News Archives - Page 22 of 31 - Guzmán Ariza | The Dominican Republic Law Firm

Free Zone Exports Up 5% in Jan-Sept 2015

Free zone manufacturing companies are reporting a 5% increase from January to September of this year compared to 2014. Exports for the period totaled US$4.11 billion, compared to US$3.92 billion in 2014.

National Council of Free Zones executive director Luisa Fernandez Duran says that the growth was due to increases in exports of cacao beans (20.9%), tobacco (19.7%), medical devices (6.9%), footwear (5.9%) and clothing (3.3%).

She highlighted that Dominican free zone exports are up at a time when exports are down 2% globally. She said the reason for the increase was the diverse nature of Dominican manufacturing.

[December 2015]

New Environmental and Business Department

Guzmán Ariza law firm created an environmental and business department that will offer sustainable business consulting, environmental permits, environmental impact studies, structuring and implementation of green projects, corporate social responsibility, environmental litigation and environmental education.

This unit will be head by Giselle Pérez Reyes and will closely work with the corporate, real estate and business transactions.

The environmental and business department counsels local and foreign companies of different sectors including manufacturing, energy-oil, municipal, protected areas, tourism, food and beverages, among others.

Giselle Pérez Reyes has an excellent reputation both in environmental and corporate law and is widely recognized in the Dominican Republic and in the main international legal directories, such as Chambers and Partners, National Network of Business Support for Environmental Protection (ECORED) and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAM).

Mrs. Pérez Reyes joined Guzmán Ariza on October of this year to strengthen the commercial and investment transactions, expanding the practice areas of the firm.

For Guzmán Ariza, Attorneys at Law, this is a further step towards its positioning as the firm that covers the greatest variety of practice areas.

[December 2015]

Move to Refund ITBIS to Tourists

The National Hotels and Tourism Association (Asonahores) is calling on Congress to approve a proposal to allow tourists to reclaim the sales tax (ITBIS) on goods purchased in the country.

Asonahores vice president Ventura Serra said that Santo Domingo has an impressive selection of malls and it would be an added benefit if a tourist tax refund could be introduced. He said this would motivate visitors to make more purchases.

He said that a conference center should be built in the city to complement the excellent facilities already offered by the hotels.

Ventura commented that Santo Domingo has all the conditions for developing into a leading destination for city tourism, meetings and conventions.

[November 2015]

Punta Cana May Reach 3 Million Visitors in 2015

The president of the Hotels & Tourism Projects Association in the East, Ernesto Veloz, has predicted that for the first time, Punta Cana will have hosted three million visitors by year’s end. Veloz is forecasting that this will be one of the best seasons of the past 10 years with an approximate 10% growth rate this year.

Veloz informed that another 4,000 hotel rooms are under construction in the area.

The Dominican Republic is expected to surpass the five million-tourist-mark this year.

[November 2015]

Guzmán Ariza Launches New Book

Guzmán Ariza Attorneys at Law presented on Tuesday 24 of November the launching of the book Repertorio de la jurisprudencia civil, comercial e inmobiliaria de la República Dominicana (2001-2014), written by managing partner Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza.

The event was held at the National Library of the Dominican Republic with the presence of prominent personalities of the country and the judicial system. It was presented by the Constitutional Court judge Victor Joaquin Castellanos and trial attorney Fabiola Medina Garnes, who addressed the most relevant aspects of the book.

The compilation of the civil, commercial and real estate case law in the Dominican Republic (2001-2014), which is part of the case law and precedents collection of the publisher Gaceta Judicial, condenses and organizes the judgments rendered by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic, from 2001 to 2014, in the areas mentioned on its title, as well as in related procedural matters.

Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza explained that this compilation has two main purposes: “first, provide readers summaries of the legal criteria on various issues related to these matters; and second, facilitate the rapid consultation of the whole decisions that contain the aforementioned criteria”.

Also, Mr. Guzmán Ariza added that 16,000 court decisions were consulted, from the Supreme Court on its role of court of cassation, from the Plenum of the Supreme Court and also from the Constitutional Court, in which 7,000 were summarized because of its private content.

Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza is a lawyer, writer, editor and linguist. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Science and Humanities, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (LL.B., summa cum laude, 1981). Mr. Guzmán Ariza was judge of the Disciplinary Court of the Dominican Bar Association. Currently, he is president of Guzman Ariza law firm, president of the editorial board of Gaceta Judicial and numerary member of the Dominican Academy of Letters.

[November 2015]

President Inaugurates Amber Cove

On Monday, 2 November 2015, President Danilo Medina inaugurated the new cruise port of Amber Cove in Maimon Bay, Puerto Plata.

Amber Cove will generate more than 430 direct jobs in its first year of operation and it is expected that more than 300,000 cruise passengers will arrive at the port and the number of direct jobs will increase.

Tourism Minister, Francisco Javier Garcia, said that this was a very important day for Puerto Plata as Amber Cove would have a major impact on the province and the whole north region.

The president and CEO of Carnival Corporation that built Amber Cove, Arnold Donald, said that he was very proud of the project and that eight of the brands his company represented would be bringing people from all over the world to Puerto Plata.

[November 2015]

Gasoline Stations Form Association

Petrol companies are now associated in the new Sociedad de Empresas de Combustibles y Derivados (SEC). The founding companies of the business association are GB Energy (Texaco), Sol Petroleum (Esso), Sunix, Isla and V Energy (Shell). They committed to work together to provide high quality services to consumers. The first president is Mauricio Salazar who says that the companies invest around RD$2.3 billion combined.

[October 2015]

Shopping Sector Grows 18% a Year

A recent Deloitte Consulting study presented by the National Organization of Shopping Centers (ONEC) shows that the commercial sector has the largest share of the services subsectors in the Dominican economy. Over the past eight years, the sector has had an 18% annual average growth. In 2015, trade represented 9.5% of the GDP. Total sales were RD$2.9 billion in 2014, of which 4.4% (RD$129.66 billion) was sold by ONEC members, says the study.

The study also found that trade represents 30% of loans to business, up 5% compared to 2013. The subsector employs on average 15% of the total labor force, with 291,369 employees with an average hourly wage of RD$80.91 or around RD$3,500 a week.

[October 2015]

With Caucedo, DR on Way to Being Logistics Hub

The implementation of Decree 262-15 that creates logistics centers and their customs regime will bring a genuine revolution in international trade and a significant drop in costs for industries, said the president of the newly created Dominican Association of Logistic Centers and Operators (Asologi).

Asologi president Salvador Figueroa Sanchez and directors Teddy Heinsen, Gustavo Tavares and Hector Tamburini say that if the legislation is correctly implemented, the DR will become a world-class logistics center.

The Caucedo Logistics Centre is a joint venture between DP World and Caucedo Development Corporation. It provides regional distribution facilities for foreign and Dominican businesses connecting them to a comprehensive, efficient, logistics multimodal network provided by the Port of Caucedo that is operated by DP World.

Phase 1 will see the development of warehousing over 4.3 million sq/ft (40 hectares) and a further 8.61 million sq/ft (80 hectares) developed in Phase 2. The timing is in line with market demand.

“We have been committed to the development of the Logistics Center since its inception and are witnessing the beginnings of an exciting opportunity to develop the Dominican Republic as a trade and logistics hub.”

The Center provides Dominican Republic importers and exporters with the opportunity to improve the efficiency of their supply chains with modern facilities close to both the port and the airport. Shipping lines will also benefit as more volumes are generated through the CLC.

[October 2015]

Getting Dominican Documents Abroad Now Easier

From the 20 October 2015, descendants of Dominicans born overseas can become Dominican nationals without coming to the country.

The measure, as agreed by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) establishes that wherever Dominicans live they can also obtain birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates as well as a National Identity Card (Cédula). The announcement states that that Dominicans who live overseas have the same rights as those who live in the country.

Dominican documents will be issued by JCE offices or consulates.

[October 2015]