Co-Directors General replace sole director at Customs and Excise

The National Assembly approved Law No. 1286, which reforms Law No. 339 and replaces the single General Directorate of the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI) and the General Directorate of Customs Services (DGA) with co-general directors appointed by the Presidency of the Republic. The regulation was issued on October 29, 2026, and published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 200 on Friday, October 30, 2026, in the National Assembly section, page 10766, entering into force on the day of its publication.

Reform of four articles of Law No. 339

The law, officially titled Law of Reforms to Law No. 339, Law Creating the General Directorate of Customs Services and Reform to the Law Creating the General Directorate of Revenue, amends articles 9, 12, 13, and the first paragraph of article 15 of the consolidated text published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 72 on April 21, 2022, in accordance with Law No. 1077, Law of the Nicaraguan Legal Digest on Customs Matters.

The new article 9, titled Appointment and Qualifications, establishes that both entities “shall be led, each, by Co-General Directors appointed by the Presidency of the Republic.” The required qualifications and standards refer to article 15 of Law No. 290, Law of Organization, Competence, and Procedures of the Executive Power, whose consolidated text was published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 170 on September 21, 2023, and its reforms.

Administration, representation, and reporting

The reformed article 12 defines the composition of the upper management:

• The Upper Management of the DGI and the DGA shall be composed, respectively, of their co-general directors.
• Article 13 provides that the co-directors shall administer and legally represent the institution under their charge, with general and special powers in accordance with applicable legislation.
• Reports on the compliance and execution of the Strategic and Operational Plan shall be submitted according to the requirements of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.

The first paragraph of article 15, regarding the Powers of the Co-General Directors, was reformed while maintaining the introductory formula: without prejudice to other powers assigned to them by other laws, the co-directors shall have the powers detailed in the regulation.

Change of denomination throughout the legal system

The final provision of Law No. 1286 mandates that, throughout the entire national legal framework—including Law No. 339 itself, the Tax Code of the Republic of Nicaragua, customs legislation, and its regulations—references to the “Director General of Revenue (DGI)”, “Director General of the General Directorate of Revenue”, “Director General of Customs Services (DGA)”, “Director General of the General Directorate of Customs Services”, or simply to the “Director General” or “the Directors General” of those institutions shall be read and understood as “the Co-Directors General” of the corresponding entity.

Article three establishes the effectiveness “as of the date of its publication in La Gaceta, Official Gazette,” without a vacancy period. The text bears the signature of Rep. Loria Raquel Dixon Brautigam, First Secretary of the National Assembly, and the promulgation of Daniel Ortega Saavedra, co-president of the Republic of Nicaragua, and Rosario Murillo Zambrana, co-president, both in Managua on October 29, 2026.

A bulletin with several institutional reforms

The same edition of the official gazette includes other norms approved in the session of October 29: Law No. 1287, regarding the repeal of the National Attorney’s Office for the Defense of Free Competition and Alternative Dispute Resolution, which also suppresses PROCOMPETENCIA and DIRAC; and Law No. 1288, reforming Law No. 476, Civil Service and Administrative Career Law, which repeals the Civil Service Appeals Commission. The bulletin is completed with A.N. Decree No. 8935 and Presidential Agreement No. 147-2026.

For taxpayers, importers, and exporters, the change directly affects the two entities that collect taxes and control the movement of goods: collegiate leadership replaces a unipersonal figure at the top of the DGI and the DGA, and the new designation extends to every regulatory mention of the “Director General,” including customs regulations and the Tax Code, with immediate effect from October 30, 2026.

Source: La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 200, October 30, 2026, National Assembly section, p. 10766 (official reference: Law No. 1286).