly assessed will be automatically paid from that account at any time, removing the need to physically go to a Customs Cashier during cashier working hours.
Because declarations are assessed and paid for simultaneously, a release order for a declaration that is automatically selected for immediate release (Green Lane) can be printed right away. Declarations that must be checked are immediately cued for examination by an assigned Officer.
Each Account Holder is issued an account number and is required to create a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Both are keyed in as part of the declaration input (checks are performed to ensure consistency between Account Holder and Declarant or Importer). This PIN can be reset at the Accounts Section on request and the Account Holder can generate a statement of all debit and credit transactions in Asycuda at any time.
Additional payments and refunds of duties due to cancelations, short collections or other infractions can be easily achieved via the prepayment account*
If any amount deposited is no longer required for prepayment purposes, the Importer/Exporter or Broker may request a refund of the balance contained in the account.The Importer/Exporter or Broker determines the frequency of deposits or the amount credited to the account.
Deposits can be made via any Customs Cashier island wide and payments can be applied for IM and SD declarations for any Customs Office.
Prepayment Account Set Up Procedure:
An importer or broker may apply for a prepayment account by first completing an application form. The form can be completed online or via hard copy obtained in the Forms section on www.customs.gov.dm or from the Accounts Section at Customs Headquarters at the Deep Water Harbour in Fond Cole.
Once accepted the Account Holder will be informed by an officer in the Accounts section who will facilitate the creation of the account and a PIN associated with the Prepayment Account.
At this point the Account Holder or representative can pay a sum of money, which he/she thinks is sufficient to cover the duty liability of his/her imports or exports for a particular period to the Customs Cashier.
Once the prepayment account is activated and an amount is deposited the prepayment account can be used to pay for IM and SD declarations.
At request for assessment the system checks the account balance; If the balance is insufficient, the assessment is refused and the declaration is stored until the account balance is increased or the mode of payment is changed; If the balance is sufficient, the payment is accepted and the account balance is decreased by the assessed amount.
For further details on the use of Prepayment Account contact the Accounts Section at 767-266-3737 or
* Refunds are subject to review by Post Clearance Unit/Assistant Comptroller-Trade