Business
Ley 479-08 on commercial companies, with the simplified SRL and EIRL
Ley 479-08, as amended by Ley 31-11, governs commercial companies and introduced the sociedad de responsabilidad limitada as the standard closely held vehicle, alongside the sociedad anónima and the simplified SAS. A single-owner business can use the empresa individual de responsabilidad limitada to obtain limited liability without a partner. Registration is at the Cámara de Comercio y Producción for the registro mercantil, followed by an RNC tax number from the DGII.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National; Cámaras de Comercio for registration, DGII for the RNC
- Deadline — Registro mercantil: renewed every two years
- Deadline — Annual assembly: held within 120 days of the financial year end for an SA
- Deadline — Restructuring: creditors verify claims within the period fixed by the court
Governing law
- Ley 479-08 General de las Sociedades Comerciales
- Ley 31-11amending Ley 479-08
- Ley 141-15 de Reestructuración y Liquidación
- Ley 42-08 de Defensa de la Competencia
In practice
Ley 141-15 replaced a nineteenth-century bankruptcy regime with a genuine reorganisation procedure supervised by specialised courts, so an insolvent but viable company now has a restructuring route rather than only liquidation. The two-year renewal cycle for the registro mercantil is a routine trip hazard, because an expired registration blocks ordinary corporate and banking transactions.