Verify the availability of the company name
Agency: ONAPI (Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial)
The availability of the proposed company name must be verified by business founders. This can be done online at www.onapi.gov.do.
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online procedure), included in procedure 2
Purchase of the company name
Agency: ONAPI (Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial)
After the petition or request of the registration of a commercial or trade name is made, the National Office of Industrial Property (ONAPI) will issue the formal Certificate within 5 business days.
Then, the company name announcement is published in a national circulation newspaper in about 10 days. The National Office of Industrial Property publishes the list of requested corporate names and their petitioners twice a month. After that publication, third parties may lodge protests within 45 days. The publication receipt suffices for the company to continue with subsequent simultaneous formalities.
Since December 31, 2012, the cost for publication was unified with the cost to check and purchase the company’s name. This unification was due to article 114 of the Law no. 20 00 and article 74 of the Decree Law no. 326 06 and the current cost is DOP 4,755.
Time and cost: 5 days, DOP 4755
Payment of the incorporation tax
Agency: Tax Authorities (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos)
As the amount to be paid exceeds the DOP 10,000, the incorporation tax is paid directly at the Internal Revenue Service office (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos) and Banco de Reservas. It only can be paid by cashier’s checks (Cheques de Administración) issued in favor of the Internal Revenue Collector. Certified checks are no longer allowed to make payments of taxes.
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), 1% of the capital
Register the company in the Chamber of Commerce
Agency: Chamber of Commerce
The company must be registered at the Chamber of Commerce of the domicile of the company. In Dominican Republic, the domicile of the company is where the effective center of administration and management of the company is located.
The following documents have to be filed at the Mercantile Registry at the Chamber of Commerce:
- Bylaws properly signed;
- General Constitutive Assembly with its corresponding list of presence of Associates;
- List of the distribution of each of the associate’s investment to the company and their corresponding amounts of corporate quotas;
- Application Form for registration of Limited Liability Company, duly completed and signed by the authorized manager or agent (must attach original power of attorney, if applicable);
- Receipt of payment of incorporation taxes;
- Photocopies of identity card;
- Copy of Business Name Registration issued by the National Office of Industrial Property (ONAPI).
The Resolution No. 147-18 for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing requires a copy of the receipt whereby it can be confirmed that the payment of the subscribed capital was made through a banking method.
In December 2013, the Chamber of Commerce made company registration available online at http://www.formalizate.gob.do/. This electronic method of registration is not widely used in practice, but it is available to business entrepreneurs in Santo Domingo.
Time and cost: 3 days, DOP 8,000
Obtain the identification number (RNC) and apply for fiscal invoices (NCF) at the Tax Authorities (DGII)
Agency: Tax Authorities (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos)
The company shall register as tax contributor at the RNC (Registro Nacional del Contribuyente). The documents required are:
- Application Form RC-02 signed;
- Copy of the registration certificate;
- Copy of the receipt of the incorporation tax payment;
- Copy of the company name certificate issued by the ONAPI;
- Copies of the identification document of the partners.
Within 5 working days, the DGII checks the information and notifies the identification number (RNC). The application can be made also online, through the DGII’s webpage. After this, physical documents must be filed at the DGII.
After obtaining the RNC, the company can automatically apply for the Sequence of the Fiscal Invoice Numbers (Sequencia NCF). According to Decree 254–06, companies that render services or whose operations require the transfer of goods to the final consumer get this Fiscal Invoice Number immediatelly. DGII will authorize the numbers of NCF according to the economic activity, the volume of operations, the tax compliance and the risk profile of the company.
After receiving the authorization, the company can print the NCF in the DGII printers.
Time and cost: 6 days, no charge
Register employees with the Department of Labor
Agency: Ministry of Labor
Forms DGT-3 must be completed within the first week of employment. The following forms, found at the local Department of Labor office, must be filed: a list of permanent personnel and employee work schedules and vacation periods.
This procedure can be completed only once the taxpayer’s identification number has been obtained.
Time and cost: 2 days, DOP 500
Register employees at the Social Security Office (Tesorería de la Seguridad Social)
Agency: Social Security Treasury (Tesorería de la Seguridad Social)
The company shall registered and file the list of its employees at the Social Security National Treasury (Tesorería Nacional de la Seguridad Social, TNSS), a dependency of the main social security office (Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Social, CNSS).
Under Law 87-01, employers must register employees at the CNSS within 3 days of hiring them or upon the start of business. This procedure can be done online: http://www.tss2.gov.do/ or at the Tesorería Nacional de la Seguridad Social.
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), no charge
