Cuba has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

Cuba has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Cuba has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Resolution 54 of 2018 provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. Section 5 of the Resolution, establishes the principles of consumer protection, while Section 6 dictates the rights of consumers. Furthermore, Chapter IV of Resolution 42 of 2020 lists consumer rights and supplier obligations.

It is reported that the high cost for the registration of domain names represents a restriction as it is three times higher than the average for the Americas region, costing approximately USD 950.

According to Resolution No. 42/2020 in its first special provision, the method of payment, through the use of the national payment card or any other authorized means, and the claims, doubts or divergences on transactions made through the payment gateway, are made and formulated in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force by the Central Bank of Cuba. In addition, the terms of services of TuEnvio.cu state that payments can be made only through Tranfermóvil and Enzona, two phone applications that can be associated with cards issued by the Central Bank of Cuba, Banco Metropolitano, Banco de Crédito and Commerce and the Popular Savings Bank.

Cuba does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

There are no formal licensing requirements in Cuba in the electronic commerce sector. However, Cuba has only one online trading platform called Tuenvio.cu, which is managed by the state-owned company CIMEX. This, indirectly, represents a restriction that excludes foreign companies that want to seek licenses to manage an electronic commerce platform.

The Cimex corporation implemented regulation on purchases in virtual stores in 2020, according to which users of the Tuenvio.cu platform, which manages e-commerce in Cuba, can make a maximum of one purchase per day in food and toiletries combos, as established by CIMEX in its online shopping guide on the Tuenvio.cu platform.

Although Law 118 on foreign investment does not restrict investments in the online commerce sector, the state company CIMEX, with its company Tuenvio.cu, is the only platform that offers online purchases in Cuba.

Art. 19 (e) of Resolution No. 179/08 requires that Internet access service providers must ensure that software with cryptographic systems or encrypted file transfer is not used.

Resolution No. 128/2011 regulates data private networks. Art. 2 (c) defines a private data network as a network infrastructure installed in the same location (or in different geographic locations) and interconnected among them by public and private telecommunications links, managed and operated by a legal person to meet its institutional data transmission needs. Art. 19 (5) of this Resolution establishes the requirement of official approval from the Ministry of Communications to use any type of application or service supported by a private network that implies encryption of the information that is transmitted and the Ministry requires compatibility with the IPv6 Protocol for contracted services.

According to Chapter II of Resolution 139/2014 on the Regulation of the Central Commercial Registry, all commercial companies must process their registration and certification for products through the office of the Central Commercial Registry. Therefore, self-certification is not allowed for local companies, nor for foreign ones. It is reported that in country testing is required.

According to the Ministry of Communications, a process is implemented that requires a homologation certificate issued after a control in testing laboratories in Cuba for ICT goods. Although there is no legal framework establishing the procedures for testing, control and certification of these goods, the Ministry requires companies to pass certain tests to obtain a homologation certificate for each product or service of telecommunication and computer equipment. There are two accredited laboratories in Cuba. The first one performs tropicalization tests. The second one handles the testing of equipment connected to telecommunications networks and that use the spectrum. Through this certification process, the Ministry of Communications regulates and controls the technical and operating specifications of the systems, equipment and devices to be used in the telecommunications and computer networks, in order to guarantee the interconnection between public networks, as well as the interoperability of services.

Decree Law 46, for the first time, puts the regulation and standards of private sector companies into a legal framework. Given the nature of standards and norms legislation in Cuba, where the government publishes laws through decrees approved by the Communist Party Assembly, foreign companies cannot participate in institutional bodies that establish and regulate trade norms. Decree Law 46 establishes the rules and regulations on the private sector for all micro, small and medium-sized companies that make up the private sector permitted by the state. The government establishes in Chapter IV the norms related to the control and inspection of the goods and services of the private sector. The government issues the Decree unilaterally without the participation of foreign entities.