EXHIBIT 14A 

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EXHIBIT 14B 

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(H. B. 1133)

(No. 46-2017)

(Approved July 19, 2017)

AN ACT

To amend Sections 4042.03 and 4042.04 of Act No. 1-2011, as amended, known 

as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico”; amend Sections 2, 26, 

and 27 of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, known as the “Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act”; amend Section 103 of Act No. 

5-2017, known as the “Puerto Rico Financial Emergency and Fiscal 

Responsibility Act of 2017”; amend Sections 12 and 26 of Act No. 3-2017, 

better known as the “Act to Address the Economic, Fiscal, and Budget Crisis 

to Guarantee the Operations of the Government of Puerto Rico,” in order to 

establish additional revenue and liquidity measures for the Government of 

Puerto Rico; establish that certain merchants are required to remit the Sales 

and Use Tax in semimonthly installments; clarify the responsibility of certain 

merchant intermediaries with respect to the collection of the Room 

Occupancy Rate Tax; extend the period of emergency established in the 

“Puerto Rico Financial Emergency and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017”; 

modify the report requirement provided for in Act No. 3-2017 from quarterly 

reports to semiannual reports, within ninety (90) days as of the approval of 

this Act and during its effectiveness; and for other related purposes. 

STATEMENT OF MOTIVES

Puerto Rico is currently undergoing a serious fiscal and social crisis. Said 

crisis was caused, in part, by a lack of expenditure controls, sustainable development 

measures, as well as management information systems that promote clarity and 

transparency in government affairs.

According to data provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Puerto 

Rico is suffering a 14.6% cumulative economic contraction in the Gross State 

Product (actual GSP) with a forecast of an additional 3% contraction in the next two 

years. For years, the Government of Puerto Rico has operated with a structural deficit 

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that has been financed with bond issues and loans from the Government 

Development Bank. The Government of Puerto Rico has been lacking liquidity for 

over a year, and the tax refunds, the payments to contractors, pensioners’ funds, and 

intra-governmental loans have been used to substitute sources of liquidity. The 

Government Development Bank has failed to meet its obligations to bondholders 

since May 1, 2016, and is no longer fulfilling its duty to provide liquidity. Moreover, 

retirement systems are practically insolvent.

Bad past decisions combined with our defenselessness as a colony led the 

United States Congress to promulgate the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and 

Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA, Public Law 114-187, which 

delegated vast powers to the Financial Oversight Board (hereinafter the “Oversight 

Board”). Pursuant to PROMESA, any ongoing fiscal, budget, legislative, or 

executive actions taken in Puerto Rico, as well as any debt restructuring, whether 

consensual or not, as well as any debt issue, guarantee, exchange, modification, 

repurchase, or redemption is subject to oversight.

Through Section 4 of PROMESA, the Congress expressly stated its intent that 

said Act shall prevail over any state legislation that is in conflict with PROMESA. 

Section 8(2) likewise reasserts this provision by providing that the Government of 

Puerto Rico may not enact, implement, or enforce any statute, resolution, policy, or 

rule that would impair or defeat the purposes of PROMESA, as determined by the 

Oversight Board. Hence, we cannot promulgate legislation to defeat or impair 

PROMESA, its provisions, and its scope. It is evident therefore that we must work 

within the parameters of PROMESA to initiate the financial and fiscal recovery of 

Puerto Rico and, in turn, solve our political status issue.

At the beginning of our Administration, we found a cash deficit of over $7

billion as certified by the Federal Treasury and the Oversight Board. In other words, 

what was passed on to us was a Government with no access to capital markets, with 

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a “junk” credit rating, with no liquidity and no transparency in public finances, where 

public spending was excessive, and the public debt amounted to billions of dollars. 

Furthermore, the Governor had the enormous task of restoring the credibility of the 

Island in the market and before the Oversight Board. We must guarantee therefore a 

Government that spends in accordance with the actual revenues generated.

Since January 2nd, we have been implementing a systematic plan to control 

government spending, reactivate our economy, and allow for the conditions to create 

more and better jobs in the private sector. We are showing the world that Puerto Rico 

is open to do business in an environment of government stability and security. We 

have worked nonstop, and the approval of over twenty reform measures during the 

first three (3) months of this Administration proves it. Undoubtedly, our efforts have 

changed the course of Puerto Rico and have set it on a path of fiscal responsibility.

On February 28, 2017, the Governor submitted a Fiscal Plan that is complete, 

thorough, real, and also sensible to the needs of our People. On March 13, 2017, the 

Oversight Board accepted and certified our Fiscal Plan together with a series of 

contingencies to guarantee that government employees shall not be dismissed, the 

workweek shall not be affected, the People’s access to healthcare services shall be 

maintained, and the pensions of those who are most vulnerable shall be protected.

The Fiscal Plan’s approved measures are geared toward achieving the fiscal 

goals, promoting the economic development and our capacity to restore our 

credibility, allowing the change to translate into a long-term benefit rather than a 

mere cutback and, most of all, ensuring that those who are most vulnerable and those 

who work hard every day have a better quality of life. The validation of the Fiscal 

Plan represents the recognition of the credibility of the new Government. We have

shown that the times of incoherence and improvisation are over to give way to 

working as a team and obtaining results that inure to the benefit of Puerto Rico.

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The changes we are implementing are not easy and will take time, but they 

will also yield results within the first two years. Under the certified Fiscal Plan, we 

shall be able to strike a balance between revenues and expenditures by Fiscal Year 

2019. Now is the time to execute these changes. The contingencies of the Fiscal Plan 

require the Government’s compliance. Liquidity must be ensured in order to avoid 

any impact on the salary of government employees, the health of the People, and the 

income of pensioners.

Even though there are many obstacles that we must overcome in our journey 

toward a definite recovery, there is hope and optimism among our people. We must 

seize this moment and rise to the challenges in order to successfully achieve the 

significant changes that Puerto Rico needs.

In view of our dire liquidity situation, we need to adopt measures to improve 

the treasury’s condition. This Act provides therefor in two instances: 

Currently, Sections 1061.20 and 1061.23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

2011, as amended, better known as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto 

Rico,” (the Code) establishes the requirement for individuals and corporations alike 

to pay an estimated income tax, provided for in Subtitle A of the Code, in four 

installments during a taxable year. This estimated tax mechanism assists the 

Government in maintaining its liquidity throughout the fiscal year in lieu of relying

on the payment of taxes after the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the 

close of the taxpayer’s fiscal year. This amendment provides for certain taxpayers 

to remit the payment of the SUT to the Department of the Treasury in semimonthly 

installments. In doing so, a greater cash flow is achieved and the constant receipt of 

revenues is thus allowed. 

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In keeping with the foregoing, this Legislative Assembly deems it meritorious 

to include the Sales and Use tax in the estimated tax system for the purpose of 

improving the liquidity of the Island’s treasury and meeting the obligations of the 

Government of Puerto Rico responsibly and timely. 

Moreover, the tourism industry has experienced great changes over the last 

decade, specifically upon the birth of the sharing economy and the online 

marketplace. The popularity of these platforms that serve as intermediaries between 

hoteliers and potential guests has a significant impact on Puerto Rico’s tourism 

industry. The increase in reservations using these intermediaries coupled with the 

lack of clarity of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, better known as the 

“Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act,” in terms of the 

process to be followed in the case of these new scenarios may potentially prevent 

the Government of Puerto Rico from collecting large amounts of revenues on 

account of the room occupancy rate. 

During Fiscal Year 2016-2017, the proceeds from the room occupancy rate 

tax were reduced by over $10,000,000.00 compared to Fiscal Year 2015-2016. This 

decrease is the result of the effects of the ZIKA virus, among other issues, in addition 

to the fact that many visitors are resorting to these new platforms and business 

models to reserve their stays. 

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company argues that a significant number of 

lodging providers of these new models and platforms are not registered as required 

by law due to the existing lack of clarity of the current definition of Hotelier of Act 

No. 272-2003. Based on the latest figures on the number of lodgings registered in 

certain platforms (average rate and occupancy percentage), it is estimated that the 

room occupancy rate tax to be collected from these platforms amounts to around 

$560,000 a month. From this monthly total, it is estimated that 50% is not being 

reported by Hoteliers. This represents losses of approximately $280,000 monthly 

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and $3,360,000 annually. These numbers shall increase exponentially as the 

popularity of these new business models continues to increase and visitors choose 

them to reserve their stays rather than resorting to the traditional lodging reservation 

system. 

The definition of Hotelier of Act No. 272-2003 is comprehensive but lacks 

specificity for purposes of addressing technological innovations and, in turn, 

requiring these new business models that have made their way into the market and 

serve as intermediaries between hoteliers and guests to collect the room occupancy 

rate. This ambiguity has led many of these intermediaries to disengage from their 

responsibility to collect the room occupancy rate arguing that such legislation cannot 

be applied to their specific business models. To clarify this juridical loophole, these 

amendments modify certain definitions and descriptions of Act No. 272-2003 so as 

to adjust them to the modern reality, which now includes these new online business 

platforms and models created in recent years, and for which the Act does not 

explicitly provides. Likewise, the manner in which the room occupancy rate shall be 

computed in the specific case of the intermediaries’ business model is clarified in 

order to meet the obligations currently imposed on Hoteliers by legislation. 

As shown, the Tourism Company faces great challenges posed by the 

practices of some intermediaries who evidently seek to avoid complying with the 

collection and payment of such tax. Such practice not only affects the activities of 

the Tourism Company and the economy of Puerto Rico in general, but also is illegal. 

Hence, this Legislative Assembly believes that approving the amendments to the 

aforementioned Act is warranted in order to ensure that the Government of Puerto 

Rico collects such important revenues and that consumers are able to use these 

platforms, intermediaries, and/or new business models at their leisure. In this 

manner, local hoteliers and the aforementioned platforms shall be on an equal 

footing. These amendments shall allow for the oversight of all hoteliers as well as 

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the fair competition in this market for all those who are subject to the requirements 

of Act No. 272-2003 as of this date. Thus, the collection, withholding, and 

subsequent payment of the room occupancy rate is guaranteed in connection with 

transactions conducted through these platforms, intermediaries, and/or new business 

models that serve as intermediaries between the Hotelier and the Occupant or Guest. 

The Government of Puerto Rico is in the process of implementing the 

measures included in the Fiscal Plan. In turn, the Government is undergoing a debt 

restructuring process under Title III of the “Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, 

and Economic Stability Act,” (PROMESA). Such processes shall lead the way 

toward the economic and fiscal recovery of Puerto Rico. For such reason, this 

Legislative Assembly deems it necessary to provide the Government of Puerto Rico 

with the tools and room necessary to allow for the implementation of the measures 

included in the Fiscal Plan and the completion of the debt restructuring process. 

On January 29, 2017, this Legislative Assembly approved Act No. 5-2017, 

known as the “Puerto Rico Financial Emergency and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 

2017” (the Fiscal Responsibility Act). Such Act declared an emergency period (the 

“Emergency Period”) until May 1, 2017, which may be extended for three additional 

months through an executive order of the Governor. On April 30, 2017, the Governor 

issued Executive Order 2017-31 whereby the Emergency Period was extended for 

three additional months, until August 1st, 2017, among other things. This Legislative 

Assembly, however, believes that the Government needs additional time to 

implement successfully the measures included in the Fiscal Plan and to complete the 

debt restructuring. Therefore, this bill extends the Emergency Period until December 

31, 2017, and allows the Government to extend it, if necessary, for additional periods 

of not more than six months each, while a Financial Oversight Board for Puerto Rico 

is still constituted under PROMESA.

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This Administration believes that this legislative proposal is necessary 

especially in view of the fiscal situation that we are currently undergoing.

This Act provides different measures that this Administration is taking to 

comply with and further the implementation of the Fiscal Plan certified in 

accordance with the provisions of PROMESA. The matters addressed herein are all 

germane since they are geared toward compliance with the Fiscal Plan.

Section 17 of Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides that: 

“Every bill, [...] shall be confined to one subject, which shall be clearly expressed 

in its title, and any part of an act whose subject has not been expressed in the title 

shall be void.” Said Section establishes the rule of only one subject, which requires 

that every law approved by the Legislative Assembly embraces no more than one 

subject. On this matter, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has held that said 

provision “does not require the title to be a detailed account of the contents of the 

law, but rather a mere indicator of the subject matter covered thereunder.” 

[Translation supplied]. Herrero v. Emmanuelli, 179 D.P.R. 277, 295 (2010); 

Rodríguez v. Corte, 60 D.P.R. 919, 922 (1942).

Moreover, the case law has been consistent in establishing that only when a 

case is clear and conclusive it is thus warranted to void a law that violates said 

constitutional provision. Dorante v. Wrangler of P.R., 145 D.P.R. 408, 429-431 

(1998) and cases cited therein. Our highest court has “adopted a stance

understandably lax not to curtail lawmakers.” [Translation supplied]. Herrero v. 

Emmanuelli, supra. See also, J.J. Álvarez-González, Derecho Constitucional de 

Puerto Rico y Relaciones Constitucionales con los Estados Unidos [Constitutional 

Law of Puerto Rico and Constitutional Relationships with the United States], 

Bogotá, Editorial Temis, S.A., 2009, p. 244. In this sense, the Supreme Court has 

held that “a strict interpretation of the constitutional provision may impair and 

hinder the legislative process, since it will compel the lawmaker to enact 

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multiple laws to regulate one general subject or matter.” Herrero v. Emmanuelli, 

supra, [Emphasis added]. See also, M. H. Ruud, No Law Shall Embrace More Than 

One Subject, 42 Minn. L. Rev. 389,393-394 (1958). That is, 

The requirement is not intended as a subterfuge to destroy valid 

legislation, but rather as a guarantee that the legislative process is to be 

carried out with transparency and that each bill is to be discussed and 

analyzed in depth before it is approved. 

Herrero v. Emmanuelli, supra, pp. 295-296.

Therefore, upon examining the validity of an act in light of the one subject 

rule, it is necessary to consider all of the provisions of a law in order to determine 

whether these have a correlation or not and if they pertain to the subject expressed 

in the title. Id. What constitutes “only one subject” is construed liberally without 

neglecting the purpose and objective of the constitutional requirement. In this regard, 

“a statute may address all the topics related to the subject matter and all of the means 

that may be fairly considered to be supplementary and necessary or appropriate to 

fulfill the purposes inherent to the general subject.”[Translation supplied] Id. See 

also, R. E. Bernier & J.A. Cuevas Segarra, Aprobación e Interpretación de las Leyes 

en Puerto Rico [Approval and Interpretation of the Laws of Puerto Rico], Segunda 

Edición, San Juan, Publicaciones JTS, 1987, p. 81.

This Act addresses one subject: to achieve full compliance with the Fiscal Plan 

certified by the Board and, within such context, allow additional time to successfully 

implement the measures of the Fiscal Plan and complete the debt restructuring. For 

such reason, we promulgate this Act, which addresses several topics geared to 

complying with the Fiscal Plan and our current financial situation. 

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Once again, we reassert our commitment to set Puerto Rico on a path of fiscal 

responsibility and economic development in order to be able to overcome the current 

crisis. We will stop at nothing to restore our Island’s economic and fiscal stability 

which is necessary for the welfare of our People. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUERTO RICO:

Section 1.- Subsection (a) of Section 4042.03 of Act No. 1-2011, as amended, 

known as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico,” is hereby amended 

to read as follows:

“Section 4042.03.- Time to Remit the Sales and Use Tax

(a) The taxes imposed in this Subtitle shall be payable to the Secretary by 

the person liable for issuing the payment, on the dates set in this Section.

(1) ...

(2) Sales and Use Tax.- In general, the sales tax imposed in this 

Subtitle shall be payable to the Secretary by the person liable for issuing the payment 

not later than the twentieth (20

th) day of the month following the month in which 

said tax was collected, or on that other date or manner, as established by the 

Secretary regarding the manner, time, and conditions that shall govern the payment 

or deposit of said withheld taxes.

(A) Payment of Sales Tax in Semimonthly Installments.-

Effective on July 2017, any person who complies with the provisions of clause (i) of 

this subparagraph (A) shall remit the sales tax in semimonthly installments in 

accordance with this subparagraph.

(i) Person subject to the payment of the Sales Tax in 

Semimonthly Installments.- In the following cases, the sales tax shall be payable to 

the Secretary in two semimonthly installments during the month in which the event 

that caused the imposition and payment of the sales tax occurs:

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(I) when the person is a Large Taxpayer, as this 

term is defined in Section 1010.01(a)(35) of this Code; or

(II) when the person is a merchant whose average 

sales tax deposited monthly during the previous calendar year exceeds two thousand 

dollars ($2,000).

(ii) Semimonthly Installment.- For purposes of this 

subparagraph (A) the first semimonthly installment shall be due on the fifteenth 

(15th) day of every calendar month. The second semimonthly installment shall be 

due on the last day of the calendar month.

(iii) Computation of the Payment of Sales Tax in 

Semimonthly Installments.- It shall be understood that the merchant subject to the 

payment of the sales tax under this subparagraph (A) fulfilled his obligation to 

deposit the sales tax in semimonthly installments as established in clause (ii) above, 

if during the calendar month in which the event that caused the imposition and 

payment of the sales tax occurs the merchant deposited the lesser of the following 

amounts:

(I) eighty percent (80%) of the sales tax 

determined for such month; or

(II) seventy percent (70%) of the total sales tax 

remitted during the same month of the previous calendar year.

(iv) Penalty for failure to deposit the Sales Tax in 

Semimonthly Installments.- Any person required to deposit the sales tax in 

semimonthly installments shall be subject to the imposition of a penalty of ten 

percent (10%) of the tax amount that he should have, but failed to deposit in 

semimonthly installments as provided in this subparagraph (A).This penalty shall be 

in addition to any other penalty imposed under this Code. The Secretary may exempt

any person, whether in whole or in part, from the penalty provided herein when it is 

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shown that a noncompliance with the provisions of this subparagraph (A) was for a 

reasonable cause or circumstances out of his control.

(3) Reserved.

(b) ...

...”

Section 2.- Subsection (e) of Section 4042.04 of Act No. 1-2011, as amended, 

known as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico,” is hereby amended 

to read as follows:

“Section 4042.04.- Payment Method

(a) ...

...

(e) Regarding any payment of sales and use tax, the Secretary shall accept 

all payments as remitted on time if they are postmarked, or if the date on the 

electronic payment receipt is not later than the tenth (10th) or twentieth (20th) day of 

the month following the month in which said taxes are collected or the month 

following the month in which the transaction subject to taxation was carried out, as 

the case may be, in accordance with Section 4042.03 of this Code, or not later than 

the last day of the appropriate semimonthly period, in accordance with Section 

4042.03(a)(2)(A)(ii) of this Code. Should the day of payment fall on a Saturday, 

Sunday, or Federal or Commonwealth holiday, the payments shall be accepted if 

they are postmarked on, or if the date of electronic payment receipt is the following 

business day. Provided, that those payments that the Secretary requires to be 

electronically transferred must be received not later than the day of payment 

established in Section 4042.03 of this Code, subject to the provisions of this Section, 

or on the date, or on the date established by the Secretary through regulations, 

pursuant to Section 4042.03 of this Subtitle, as applicable.”

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Section 3.- Section 2 of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, better known as the 

“Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act,” is hereby 

amended to read as follows:

“Section 2.- Definitions

For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(1) Entry...

(2) Short-term Rentals. — Means every facility, building or part of a 

building leased for a period of less than ninety (90) days, devoted to the lodging of 

people for pay, which facility, building or part thereof is not a hotel, condohotel, allinclusive hotel, motel, Parador, inn, guesthouse, and/or apartment hotel. Said term 

shall include, without limitation, any type of proposed alternative lodging such as 

houses, apartments, cottages, villas, mobile homes, floating homes, boats, among 

other types of rentals, for a period of less than ninety (90) days. 

(3) Compulsory Procedure...

(4) Audit...

(5) Authority...

(6) Bank...

(7) Guesthouse...

(8) Room Occupancy Rate. — Means the Rate charged by an Hotelier to 

an Occupant or Guest for the occupancy of any room of a Lodging, valued in terms 

of money, whether received in cash or otherwise, including, without limitation, all 

the income in cash, manager’s check, or credit. The definition of Room Occupancy 

Rate shall include, without limitation, the money received by the Lodging on account 

of Paid but Unused Rooms, Room Penalties and any other charge, rate, or additional 

tax (‘fees,’ ‘resort fees,’ and/or ‘taxes’) that a hotelier charges to an Occupant or 

Guest for a stay in a lodging. In the event of offers, specials, stay packages, or 

discount programs, sold or offered by any means including, but not limited to, 

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internet or any application software, any refundable items such as security deposits, 

charged to an occupant or guest as well as any commission on account of the services 

rendered by the intermediary shall be exempt from the room occupancy rate, 

provided that said Commissions are disclosed to the Company at the time of filing 

the monthly return and are duly evidenced by the Hotelier to the Company. If the 

commissions are paid to the intermediary as part of the Rate charged by the Hotelier 

to the Occupant or Guest, then, such Commission shall be subject to the room 

occupancy rate. In the event that the amount charged to the Occupant or Guest is 

different from that received by the Hotelier, it shall be understood that the Room 

Occupancy Rate shall be the higher of the two amounts. 

(9) Rate for paid but unused room...

(10) Center...

(11) Room cost...

(12) Commission – Any payment or compensation that the Intermediary 

receives on account of agreed or rendered services. 

(13) Company...

(14) National Parks Company...

(15) Taxpayer...

(16) Corporation... 

(17) Declaration...

(18) Deficiency...

(19) Debt...

(20) Director...

(21) Mathematical or clerical error...

(22) Room...

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(23) Hotelier. — Means any natural or juridical person that operates a 

Lodging in Puerto Rico including, without limitation, the owner, agent, proprietor, 

operator, lessee, mortgagor sublessee or the holder thereof, providers, 

Intermediaries, owners, or operators of properties used as Short-term Rentals. For 

purposes of this Act, the term agent shall include those individuals including, 

without limitation, real estate brokers that collect the room occupancy rate for Shortterm Rentals for the lodging of guests.

(24) Lodging. — Means any furnished building or facility, commonly used 

and maintained open for the lodging of guests for a rental rate, which derives 

revenues from the rental of rooms, and that within its offerings provides rental rates 

computed daily, weekly, fractionally, or by a global rent on account of an allinclusive concept. The term Lodging shall also include hotels, condohotels, allinclusive hotels, motels, Paradores, bed and breakfast, Short-term Rentals, inns, 

guesthouses, apartment hotels, and recreational facilities operated by the agencies or 

instrumentalities of the Government of Puerto Rico.

(25) All-inclusive hotel...

(26) Tax...

(27) Intermediary. — Means any natural or juridical person that by any 

means, including the internet and application software, offers or facilitates 

occupancy between guests and providers, owners, or operators of property used as 

Short-term Rentals, even when such intermediary does not operate, directly or 

indirectly, such property used as a Short-term Rental. The term also includes natural 

or juridical persons who promote or sell offers, specials, stay packages, or discount 

programs to stay at a Lodging by any means, including, but not limited to, the 

internet and any application software.

(28) Bureau...

(29) Notification...

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(30) Taxpayer Identification Number. — Means the number the Company 

shall assign to the Taxpayer, and that must be used by said Taxpayer in the 

Declaration, as shall be established by this Act or the regulations approved 

hereunder. In the case of Intermediaries between guests and providers, owners, or 

operators of property used as Short-term Rentals, such Intermediaries shall require 

said providers, owners, or operators of property used as Short-term Rentals to 

register with the Company and obtain a Taxpayer Identification Number prior to 

doing business with them.

(31) Occupancy...

(32) Occupant or Guest...

(33) Room Penalty...

(34) Review...

(35) Rate...

(36) Daily Average Rate...

(37) Assessment...”

Section 4.- Section 26 of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, better known as the 

“Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act,” is hereby 

amended to read as follows:

“Section 26.- Tax Identification Number

Every Lodging and/or Hotelier subject to the provisions of this Act shall apply 

for and obtain a Tax Identification Number from the Company, and for this purpose 

shall follow the procedures adopted by the Company through regulations approved 

to such effect. Any natural or juridical person who is an intermediary between guests 

and providers, owners, or operators of property used as Short-term Rentals shall 

require said providers, owners, or operators of property used as Short-term Rentals 

to register with the Company as a Taxpayer to obtain a Taxpayer Identification 

Number prior to doing business with them.” 

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Section 5.- Section 27 of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, better known as the 

“Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act,” is hereby 

amended to read as follows:

“Section 27.- Responsibility of the Hotelier to Withhold and Remit the Tax to 

the Company

A. Every Hotelier shall be required to collect, withhold, and remit to the 

Company the Tax established in Section 24 of this Act. Every Intermediary shall be 

required to collect, withhold, and remit said Tax to the Company. In the case of 

natural or juridical persons who promote or sell offers, specials, stay packages, or 

discount programs to stay at a Lodging by any means, including, but not limited to, 

the internet and any application software, such natural or juridical persons shall be 

required to collect, withhold, and remit said Tax to the Company.

B. ...

C. ...

D. ...

E. ...”

Section 6.- Rulemaking Authority

The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish through regulations, circular 

letter, or other administrative determination of a general nature, the rules necessary 

for the application of this Act.

Section 7.- Subsection (q) of Section 103 of Act No. 5-2017 is hereby 

amended to read entirely as follows:

“Article 103.– Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this Act, shall have the meaning 

stated below:

...

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(q) ‘Emergency Period’ shall mean the period beginning on the effective 

date of this Act and ending on December 31, 2017, provided, that so long as the 

Oversight Board is constituted for Puerto Rico pursuant to PROMESA, the Governor 

may, if necessary, extend such period for additional terms of no more than six (6) 

months each through executive order.

...”

Section 8.- Section 12 of Act No. 3-2017, better known as the “Act to Address 

the Economic, Fiscal, and Budget Crisis to Guarantee the Operations of the 

Government of Puerto Rico,” is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 12.- Fiscal Control and Economic Reconstruction.-

...

SEMIANNUAL REPORT.- Every Entity of the Executive Branch shall have 

the ministerial duty to draft and file with the Governor and the Offices of the Clerk 

of the House of Representatives and of the Secretary of the Senate of Puerto Rico a 

semiannual report within ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act and during 

the effective term thereof, stating separately and in detail the measures taken, as well 

as the results and any other pertinent information to show and assess compliance 

with the provisions of this Act.

...”

Section 9.- Section 26 of Act No. 3-2017, better known as the “Act to Address 

the Economic, Fiscal, and Budget Crisis to Guarantee the Operations of the 

Government of Puerto Rico,” is hereby amended to read a follows:

“Section 26.- Fiduciary Duty.-

...

The Office of Management and Budget shall be responsible for regulating and 

implementing the provisions of this Section pertaining to the imposition of 

administrative fines. Moreover, the Office of Management and Budget shall have 

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the ministerial duty to draft and file with the Governor and with the Offices of the 

Secretary of the Senate and of the Clerk of the House of Representatives a 

semiannual report within ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act and during 

the effective term thereof, stating separately and in detail the measures taken, as well 

as the results and any other pertinent information to show and assess compliance 

with the provisions of this Act.

...”

Section 10.- Severability

If any clause, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, word, letter, article, 

provision, section, subsection, title, chapter, subchapter, heading, or part of this Act 

were held to be null or unconstitutional, the holding, ruling, or judgment to such 

effect shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act. The effect of 

such holding shall be limited to the clause, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, word, 

letter, article, provision, section, subsection, title, chapter, subchapter, heading, or 

part of this Act thus held to be null or unconstitutional. If the application of any 

clause, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, word, letter, article, provision, section, 

subsection, title, chapter, subchapter, heading, or part of this Act to any person or 

circumstance were held to be null or unconstitutional, the holding, ruling, or 

judgment to such effect shall not affect or invalidate the application of the remainder 

of this Act to such persons or circumstances where it may be validly applied. It is 

the express and unequivocal will of this Legislative Assembly that the courts enforce 

the provisions and application thereof to the greatest extent possible, even if it 

renders ineffective, nullifies, invalidates, impairs, or holds to be unconstitutional any 

part thereof, or even if it renders ineffective, invalidates, or holds to be 

unconstitutional the application thereof to any person or circumstance. This 

Legislative Assembly would have approved this Act regardless of any determination 

of severability that the Court may make.

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Section 11.- Effectiveness

This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.

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CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 46-2017 (H. B. 1133) 

of the 1st Regular Session of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico:

AN ACT to amend Sections 4042.03 and 4042.04 of Act No. 1-2011, as amended, 

known as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico”; amend 

Sections 2, 26, and 27 of Act No. 272-2003, as amended, known as the 

“Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Room Occupancy Rate Tax Act”; amend 

Section 103 of Act No. 5-2017, known as the “Puerto Rico Financial 

Emergency and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017”; amend Sections 12 and 

26 of Act No. 3-2017, better known as the “Act to Address the Economic, 

Fiscal, and Budget Crisis to Guarantee the Operations of the Government

of Puerto Rico,” in order to establish additional revenue and liquidity 

measures for the Government of Puerto Rico; establish that certain 

merchants are required to remit the Sales and Use Tax in semimonthly 

installments; [...]

has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on this 12th day of February, 2018.

Orlando Pagán-Ramírez

Acting Director

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