Dominican Real Estate Law Developments, include a Draft Bill amending Tourism Development Promotion Law 158-01 (“Confotur Law”).

On July 22th of 2013, the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic approved the Draft Bill amending Confotur Law No. 158-01 of Incentives for Tourism Development of the Dominican Republic to include non- exempt urban and oceanfront areas in Santo Domingo and Punta Cana Area, where certain qualified promoter and developers may benefit from the vast tax exemptions regime provided under of Article 4 of Law 158-01.

The draft Bill’s main goal is the amendment of Article 1 of Confotur Law 158-01 to include the high rise & business developed area commonly known as the “Poligono Central” of the National District of the City of Santo Domingo, located between the 27 de Febrero Ave., John F. Kennedy Ave., Winston Churchill Ave. and Ortega & Gasett Ave, as well as the Santo Domingo Colonial Zone and other Caribbean waterfront areas considered of importance to the Tourism Industry.

Among the considerations for including such new zones in this draft bill, is the fact that the Poligono Central has not only become the Business and Financial Centre of the city of Santo Domingo but it is officially expected to become one of the most important destinies of urban tourism in the Caribbean.

It should be noted that Ministry of Tourism Resolution 61/2011 already made extensive the application of Law 158-01 and its amendments to Hotel Installations, Resorts and/or Hotel Complexes in the Poligono Central of the National District and the Malecon, while large shopping malls, international hotel chains and franchises have established in the Business Centre of Santo Domingo, in light of the investment and business opportunities of this area and the expected tourism incentives this draft bill would provide.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Felipe Isa Castillo is a Partner leading the Foreign Investment, Real Estate & Tourism areas at Arthur & Castillo Law Firm and Attorneys in the Dominican Republic. He specializes in foreign investment, real estate and international business (International Legal Studies LLM in Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. & Masters in International E- Business in Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona) with more than 20 years of experience in Foreign Investment, Free Trade Zones, International Business and Cross Border Real Estate practice. Dr. Castillo is a Certified Bankruptcy Conciliator and Liquidator and Legal Interpreter.

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 Disclaimer: This publication is not intended to provide legal advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as individual situations will differ and the law may have changed since publication. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.

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