do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

More documents

Recommendations

Info

DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPUBLICbecome largely obsolete, today there are very few companies that make use ofthem to face insolvency situations.Overview of ProcedureThe statutory provisions consider to be bankrupt any business establishment thathas ceased meeting its obligations. Bankruptcy may only be declared in relationto “tradesmen”, that is, to companies or persons that carry out usually commercialactivities.The bankruptcy petition may be filed by the debtor, one or more of its creditors,and may also be commenced ex officio by the Court, provided the conciliationprocedure set forth in Law 4582 of 1956 has been followed, which aims at reachinga payment agreement between the debtor and its creditors and thus preventbankruptcy.The bankruptcy judgment has the following effects:To relieve the debtor from the management of his property,To make all debts due,To make interest on unsecured debts stop accruing,To grant automatic stay of individual procedures undertaken by creditors,and;To make void certain acts and payments of the debtor made up to ten daybefore the date of insolvency.The bankruptcy procedure has the purpose to liquidate the assets of the debtorfor the repayment of creditors, and comprises the following stages:Appointment of bankruptcy judge and trustee.Verification of claims.Trying to reach a payment agreement between debtor and creditors, andIn the absence of agreement, liquidation and distribution of assets amongcreditors.When insolvency has been the result of negligence or fraud, the debtor may becondemned for simple or fraudulent bankruptcy (“bancarrota”). Simple bankruptcyis an offence subject to prison of up to one year, while fraudulent bankruptcyis a crime subject to prison of up to five years.Regime of PrioritiesPursuant to Article 565 of the Commercial Code, the payment of creditors mustbe made according to the following order of priority:1. Judicial costs of bankruptcy procedure.2. Alimony payments assigned to debtor.3. Privileged creditors in the following order: (i) employees, (ii) the State, (iii)legal fees, and (iv) funerary expenses.4. Secured creditors (beneficiaries of mortgages and liens, following the date ofregistration of their security interest).5. Unsecured creditors, in proportion to their claims.92
LEGAL FRAMEWORKFOR BUSINESSACTIVITIESThere are many legal provisions that regulate or touch the performance of businessactivities in the Dominican Republic. In this chapter we will examine themost relevant ones, namely: the tax regime applicable to business activities, thelabour and environmental laws that companies must comply with, the mechanismsestablished to protect intellectual property rights, the relevant rules forundertaking business transactions such as purchase of real property and grantingof securities, as well as the legal framework for electronic commerce.1TAXATIONLaw 11-92 of 31 May 1992 contains the Tax Code.This Code has four sections:1. General Principles, Procedures and Penalties2. Income Tax3. Tax on the Transfer of Industrialized Goods and Services (ITBIS)4. Selective Consumption Tax.The Internal Tax Office or "Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII)",an organof the Ministry of Finance, is responsible for the collection of taxes and the enforcementof fiscal laws. In the last years, this law suffered several important amendments.93MAIN TAXES IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLICProvision of Labor or Services Independentlyor in a Dependent MannerDuring the first 10 days of each month, employers shall proceed to file and payany taxes retained from their employees and from any personnel having ren-
Page 1 and 2:
DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPU
Page 3 and 4:
DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPU
Page 5 and 6:
FOREWORDA place to invest ...The Do
Page 7 and 8:
Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
INTERNATIONALTRADEInternational tra
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44: Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 57 and 58: MAININVESTMENTSECTORSThe Dominican
Page 93: Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at law
Page 125 and 126: Digital signature of the Certificat
Page 143 and 144: Design: Lourdes Saleme y AsociadosP
show all

do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?