The Council of State of Cuba officially implemented the this Friday, which nullifies Decree-Law 155 "On the seizure of goods for violations of the provisions established in the Central Commercial Register," a regulation that has been in effect since September 28, 1994.
The new regulation 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 identifier GOC-2026-466-O69.
Decree-Law 155 of 1994 empowered authorities to impose the confiscation of instruments, equipment, merchandise, or goods on natural and legal persons as an accessory sanction for violations of the Central Commercial Register, a mandatory registration affiliated with the Ministry of Domestic Trade that all establishments engaged in commercial activities or providing services in Cuba must register with.
That regulation operated as a complement to Decree 184 "On the Central Commercial Registry," from August 1993, and together they constituted the regulatory framework of Cuban domestic commerce 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 for administrative sanctions; and the , which updated the regulations of the Central Commercial Registry itself and repealed Decree 184 of 1993.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 lost its legal basis. The text of Decree-Law 129 itself acknowledges this: "The approved Economic and Social Transformations promote the updating of the regulatory framework for domestic trade 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 being processed at the time of the entry into force of this Decree-Law will continue to proceed 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 liberalization of wholesale trade, and the on maximum rates for the services of the Central Commercial Registry.
Together, these regulations reshape the framework of domestic trade in Cuba within the context of the so-called "Economic and Social Transformations" announced by the government in 2026.
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