The Council of Ministers of Cuba published this Monday the in the Official Gazette No. 20 Special Edition of 2026, an updated and consolidated version of the original regulation from 2021 that establishes the rules for foreign entities to operate within the national territory.
The regulation, signed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, establishes the general rules concerning the authorization, registration, modification, operation, and closure of foreign representations in Cuba, which include representative offices, branches, and agency and representation contracts.
The special edition publication responds to the mandate of the Second Final Provision of Decree 183, dated September 21, 2026, which ordered the updating and alignment of the original text of Decree 32 from February 2021. This amending decree was published in the on October 2.
One of the central elements of the regulation is the establishment of the National Registry of Foreign Commercial Representations, affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba, where all entities operating under these modalities must be mandatorily registered.
The license that verifies this registration has a maximum validity of five years.
Foreign entities —commercial companies, sole traders, and entities promoting trade and investment— can request authorization from the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment to open a representative office or branch, or to hire the services of a duly authorized agent.
The decree clearly distinguishes the legal scope of each entity. Representative offices "are intended to provide informational and advisory services regarding the activities, products, or services offered by their parent companies, and cannot carry out independent commercial operations within the national territory." Branches, on the other hand, can conduct commercial operations in the name of their parent company, in accordance with the corporate purpose of their principal.
In both cases, the regulation specifies that these entities "do not have their own legal personality, nor independent assets from the foreign entity that establishes them," meaning that the parent company is responsible for the obligations or debts they incur.
Both representative offices and branches are required to accept legal summons, citations, and notifications from Cuban courts in the processes involving the foreign entity that establishes them.
The Decree 183/2026, which prompted this update, expanded the activities allowed for foreign branches, including direct import and export for commercial purposes, wholesale trade, invoicing, and distribution of goods. General retail remains excluded for these entities.
In parallel, Decree-Law 137/2026, also published in Gazette No. 82, enabled foreign commercial representations to directly hire their workers in Cuba, eliminating the mandatory state intermediation in that area.
The complete text of Decree 32, updated, can be found on pages two to eleven of the , available for consultation and download.
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