The Dominican Standardization System follows international guidelines and it is compatible with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Code of Standards.
INDOCAL (Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad-Quality Dominican Institute) is the Dominican governmental body overseeing the formulation, and implementation of quality norms in Dominican Republic. INDOCAL was created to replace the former DIGENOR. In June 2012, the Dominican standards system experienced a significant change with the promulgation of a new law that created the SIDOCAL (Sistema Dominicano para la Calidad); which oversees quality control development, the development of norms/standards, metrology, monitoring, certification, and accreditation. Where formerly there was only one institution overseeing standards issues, the new law created several institutions: CODOCA (Consejo Dominicano para la Calidad); INDOCAL (Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad); CEDIRET (Centro Dominicano de Información sobre Reglamentación Técnica); and ODAC (Organismo Dominicano para la Acreditación), all of them working together under SIDOCAL and with a wider range of functions and responsibilities. CODOCA falls under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
However, the new law did not affect the Dominican Standardization System in place (NORDOM, or Normas Dominicanas in Spanish); which consists of 619 mandatory and voluntary standards.
Standards
Under the new law that created SIDOCAL the following are the new standards organizations:
- INDOCAL serves as the National Notification Authority under the WTO agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Local Agent for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). INDOCAL also has membership in the Pan-American Standards Commission (COPANT).
- The National Inquiry Point under the WTO is the General Directorate of International Trade (DICOEX- Dirección de Comercio Exterior) under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
- CEDIRET (Centro Dominicano de Información sobre Reglamentación Técnicas) is the institution in charge of the compilation and publication of standards in Dominican Republic.
- The Ministry of Agriculture is the National Contact Point for Codex Alimentarius Commission (international standard-setting body for food standards).
Testing, Inspection and Certification
INDOCAL is the institution authorized to provide product certification in the Dominican Republic. The INDOCAL Seal of Compliance (Sello de Calidad INDOCAL, in Spanish) is the certification that INDOCAL provides to those locally manufactured products that meet Dominican standards. Any company interested in obtaining this certification for its product should present documentation indicating that an internationally accredited laboratory (including the two local laboratories currently accredited) has tested and approved the product. In the case of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, processed foods, and dairy products, the products must also receive a certification of approval (“Registro Sanitario,” in Spanish) from the Ministry of Public Health. Without this “Registro Sanitario”, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, processed foods and dairy products are not allowed to enter the Dominican Republic.
For more information on the “Registro Sanitario” please visit the website of the Ministry of Public Health portal and Social Assistance portal.
There are two accreditation laboratories in the DR. One is for electrical equipment, which is mainly used by the electricity utilities to test customers’ energy meters suspected of having been altered for fraudulent purposes. There is another laboratory with the required accreditation for performing tests on food products, the Instituto de Innovación en Biotecnologia e Industria (IIBI). However, SIDOCAL provides that documents and assessments prepared by internationally accredited bodies or testing laboratories shall be accepted in the Dominican Republic.
Publication of Technical Regulations
In the DR, the most up-to-date regulations are published and available to the general public for a small fee. The new law that created the SIDOCAL mandates that the development of new standards should follow the technical bariers to trade (TBT) guidelines that encourage the adoption of international standards as the Dominican technical requirements whenever possible.
SIDOCAL provides the creation of a Technical Committee under the supervision of INDOCAL, which will oversee developing and studying any proposed new standard before it is approved by the CODOCA (the Council for Dominican Quality that oversees INDOCAL). The law also provides for public discussions of any new technical regulations planned to be introduced as a NORDOM.
SIDOCAL also created CEDIRET as the center for the promotion, data base, and publication of quality standards.
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade.
Contact Information
- Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad
(Quality Dominican Institute)
Calle Olof Palme, Los Prados
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Contact: Ing. Lorenzo Ramirez, General Director
Phone: (809) 686-2205 ext. 319
Fax: (809) 686-2235
E-mail: indocal@indocal.gob.do
Website: https://www.indocal.gob.do
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
Phone: (809) 368-7741
E-mail: agsantodomingo@fas.usda.gov
Website: http://www.fas.usda.gov
Contact: Fred Giles, Senior Agricultural Attaché
- U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Commercial Service
Phone: (809) 368-7249
E-mail: Office.SantoDomingo@trade.gov
Website: https://www.trade.gov/dominican-republic
Contacts: Jennifer Kane-Zabolotskaya, Senior Commercial Officer
E-mail: jennifer.kane@trade.gov
Sheila Diaz de Andújar, Senior Commercial Specialist
E-mail: sheila.diaz@trade.gov
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
For EU CCG: Include reference to article with a video on CE Mark: https://www.trade.gov/ce-marking