The first thing to know is how many days are left. And there is a problem there.
Article 57 of the Dominican Tax Code —Law núm. 11-92— sets the window for a request for reconsideration at twenty days, counted from service of the assessment.
But the tax authority’s own publications say something different. Taxpayer Guide núm. 24, of September 2022, and version 3.2 of its service catalogue state thirty days, relying on Article 53 of Law núm. 107-13 on the rights of individuals in their dealings with the administration.
This firm works to twenty. It is the deadline in the special statute and it is the shorter of the two. The thirty-day reading is a fallback argument if an inadmissibility ever has to be litigated; it is not a basis on which to plan.
The consequence is concrete and worth stating plainly: anyone who arrives on day twenty-five relying on the authority’s own guide may already have lost the administrative route. If you have been served, the first question is not what a defense costs — it is what date it was handed to you.
The deadlines, with the provision that sets each one
None of these run from the day you found out. They run from service.
| Step | Deadline | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Request for reconsideration | 20 days from service | Art. 57, Tax Code (Law núm. 11-92) |
| Extension of the filing | Up to 30 further days, if granted | Art. 57, same text |
| Decision by the authority | 90 days. Once elapsed, the judicial route opens | Art. 139, as amended by Art. 3 of Law núm. 173-07 |
| Tax litigation appeal | 30 days from service | Art. 144, as amended by Law núm. 13-07 |
| Against action taken without legal basis | 10 days | Art. 144, as amended by Law núm. 13-07 |
| Appeal to the Supreme Court | Two months from service of the judgment | Art. 176, Tax Code |
What changes once the request is filed
Filing the request for reconsideration suspends the obligation to pay until a decision is issued, under Paragraph I of Article 57, added by Law núm. 227-06. This is not a procedural footnote: it is what keeps the assessment from becoming enforceable while it is being contested.
Exhausting the administrative route is mandatory before going to the Superior Administrative Court, under Article 3 of Law núm. 173-07. A file that skips that step does not reach the court.
How the file is built
A notice of adjustment is not answered with a letter. It is answered with the file.
- We read exactly what is being asserted against you and for which periods. Many notices cover less ground than the alarm they cause suggests.
- We locate the supporting documentation for each item questioned. This is where the time is won or lost.
- We prepare the written response, with the documents that support each position and the provision that backs it.
- If that does not resolve it, we file the request for reconsideration. And if the matter advances to a forum requiring accredited representation, the firm takes it on: you have one point of contact and one party accountable, at every stage.
Why we reach the supporting documents sooner
Some firms file well and do not litigate. Some lawyers litigate and never saw the entry being made. The client is left in between, explaining his own books to the person who is about to defend them.
When monthly compliance is handled by the same team that will answer for it, every figure has its support identified from the moment it is recorded. That is why a written response takes days to prepare rather than weeks, and it is also why we take on files we did not keep: in that case the first thing we do is reconstruct the support, and tell you which items have it and which do not.
What we do not do
We do not forecast the outcome. We cannot, and neither can anyone who promises you one. What we can tell you, with the file in front of us, is which documents support your position and which do not — and if our reading is that there is no defense, we will tell you in those words.
What we need in order to give you an answer
Three things, and that is enough for us to tell you the same day whether there is a case and how much time is left:
- The assessment as served, in full, and the date it was handed to you.
- The periods and the taxes it covers.
- What was filed for those periods, even if you did not prepare it.
Deadlines verified against the Dominican Tax Code and its amendments, as at September 2026. · Write to us · See our tax advisory practice