General Standards
The Dominican Standardization System follows international regulations and complies with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Code of Standards.
Standards organizations
In 2012 the Dominican Republic adopted a law that created several standards institutions:
CODOCA (Consejo Dominicano para la Calidad)
INDOCAL (Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad) - serveing as the National Notification Authority under the WTO agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Local Agent for the ISO. It is the body which supervises the formulation and the implementation of quality norms in the country.
CEDIRET (Centro Dominicano de Información sobre Reglamentación Técnica) – responsible for the compilation and publication of standards in the Dominican Republic.
ODAC (Organismo Dominicano para la Acreditación)
All these bodies are working under SIDOCAL and have a wide range of functions and responsibilities. SIDOCAL (Sistema Dominicano para la Calidad) is responsible for the quality control development, the development of norms/standards, metrology, certification and accreditation.
The new law did not affect the working Dominican Standardization System NORDOM (Normas Dominicanas in Spanish), which consists of 619 mandatory and voluntary standards.
Conformity Assessment
The ODAC (Organismo Dominicano para la Acreditación) is the body under SIDOCAL responsible of supervising conformity assessment activities.
The Dominican Republic is a signatory of Multilateral Agreements (MLA) under WTO provisions, as a result recognizing the results of testing, inspection, certification and accreditation made by the signatory members.
Product Certification
INDOCAL is the body responsible for providing product certification in the Dominican Republic. The INDOCAL Seal of Compliance is the certification proving that the manufactured products meet Dominican standards.
Companies interested in obtaining the Seal of Compliance for their products should present documentation indicating that an internationally accredited laboratory has tested and approved the product. Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics also require a mandatory certification of approval (Registro Sanitario) from the Directorate of Drugs and Pharmacies of the Ministry of Public Health.
Accreditation
There are two accreditation laboratories in the Dominican Republic: one for electrical equipment and another (Instituto de Innovación en Biotecnologia e Industria, IIBI) for performing tests on food products.
SIDOCAL specifies that documents and assessments prepared by internationally accredited bodies or testing laboratories shall be accepted in the Dominican Republic.
Contacts
Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad (Quality Dominican Institute)
Website: http://www.indocal.gob.do/
E-mail: indocal@indocal.gob.do
Address: Calle Olof Palme and the Corner of Núñez de Cáceres, Los Prados, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Contact: Ing. Manuel Guerrero, Executive Director
Tel: (809) 686-2205 ext. 319
Fax: (809) 686-2235
