Maritime and customs law in the Dominican Republic

Customs law

The General Customs Law No. 168-21 modernized the Dominican customs regime and introduced the authorized economic operator, advance rulings and a penalty procedure with due process guarantees. The Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA) also applies the WTO valuation rules, the Harmonized System and the trade agreements, notably DR-CAFTA and the agreement with the European Union. We advise importers and exporters on tariff classification, valuation, origin, special regimes and the defense against adjustments, fines and seizures.

• Tariff classification, valuation and rules of origin under DR-CAFTA and other agreements
• Advance rulings and consultations before the DGA
• Suspensive regimes: temporary admission, bonded warehouse, free trade zones and re export
• Customs bonds to secure duties and taxes in procedures and special regimes
• Defense in penalty proceedings, valuation adjustments, holds and seizures
• Reconsideration appeals before the DGA and tax litigation before the Superior Administrative Court
• Customs compliance and certification as an authorized economic operator

Maritime law

We represent shipowners, operators, charterers, insurers and shippers in matters governed by the Commercial Code, port legislation and the international conventions to which the country is a party. We handle vessel registration and mortgages, charter and carriage contracts, cargo damage claims, collisions and average, and the arrest of vessels as security.

• Registration of ships and pleasure craft, and ship mortgages
• Charter parties, bills of lading and multimodal transport
• Claims for loss of or damage to cargo and their insurance coverage
• Arrest of vessels and release against a bond
• Collisions, general average and salvage
• Port matters before the Dominican Port Authority and private concessionaires

A practice that rests on bonds

Much of customs and maritime activity turns on security: bonds for release under protest, for temporary admission, to release an arrested vessel or to secure duties in dispute. Our surety experience lets us structure the right guarantee quickly, so the client does not tie up cash while the matter is resolved.

Content reviewed by C. Constantin Poindexter Salcedo, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, partner at VSP Consultores Legales. Updated September 22, 2026.