DR2028 analytical summary. This is a research brief prepared by the DR2028 movement summarizing a real Dominican statute. It is not an official government publication. For the authoritative text, consult the Gaceta Oficial.
Law No. 47-25 — Ley de Contrataciones Públicas
Promulgated on July 28, 2025 by President Luis Abinader, Law 47-25 establishes the current legal regime for public procurement in the Dominican Republic. It repeals Law 340-06 (2006) and its amendments, along with the 2023 procurement regulation — a full replacement of the country's contracting framework after nearly two decades. The law contains 248 articles and entered into force 180 days after promulgation (Art. 248).
What it regulates
Article 1 sets the object: the principles, procedures, and rules of public procurement, aimed at efficient use of public funds and better satisfaction of general-interest needs, applying sustainable-development criteria and promoting technology. Article 2 casts a wide net — it covers the central administration, municipalities and municipal districts, the Legislative and Judicial powers and constitutional organs in their administrative functions, non-financial public enterprises, majority state-owned companies, and any institution financed with public funds. Article 3 lists fifteen exclusions, including public-credit operations, public employment, petty-cash purchases, PPP contracts and concessions (governed by Law 47-20), and contracts under international treaties.
The 21 guiding principles (Article 4)
Every procurement must honor: economy and flexibility, efficiency, free competition, equity, preference for national production, preference for local development, suitability, equal treatment and participation, impartiality, inclusion, legality, objectivity, participation, planning, reasonableness, responsibility and good faith, administrative simplification, sustainability, transparency, administrative due process, and publicity. These principles are the legal yardstick against which DR2028 measures contracting behavior.
How the state buys (Articles 55–78)
Seven ordinary selection procedures (Art. 55): public bidding (licitación pública), abbreviated public bidding, reverse auction (subasta inversa), works lottery (sorteo de obras), simplified contracting, minor contracting, and direct contracting subject to threshold. The procedure is chosen by amount or nature of the contract; public bidding is mandatory above treaty thresholds and for complex works (Arts. 56–57). Twelve exception procedures (Art. 78) cover emergencies (by motivated presidential decree), national security, urgency, exclusive goods or sole suppliers, rescinded contracts, and state real estate, among others.
The watchdog: DGCP (Articles 8–11)
The Dirección General de Contrataciones Públicas is the maximum governing body (órgano rector) of the National Public Procurement System. Its 23 attributions (Art. 11) include issuing binding opinions and procedure manuals, running the electronic procurement system and the State Supplier Registry, provisionally suspending procurement procedures when grave violations or irregularities are detected, hearing administrative appeals, reporting violators to the Public Ministry, and exercising sanctioning power.
Sanctions (Articles 226–231)
The DGCP may impose temporary disqualification (inhabilitación temporal) from state contracting: 1 to 5 years for false appeals, breach of obligations, defective performance, withdrawn proposals, or obstructing oversight (Art. 227); 5 to 10 years for collusion, unauthorized subcontracting, falsified documents, bribery of contracting officials, or contracting while disqualified (Art. 228). Consortium members are jointly liable (Art. 229); infractions prescribe in 5 or 10 years respectively (Art. 230).
Source documents
Full text of Law 47-25 as held in the DR2028 library: PDF · TXT
DR2028 relevance
Public procurement is where Dominican corruption has historically lived — and Law 47-25 is the current legal weapon against it. DR2028's fiscal and infrastructure decrees are drafted to operate inside this law's procedures while demanding what the law promises but the system under-delivers: real competition, published prices, enforced disqualifications, and a DGCP willing to suspend tainted procedures. Module 3 tracks whether the watchdog actually bites.