Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – The country’s General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) has formally rolled out revised tariff structures for the Vehicle Circulation Tax (ICV), widely recognized locally as the annual vehicle registration sticker, for the 2026 to 2027 fiscal cycle, marking the first rate adjustment for this levy in a full decade. The policy change is codified in official Resolution No. DDG-AR1-2026-00009, which sets two tiered pricing brackets based on vehicle manufacturing year. Units produced in 2021 or earlier will now be required to pay RD$2,000 for the 2026–2027 period, a RD$500 uptick from the prior RD$1,500 rate that had remained unchanged since 2016. Meanwhile, vehicles manufactured from 2022 onwards will face a RD$1,000 increase, bringing their total annual ICV obligation to RD$4,000, up from the previous RD$3,000 threshold. Tax administrators emphasized that the long-overdue revision was calibrated to account for the Dominican Republic’s 58.1% cumulative inflation rate accumulated over the 10-year period since the last rate adjustment, noting that the old fixed fees had eroded significantly in real purchasing power over time. The DGII projects total ICV collections for the 2026–2027 cycle will hit roughly RD$4.7 billion, a RD$1.175 billion surge from the RD$3.525 billion recorded for the preceding 2025–2026 renewal period. A total of 2,136,468 registered vehicles across the country are eligible for the upcoming renewal window, which will kick off on October 29, 2026, and run through the official hard deadline of January 31, 2027. To streamline access for vehicle owners, the DGII has authorized 55 partnering financial institutions with a combined 845 local branches nationwide to process renewals, alongside dedicated in-person collection hubs at DGII offices in Villa Vásquez, Montecristi, and Sánchez in the Samaná province. For users seeking to complete the process remotely, the official DGII web platform and DGII Móvil smartphone application will offer digital renewal services through January 17, 2027, two weeks before the in-person deadline. All applicants are required to submit a clear, up-to-date, undamaged copy of their official vehicle registration certificate to complete their renewal. The tax authority has also outlined a structured penalty framework for non-compliant owners who miss the final January 31, 2027, cutoff. Any owner who fails to settle their 2026–2027 ICV obligation on time will be charged a RD$2,000 surcharge for the current cycle. Additional back-payment penalties apply to owners carrying unpaid ICV dues from prior periods: a RD$2,100 surcharge for outstanding 2025–2026 fees, and a RD$3,100 surcharge for unpaid 2024–2025 or older arrears, with both of these back-payment penalties including a RD$100 administrative processing fee. DGII leadership stated that the rate overhaul was designed to rely on transparent, fact-based metrics, striking a careful balance between boosting tax collection efficiency and supporting the Dominican state’s long-term fiscal sustainability. Additional local policy and public service updates are available via DominicanScope.