The Council of State of Cuba officially enacted this Friday the , which nullifies Decree-Law 155 "On the seizure of goods for violation of provisions established in the Central Commercial Registry," a regulation that had been in effect since September 28, 1994.
The new provision was signed in Havana on July 28, 2026, by Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, and came into effect this Friday with its publication in the , pages 2 and 3, under the identifier GOC-2026-466-O69.
Decree-Law 155 of 1994 authorized the authorities to impose the confiscation of instruments, equipment, merchandise, or goods from individuals and legal entities as an accessory penalty for violations of the Central Commercial Registry, a mandatory registry associated with the Ministry of Internal Trade, to which all establishments conducting commercial activities or providing services in Cuba must register.
That regulation operated complementary to Decree 184 "On the Central Commercial Registry," from August 1993, and both together formed the regulatory framework of domestic trade in Cuba for over three decades.
The legal basis for the repeal rests on two more recent regulations: the , approved on July 17, 2025, which established a new general regime of administrative sanctions; and the , which updated the regulations of the Central Commercial Registry itself and repealed Decree 184 of 1993.
With both regulations in effect, Decree-Law 155 was left without legal support. The text of Decree-Law 129 itself acknowledges this: "The approved Economic and Social Transformations promote the updating of the regulatory framework for domestic commerce in the country and, in this regard, repeal the aforementioned Decree-Law 155."
The new regulation includes a transitional provision that protects ongoing administrative procedures: "Matters that are in process at the time of the entry into force of this Decree-Law will continue in accordance with Decree-Law 155," ensuring that no open case is left in a legal vacuum.
Decree-Law 129 is not the only regulation published in Gazette No. 69 this Friday.
The number encompasses a package of eight provisions related to the reform of domestic trade, including the , the regarding the relaxation of wholesale trade, and the on maximum rates for the services of the Central Commercial Registry.
Together, these regulations reconfigure the regime of internal trade in Cuba within the framework of the so-called "Economic and Social Transformations" announced by the government in 2026.
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