DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarah de León Perelló, Elizabeth Silfa Micheli and Naomi Rodríguez Manzueta, Headrick Rizik Álvarez & Fernández
the textile and manufacturing industries, poten - tially resulting in reduced investment inflows. The United States is the Dominican Republic’s most significant bilateral trading partner, rep - resenting 53.5% of the country’s total exports, valued at over USD6.9 billion in 2024. The Dominican Republic is among the countries with the lowest reciprocal tariff rate (10%). As a general rule, Competition Law No 42-08 does not create a notification regime for merger and acquisition transactions but companies in specific industries are subject to the require - ments established by their corresponding regu - lators and sectorial laws. Mergers and acquisitions are subject to notifi - cation in the case of telecommunications com - panies, insurance, reinsurance and insurance intermediation companies, as well as financial intermediation entities, companies which are the beneficiaries of public concessions for electricity generation and mining, pension fund administra - tors and companies making public offerings. 6.2 Merger Control Procedure Law No 42-08 does not set forth a merger con - trol procedure but companies in specific indus - tries are subject to the requirements established by their corresponding regulators and sectorial laws. 6. Competition Law 6.1 Merger Control Notification In the case of telecommunication companies, written notice should be given to the authori - sations department of the Institute of Telecom - munications ( Instituto Dominicano de las Teleco-
municaciones – INDOTEL) prior to the closing of any transaction which implies, directly or indirectly, the loss or possibility of loss, on the part of the seller or assignor, of corporate con - trol, or the possibility of forming the corporate will of the company which holds the authorisa - tion to operate as a telecommunication service provider in the Dominican Republic. If INDOTEL determines that prior authorisation is required in order to execute the transaction, the telecom - munications service provider must comply with the procedure provided for in INDOTEL’s Regu - lation for Authorisations. Authorisation of change of control is issued by INDOTEL via a resolution. The process takes at least 97 business days. In the case of free zone companies, a change in their shareholding structure requires a formal notice to be given to the National Council of Free Export Zones ( Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas de Exportación – CNZFE), which may be given after the transaction has closed or the change is effective. This notice is not legally mandated and is made purely for informational purposes. No prior authorisation is required for changes to the shareholding structure of a free zone company. 6.3 Cartels Law No 42-08 governs anti-competitive agree - ments and practices. It prohibits all practices, acts and agreements between competitor eco - nomic agents, be it express or implicit, in writing or verbal, that have for effect imposing unjusti - fied barriers in the market. Law No 42-08 is a public policy law whose pur - pose is to promote and defend effective com - petition with the aim of increasing economic efficiency in goods and services markets with
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