Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Advertising, promotions and pricing

Advertising, promotions and pricing

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Adverts must be truthful, and the advertiser must fix misleading ones through retraction and refunds. Offers must carry start and end dates, and prices must include tax or warn that they do not. Adverts for medical, food, cosmetic, tobacco and alcohol products need prior health authorization.

Key facts

Prior health approval for listed adverts	Yes textLey 358-05 art. 88 literal c, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Prices must show tax or warn it is excluded	Yes textLey 358-05 art. 45 and 46, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. An offer must fit the product's nature, quality and price, and include sales tax or warn that it does not.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 45, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Promotions state terms and duration. Listed prices show the total, with taxes shown separately or a warning.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 46, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Identical sales must offer equal terms, and any customer categories need objective grounds.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 47, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Suppliers are responsible for truth in advertising.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 48, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Special offers state exact start and end dates. Early end is valid only if announced through similar media, and until then the offer stands or the offeror must pay.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 57, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Unrequested offers that create an automatic charge, or read silence as acceptance, are banned.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 58, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. A gift sent with a purchase need not be returned, even on cancellation.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 59, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Premiums that mislead on price or quality, or make comparison hard, are banned, and gifts that compel the purchase are unfair.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 60 and art. 61, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Advertising must be truthful and not misleading, in any medium. Campaigns state period, volume, conditions, prices and advantages.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 88 literals a and b, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Adverts for medical products, packaged food, cosmetics, tobacco, alcohol, and any health claims, need prior authorization from the health authority.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 88 literal c, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Adverts must not harm children physically, mentally or morally, or be denigrating or unfair.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 88 literals d and e, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. Anyone advertising misleadingly must withdraw it, run a corrective notice by the same means, and replace or refund dangerous goods, jointly with the advert's owner.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor o Usuario, art. 88 paragraph I, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Step by step

Check claims against evidence before launch.
Add dates, stock and terms to every promotion.
Show price with ITBIS, or a clear warning.
Get health clearance for listed products.
Plan for a correction by the same media if needed.

Common traps

Stock limits must be stated: art. 88 asks for the volume offered.
Ending a promotion early without equal publicity keeps you bound.
Negative option billing is banned.
Misleading adverts are also unfair competition, so rivals can sue. See regulation/unfair-competition.
International campaigns usually need a local review for art. 88 literal c products.

Sources

Ley 358-05

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