Starting a business in Dominican Republic: foreigner's guide (2026)

Law 32-23's third and final phase required small businesses, micro-firms, unclassified taxpayers, and remaining public entities to adopt the DGII's e-CF electronic invoicing system by May 15, 2026, completing the nationwide mandate. Every newly formed enterprise must now onboard the e-CF system as an operational prerequisite from day one.

The annual US assessment found that despite strong FDI inflows and ProDominicana's investment-promotion support, foreign investors continue to cite lack of transparency and poor enforcement of existing laws as key barriers; measures to simplify business-registration bureaucracy remain deprioritized by the Abinader government.

The General Directorate of Internal Taxes extended the Phase 2 electronic-invoicing compliance deadline from May 15, 2025 to November 15, 2025 for medium and large local taxpayers that had already begun onboarding, acknowledging implementation challenges while preserving the overall mandate and its obligations for new companies.

The World Bank published the first Business Ready (B-READY) report, replacing the discontinued Doing Business Index with a broader framework assessing regulatory quality and public-service efficiency; the new benchmarks revive international pressure on the Dominican Republic to advance business-climate reforms.

President Abinader signed the Electronic Invoicing Law requiring all businesses to issue DGII-validated electronic fiscal receipts (e-CF) in a phased rollout from 2024 to 2026; the law directly shapes the tax-compliance obligations of any newly formed entity from the moment it begins issuing invoices.

The World Bank suspended and then permanently discontinued the Doing Business report following an independent investigation into data irregularities; the DR's last assessment had shown persistently weak Starting a Business sub-scores, and the discontinuation removed a critical external accountability mechanism that had historically driven administrative reforms.

The Financial Action Task Force published its mutual evaluation report on the Dominican Republic, reviewing compliance with AML/CFT standards and the effectiveness of the beneficial-ownership disclosure rules introduced by Law 155-17; findings shaped ongoing compliance obligations that new companies must meet at the point of registration.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act required all companies to identify and declare to the DGII any natural person holding ≥20% of share capital as the ultimate beneficial owner; the disclosure is embedded in the RNC registration form (RC-02) and annual tax filings, adding a compliance layer to the business-formation process.

The government rolled out the Formalízate digital single-window platform integrating commercial registry, DGII tax-ID issuance, and fee payments into one process; IDB research confirmed the program produced a statistically significant increase in micro-firm formalization, particularly in commerce and tourism, and improved women's labor-market participation.

Amendment to Law 479-08 created the Sociedad Anónima Simplificada (SAS), a flexible corporate form requiring no minimum capital and permitting single-shareholder formation by one natural or legal person, specifically designed to lower the barrier for entrepreneurs and SMEs to incorporate formally.

Law 3-02 created a unified, mandatory, and publicly accessible Commercial Registry administered by the Chambers of Commerce under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, requiring all enterprises to register within one month of formation; the registry became the primary legal gateway for any business seeking to operate lawfully.