The government says it is trying to cut red tape for business by creating a single office (Ventanilla Unica de Inversion n VUI) to allow potential investors to file the start-up paperwork. Decree 626-12 creates a one-stop shop for requesting permits, licenses and certifications for investment projects.
President Danilo Medina, First Lady Candida Montilla, Vice President Margarita Cedeno, Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo and director of the Center for Exports & Investment Jean Alain Rodriguez were present at the announcement at the Presidential Palace yesterday, Monday 12 November.
Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo said that the VUI was aimed at improving the business climate in the Dominican Republic and accelerate investment flows. He said that once the process is streamlined by January 2013, procedure time could be reduced from at times two years to no more than four months.
Montalvo said that the system would not replace the traditional ways of obtaining the required permits to invest in the country, but that it would be a way of speeding up the process and making it more transparent.
The first part of the project will initially work via telephone and in person and will operate from the Dominican Republic Center for Export & Investment (CEI-RD). In a year’s time, the services will be accessible online. CEI-RD director Jean Alain Rodriguez said that this was a fulfillment of President Danilo Medina’s promise to create 400,000 jobs and make the country more competitive.
The new procedures are intended to benefit agriculture, agriculture supply industries, infrastructure, footwear industry, film industry, energy, IT, manufacturing, mining, technology, telecommunications, textiles and tourism. However, in its first phase, tourism and the construction sectors will be given priority, said Rodriguez.
The new system will be coordinated by a presidential commission consisting of representatives of the following ministries and departments: Presidency, Public Administration, Public Works, Tourism, Environment, the Center for Export and Investment, the Presidential Office of Technology, Information and Communication and the president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities.
http://www.presidencia.gob.do/comunicado/republica-dominicana-dispuesta-a-captar-inversiones-pone-en-funcionamiento-ventanilla-unica/