Free Trade Zone Services in the Dominican Republic

 A free trade zone in the Dominican Republic (locally called a zona franca) is a designated area regulated by CNZFE (Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas de Exportación) where companies can import goods, raw materials, components and machinery without paying Dominican customs duties, VAT or income tax, provided the output is exported. The country currently has 70+ active free zones hosting more than 700 companies in textile, medical devices, tobacco, electronics and services. It is the country’s main export engine and the backbone of its CAFTA-DR trade with the United States. 

Companies must obtain a CNZFE operating license (Resolución de Permiso) and locate their operation inside an approved industrial park or under the special export-services regime. Eligible activities include manufacturing, light assembly, packaging, kitting, distribution and certain services. Interwf supports clients through onboarding, customs documentation and ongoing CNZFE and DGA RD reporting, so logistics is never the bottleneck for going live.

 Goods imported into a CNZFE zona franca are not subject to Dominican duties, VAT or income tax while they remain inside the zone. Duties only apply if the goods are eventually released into the Dominican domestic market. For goods re-exported, no Dominican duties are paid at all, which is the standard configuration for export-platform operations targeting the US under CAFTA-DR. 

The standard CNZFE framework is built around imported inputs and exported outputs. Domestic goods can also enter the zona franca under specific procedures, typically when they will be consolidated, re-packed or combined with imported components for export. We handle the documentation in either direction and help structure flows to keep your operation compliant with CNZFE and DGA RD.