Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Competition investigations, leniency and commitments

Competition investigations, leniency and commitments

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

ProCompetencia investigates on complaint or on its own. The instruction stage has a 12 month limit, and decisions apply at once even if challenged. A company that reports a cartel first pays only the minimum fine rather than zero, and later applicants get 50% to 70% off, while settlements need an admission within 20 working days.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar, as shown on its home page on 30 October 2026, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Leniency regime	Yes; first applicant pays the statutory minimum, not zero textReglamento RRS art. 5, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Later applicant discount, low end	50 %Reglamento RRS art. 5, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Later applicant discount, high end	70 %Reglamento RRS art. 5, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Limit on the Directorate's stage	12 monthsLey 42-08 art. 57, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Time to offer commitments	20 working daysReglamento de compromisos de cese art. 1, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. The Executive Directorate acts on its own or at the request of a party with a legitimate interest. Every complaint or own initiative probe of banned conduct is public.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 36, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The Directorate has 30 working days to rule on whether a complaint proceeds. Silence means the complaint is improper, and the complainant has 10 working days to appeal to the board, which decides in 30 working days.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 37 paragraph I and art. 38, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. If it proceeds, the resolution opening the probe is notified in 3 working days, and the respondent is summoned in the first 5 working days after acceptance.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 39 and art. 44 literal a, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. The respondent has 20 working days to answer. The Directorate may then set up to 10 working days for arguments on evidence, and issues its report to the board within 30 working days.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 44 literals b to e, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. The Director may summon people, inspect and copy books and records, and enter premises and vehicles, with the occupant's consent or a court order. Refusal can bring police help after court authorization.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 42 and paragraph I, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Questioning needs the defense lawyer present and a signed record, or it is void.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 42 paragraph III, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. The Directorate's stage lapses if it lasts over 12 months from formal start to referral to the board.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 57, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. The board rules within 45 working days. Decisions are enforceable despite any appeal. Reconsideration is optional, within 10 working days, and is decided in 30 working days. The board may suspend effects for serious harm or absolute nullity.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 49 and paragraphs I and II, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Board decisions go to the Tribunal Superior Administrativo, then to cassation.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 51 and art. 54, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Interim measures can order a stop or a bond, and last no more than 4 calendar months.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 64 and art. 65, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. False information draws 50 to 200 minimum salaries.
Example: RD$1,499,400 to RD$5,997,600 at the large company tariff / US$24,620.41 to US$98,481.63Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 61 literal d, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. A simplified procedure applies where there are signs of false or altered information, with a 12 month limit from the opening resolution to the board's decision.Reglamento de procedimiento simplificado por información falsa o alterada, art. 12, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

13. Leniency applies only to art. 5 cartels. The agent must reveal its role and give evidence, and the Directorate must not already hold enough evidence or be able to run an inspection for that end.Reglamento del Régimen de Reducción de Sanciones, art. 1, art. 3 and paragraph IV, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

14. The instigator, originator or leader of a cartel is excluded, as is anyone who coerced others, a repeat offender, or a past beneficiary.Reglamento del Régimen de Reducción de Sanciones, art. 3 paragraph V and art. 4 numerals 8 and 9, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

15. Conditions are cumulative: admit participation; give relevant, conclusive and new evidence before the instruction closes; cooperate fully; not have destroyed or hidden evidence, at least in the prior year; keep the application confidential until the final decision; and stop the conduct unless told otherwise.Reglamento del Régimen de Reducción de Sanciones, art. 4, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

16. The first applicant can only be given the minimum fine under art. 61. Later applicants get 50% to 70% off the fine, by order and value of evidence, but never below the minimum.
Example: First in, large company, cartel: RD$899,640; bid rigging: RD$5,997,600 / US$14,772.24; US$98,481.63Reglamento del Régimen de Reducción de Sanciones, art. 5 and paragraph, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

17. A marker holds the queue place, on giving identity, participants, products, territories, rough duration and nature of the conduct. The applicant then has 10 to 20 working days, extendable once, to formalize, and the date relates back to the marker.Reglamento del Régimen de Reducción de Sanciones, art. 7 and paragraphs I and II, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

18. A company under instruction can offer commitments to end the case early within 20 working days of the opening resolution, extendable once by 20. It must freely admit the conduct and explain why the remedies are enough.Reglamento de compromisos de cese, art. 1 paragraph, art. 2 and art. 3, 2021-10-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Step	Time	Rule
Ruling on a complaint	30 working days; silence means improper	art. 37, 38
Hierarchical appeal	10 working days	art. 38
Answer	20 working days	art. 44
Offer commitments	20 working days, plus 20 once	Reglamento art. 1
Report to the board	30 working days	art. 44
Directorate's whole stage	12 months	art. 57
Board decision	45 working days	art. 49
Reconsideration	10 working days to file, 30 to decide	art. 49
Interim measure	4 calendar months at most	art. 65

Key time limits

Step by step

Keep a dawn raid plan: lawyer on call, a named coordinator, a copy of every document taken.
On a visit, ask for the occupant consent form or court order, since art. 42 requires one.
On notice, diarize 20 working days to answer and 20 working days to offer commitments.
Run a privileged internal review at once and preserve documents.
Decide between leniency and commitments early; both need an admission.
Budget for a payment or bond plan, as decisions apply despite appeal.

Common traps

Leniency is not immunity. The first in still pays the minimum, 30 minimum salaries or 200 for bid rigging.
Decreto 196-25 repeats a peer review finding that the country lacks a leniency program, though the regulation is on ProCompetencia's site. The regulation's text gives no approval date; the date shown here is its posting date.
Leniency needs the authority to lack enough evidence, so a late application may fail.
An admission in commitments or leniency can feed a private damages claim under art. 63.
Art. 42 says obstruction is fined at the level in art. 64, but art. 64 deals with interim measures and sets no amount. The fine for obstruction is unclear.
Probes are public by law, so reputational cost comes early. Ask for confidentiality of trade secrets under art. 41.
The regulation of the law, Decreto 252-20, is a scan on the regulator's site, so check it for detail on time counts.

Sources

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