Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Merger control and the competition reform

Merger control and the competition reform

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

The Dominican Republic has no merger filing today: Ley 42-08 punishes agreements and abuse, not market structure. ProCompetencia delivered a draft law to the Executive in February 2026 that would add prior merger control and sales based fines. No bill number or text was found at 30 October 2026, so deals still close without a competition filing.

Key facts

Merger control regime	None; no filing under Ley 42-08 textLey 42-08, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Mandatory suspensory merger filing	No textLey 42-08, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Draft merger threshold reported in the press	200000000 DOPDraft law, press report, as of 2026-03-19 · pending
Draft maximum fine as share of gross income, cartels and abuse, press	10 %Draft law, press report, as of 2026-03-13 · pending

The rule

1. Ley 42-08 has no merger notification. Gaining or raising a dominant position is not itself a breach.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 4 and art. 7 paragraph IV, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The 2025 national competition policy records, citing the OECD and IDB peer review, the lack of a merger control regime and fines that do not deter enough.Decreto 196-25, Política Nacional de Competencia, recitals, 2025-04-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. The policy names ProCompetencia as lead executing agency and binds public bodies, sector regulators included, to its guidelines.Decreto 196-25, art. 2 and art. 4, 2025-04-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. PENDING. ProCompetencia delivered to the Executive's legal counsel the draft Ley Orgánica Antimonopolio y de Competencia Económica, which would amend Ley 42-08 and add prior control of economic concentrations. The counsel undertook to push it in Congress.Draft law, ProCompetencia notice, not applicable, 2026-02-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. PENDING, press only. Reports describe grading infractions by gross sales, up to 5% of gross income for serious ones such as closing without notice and up to 10% for cartels and abuse.Draft law, press report, not applicable, 2026-03-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. PENDING, press only. Reports describe a RD$200 million income threshold, a 30 day first review and a 90 day second stage.Draft law, press report, not applicable, 2026-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Even without a filing, coordination between competitors before closing is subject to the cartel ban, and the agreement must fit the ancillary restraint rule.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 5 and art. 7 numeral 1, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Transfers that shift control of a telecoms concession holder need INDOTEL authorization.Ley 153-98 General de Telecomunicaciones, art. 28.2, 1998-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Step by step

Confirm no filing applies under Ley 42-08, then run sector checks: telecoms, banks, insurance, securities, power.
Add a clause in long deals on what happens if merger control takes effect before closing.
Limit pre closing contact on prices and customers between competing parties; use clean teams.
Keep non competes tied to the deal, since art. 7 protects only ancillary terms.
Track the draft on start/reform-tracker.

Common traps

No filing does not mean no scrutiny. Post closing abuse or a collusive structure remains reachable.
The figures on thresholds, fines and timing are press accounts of a draft, not law. Do not model them as final.
The draft's stage in the Executive or Congress could not be confirmed at 30 October 2026, and a panel on it was listed for Competition Week, 2 to 6 November 2026.
ProCompetencia says the country is the only one in Latin America and the Caribbean without merger control. Expect the topic to move, and expect transitional questions for deals that straddle the date.

Sources

← Abuse of a dominant positionCompetition investigations, leniency and commitments →

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