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Agriculture and farm import licences

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Commercial importers of listed farm goods must register in RIMPA and get a licence through the Ministry of Agriculture, approved by the Comisión para las Importaciones Agropecuarias. Sanitary no objections take up to 10 working days, licences up to 30, and licences for Annex 2 goods last up to 90 days. Coffee sits under INDOCAFE.

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

Sanitary no objection, maximum	10 working daysDecreto 554-22, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Annex 2 licence decision, maximum	30 working daysDecreto 554-22 art. 10, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Annex 2 licence validity, maximum	90 daysDecreto 554-22 art. 11, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. RIMPA is the database of those importing farm goods subject to licence, run by the Import Permit Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.Decreto 319-22, art. 1 to 3, 2022-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Anyone domiciled in the country importing for trade must register online with ID or commercial registry, RNC, sanitary permit, TSS certificate and, where it applies, an MSME certificate.Decreto 319-22, art. 4 and 5, 2022-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. The code is cancelled at the holder's request, for breach, or by justified order, with notice to the user within 2 working days.Decreto 319-22, art. 10, 2022-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Licences approved by the Commission and issued by the ministry cover the goods in annexes 1 and 2. Lists are updated on the ministry's site.Decreto 554-22, art. 3, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Commercial importers must be in RIMPA. Personal use, meaning one container of up to 1 TEU, and non national sale do not need it.Decreto 554-22, art. 4 paragraphs III and IV, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. If the Commission finds that a small container is commercial, the importer has 30 days from notice to start registry, or requests may be rejected.Decreto 554-22, art. 4 paragraphs V and VI, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Fees for sanitary or phytosanitary no objection and inspections are in ministry resolutions and must be published on its site.
Cost to do it: Amounts were not found on an official page.Decreto 554-22, art. 5, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Departments have up to 10 working days to issue the no objection through VUCE.Decreto 554-22, art. 8 paragraph, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Annex 2 requests are handled as far as administratively feasible, and in any case within 30 working days.Decreto 554-22, art. 10, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Annex 2 licences are valid for up to 90 days in normal market conditions.Decreto 554-22, art. 11, 2022-09-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Coffee growing is of high national interest, and the Instituto Dominicano del Café sets coffee policy and keeps registers of growers, processors and industry.Ley 246-17, art. 1, 3 and 11, 2017-12 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. Registered growers, processors and industrial users get INDOCAFE services.Ley 246-17, art. 22, 2017-12 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A distributor imports frozen pork for resale. It registers in RIMPA with a sanitary permit, asks for the licence through VUCE, gets the no objection in up to 10 working days and has up to 30 working days overall. It should book vessels within the 90 day life of the licence.

Step by step

Register in RIMPA.
Check Annex 1 or 2 on the ministry's site.
File through VUCE.
Get the sanitary no objection.
Receive the licence and ship within its validity.
Check DR-CAFTA or EU quotas on the trade pages.

Common traps

Licence rules do not replace tariff quotas. See trade/tariff-quotas-and-farm-imports.
Press reports describe suspensions of permits for meat in 2025. No official current status was found.
The agreement with a warehouse also needs its sanitary permit (Decreto 319-22 art. 5 d).
Rules on tobacco, sugar and cocoa bodies were not verified against official text, so they are left out of this page.
Farm trade with Argentina follows these same licence rules. For the Argentine side, see The Argentine Thread guide.

Sources

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