The Dominican Republic's tax agency has identified more than 1.5 billion Dominican pesos in tax adjustments following audits of around 80 Chinese-owned businesses over the past two months.
Pedro Urrutia, director general of the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos, announced the findings on Tuesday, emphasizing that the figure represents assessed tax liabilities rather than revenue already collected.
Speaking to reporters after attending an industry event in Santo Domingo, Urrutia explained that tax audits identify adjustments with legal tax implications that corporate taxpayers retain the right to contest through formal defense procedures.
He stated that the tax authority does not record determined tax adjustments as collected revenue until the payments are received. He added that some taxpayers choose to reach settlement agreements and pay during the audit process rather than awaiting the conclusion of all administrative and legal appeal instances.
The Dirección General de Impuestos Internos, known as the DGII, is the primary government authority responsible for collecting internal taxes and revenue across the Dominican Republic. Under Dominican tax law, taxpayers assessed for additional liabilities may submit appeals or request payment plans before penalties or collections become final.
Audit focus on Chinese retailers
Urrutia clarified that state tax inspections target any commercial enterprise where automated monitoring systems detect financial inconsistencies, rather than focusing exclusively on Chinese-owned shops.
However, he acknowledged that tax officials have conducted a high volume of inspections among Chinese merchants due to specific working methods and operational practices observed in the sector.
The ongoing investigations encompass how establishments operate, the construction of their physical facilities, the verified identity of their real owners, and the validity of their commercial operating permits.
The director general noted that the rapid pace at which large-scale retail stores were constructed raised concerns among tax inspectors. Upon examining the companies operating these facilities, auditors discovered commercial real estate that did not appear on corporate accounting ledgers or was registered under names other than the individuals running the store.
Urrutia sustained that such real estate assets were omitted from official corporate accounting records. He confirmed that authorities have executed several temporary business closures for violations of fiscal invoicing rules, though statutory tax secrecy laws prohibit the agency from publicly naming the specific taxpayers under investigation.
Electronic invoicing and compliance deadlines
To streamline tax administration, the agency is preparing a simplified digital tool designed to allow small businesses to register directly from a mobile telephone in four steps, with automatic integration into the national electronic invoicing system.
Urrutia affirmed that the tool aims to create an easy compliance mechanism for small merchants. The system is intended to assist small retail establishments, such as colmados, the traditional neighborhood corner stores common throughout the Dominican Republic, by replacing the complex registration steps currently required on the DGII web portal. Officials hope to launch the mobile system by October.
The agency also announced strict enforcement deadlines for non-compliant medium and small enterprises. Medium-sized taxpayers with expired compliance deadlines will have their authorization to use legacy fiscal tax receipts canceled on November 1. Urrutia warned that while businesses may continue issuing legacy receipts after that date, the documents will carry no tax value for their customers.
For small businesses, tax authorities established November 15 as the final deadline following a six-month grace period extension. Urrutia delivered the tax updates after attending the conference titled Free Zones, Zones of Opportunities, organized by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs.
