2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ELEVEN - Workmen’s Compensation (§§ 1 — 268) › Chapter 9 - Temporary Disability Benefits (§§ 201 — 212) › § 209 - Collection of delinquent and contested contributions

(a) Interest on delinquent contributions.— If contributions are not paid on the date on which they are due and payable as prescribed by the Secretary, the whole or part thereof remaining unpaid shall bear, in addition to said contributions and as part thereof, interest at the rate of 0.75 percent per month or fraction of a month from and after such date and until payment is received by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) Collection by constraint or suit.—
(1) If any employer defaults in any payment of contributions, interest or penalty thereon, the amount due may, in addition or alternatively to any other method of collection prescribed in this chapter or in any other act or Code of Puerto Rico be collected by the constraint proceeding used for the collection of property taxes or by civil action brought in the name of the Secretary, and the employer adjudged in default shall pay the costs of such proceeding. Civil actions brought under this section to collect contributions, interest or penalty thereon from an employer shall be heard in the part of the Court of First Instance of the jurisdiction wherein the employer has his principal place of business at the earliest possible date and shall be entitled to preference upon the docket of the court over all other civil actions except petitions for judicial review under § 204 of this title.
(2) Any employing unit not a resident of Puerto Rico which exercises the privilege of having one or more individuals performing service for it within Puerto Rico, and any resident employing unit which exercises that privilege and thereafter moves from Puerto Rico, shall be deemed to have therby appointed the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico as its agent and attorney for the acceptance of process and other notices in any civil action under this subsection. In instituting such [an] action against any such employing unit the Secretary shall cause all subsequent process or notice to be served on the Secretary of State and such service shall have the same scope, force and validity as if made personally upon the employing unit within Puerto Rico; Provided, That the Secretary shall forthwith send notice of the service of such process, together with any other documents required by law, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to such employing unit at its last known address and such return recipt, the Secretary’s affidavit of compliance with the provisions of this section, and a copy of the notice of service, shall be appended to the original of the process filed in the court in which such civil action is pending.
(3) No suit, including an action for a declaratory judgment shall be maintained and no writ or process shall be issued by any court which has the purpose or effect of restraining, delaying, or forestalling the collection of any contributions, interest or penalties under this chapter.
(c) Priority in the payment of contributions.— Except as hereafter provided, any claim on account of contributions, interest or penalties thereon, due and accrued under this chapter, shall be payable in full with priority over any other claims, including claims for other contributions or debts due to the government of Puerto Rico. When there exists claims for contributions, interest or penalties and claims for wages against the same employer, the order of priority as between such claims and other claims shall, notwithstanding any other provision of laws of Puerto Rico, be as follows:
(1) Claims for wages, other than the remuneration of executive or administrative officers of corporations, up to the sum of $ 250.00 to each worker, earned within six months of the commencement of the proceedings, or of the date of adoption of an arrangement not judicially ordered for distribution of an employer’s assets;
(2) claims for contributions, interest or penalties due or accrued under this chapter and under §§ 701—717 of Title 29, and
(3) other claims in the order of priority provided by other provisions of law.
(d) Refunds.—
(1) If any individual or organization makes application for refund or credit of any amount paid as contributions, interest or penalties under this chapter and the Secretary determines that such amount or any portion thereof was erroneously collected, the Secretary may, in his discretion, allow a credit therefor, without interest, in connection with subsequent contribution payments, or refund, without interest, the amount erroneously paid. No refund or credit shall be allowed with respect to a payment as contributions, interest or penalties, unless an application therefor shall be made on or before whichever of the following dates is later:
(A) One year from the date on which such payment was made, or
(B) three years from the last day of the period with respect to which such payment was made.
For a like reason and within the same period a refund may be made or a credit may be allowed by the Secretary motu proprio. Nothing in this chapter or in any part thereof shall be construed to authorize any refund of money due or payable under the law and regulations in effect at the time such money was paid.
(2) In the event that any application for refund or credit is rejected, a written notice of such rejection shall be served on the applicant. Within thirty (30) days after the mailing of such notice to the applicant’s last known address or, in the absence of such mailing, within thirty (30) days after such notice was mailed to the employer’s last know address or otherwise delivered to him, the employer may appeal to the part of the Court of First Instance of the jurisdiction in which the employer has his main place of business.
(e) Assessment.—
(1) If any employer files reports for the purpose of determining the amount of contributions due but fails to pay any part of the contributions or interest due thereon, or fails to file such reports when due, or files an incorrect or insufficient report, the Secretary may assess the contributions due on the basis of the information submitted by the employer or on the basis of an estimate as to the amount due and shall give written notice of such assessment to such employer. Within thirty (30) days after such notice was mailed to the employer’s last known address or otherwise delivered to him, the employer may appeal to the part of the Court of First Instance of the jurisdiction in which the employer has his main place of business.
(2) If the Secretary determines that the collection of any contributions or interest under the provisions of this chapter will be jeopardized by delay, he may, regardless of whether or not the time prescribed by this chapter or any regulations issued hereunder for making reports and paying such contributions has expired, immediately assess such contributions, together with interest, and shall give written notice of such assessment to the employer. In such cases the right of appeal to the Court of First Instance shall be conditioned upon payment of the contributions and interest so assessed or upon giving appropriate security to the Secretary of the Treasury for the payment thereof.
(3) If an employer fails to pay the amount assessed pursuant to this section, the Secretary may file in the part of the Court of First Instance of the jurisdiction wherein the employer has his principal place of business a certificate under his official seal, stating the name of the employer, his address, the amount of the contributions and interest assessed and in default and the amount of any penalties imposed and shall file a copy of said certificate in the part of the Court of First Instance of any jurisdiction in which said employer has personal or real property; and the clerks of the respective parts shall enter into the judgment record of the court the name of the employer mentioned in the certificate, the amount of such contributions, interest or penalties assessed and in default, and the date such certificate is filed. When such judgment record is duly recorded the amount of the assessment shall be a lien upon the entire interest of the employer, legal or equitable, in any property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, located in the jurisdiction where the certificate or a copy thereof was filed. To determine the priority of the lien so constituted, the same priority sequence provided in subsection (c) of this section shall be followed. No lien for contributions, interest or penalties shall be valid against one who purchases personal property from the employer in the usual course of his business in good faith and without legal notice of such lien. Such lien may be enforced by the marshals of the Court of First Instance or upon the previous service of a notice to said court by any officer or employee of the Employment Security Bureau that the Director may appoint on any property, personal or real in the same manner as a judgment of the Court of First Instance duly recorded; Provided, That in the enforcement of such lien the officer or employee appointed shall have the same powers and faculties vested by law to the marshals of the Court of First Instance, including the faculty for proceeding attachments and execution of judgments, by seizing and selling personal or real properties of debtors in such judgments, calling for bids, serving notices and executing conveyance deeds, acts, certificates of proceedings and other documents appropriated thereto and performing any other activity as those usually performed by the marshals of the Court of First Instance in cases of this nature. Provided, further, That any attachment of property or execution of judgment may be done with or without seizure of said properties, it being sufficient to notify such debtor on the properties attached, giving a written statement of same and notifying him that he may not use, alienate, encumber, alter, remove or otherwise dispose of same until the court provides otherwise; and any use, lien, alienation, alteration, removal or other disposal of said property made without a judicial order allowing it, shall be deemed as absolutely void and ineffective. In addition to any other penalty provided in § 211 of this title, the employer who fails to comply with this provision may be punished for contempt of court.
(4) The foregoing legal remedies shall be in addition to any others already in force.
(5) Judicial actions initiated by the Secretary under the different provisions of this chapter, shall be exempt from any rights, costs, fees and duties of whatever kind; Provided, That the Secretary shall not be under obligation to give any bond to obtain the attachment of the properties of the defendant to secure the effectiveness of the judgments or for the execution thereof; and Provided, finally, That the presentation, recording, annotation and delivery of documents connected with such judicial proceedings in the Property Registry of Puerto Rico and other agencies of the government shall be exempt from the payment of all custom duties.
(f) Judicial review before the Supreme Court.— The Court of First Instance’s decision in connection with the different proceedings which refer to the assessment, collection or refund of contributions, shall be final unless within thirty (30) days after notice of such decision was mailed or otherwise delivered to the last known address of a party, that party institutes a proceeding for judicial review before the Supreme Court; Provided, That in those cases where the Court of First Instance determines a deficiency, the right to appeal to the Supreme Court shall be conditioned to the depositing in the clerk’s office of the appealed court the totality of the deficiency determined within the period provided by this section to appeal before the Supreme Court. Noncompliance with this requirement shall deprive the Supreme Court of jurisdiction.
(g) Conclusiveness of determination.— Any determination or decision duly made in proceedings under subsections (b), (e) or (f) of this section which has become final shall be binding in proceedings with respect to refunds or credits under subsections (d) or (f) of this section, insofar as such determination or decision necessarily involves the issue of whether an employing unit constitutes an employer or whether service performed for, or in connection with, the business of such employing unit, constitutes employment.
(h) Liability of successor and guarantor.—
(1) Any individual or organization, including the types of organizations described in § 202(i) of this title, whether or not an employing unit, which acquires the organization, trade or business from an employer, shall be liable in an amount not to exceed the reasonable value of the organization, trade or business acquired, for any contributions, interest or penalties due or accrued and unpaid by such employer, and the amount of such liability shall, in addition, be a lien against the property or assets so acquired which shall be prior to all other liens; Provided, That the lien shall not be valid as against one who acquired from the successor any interest in the property or assets in good faith, for value and without legal notice of the lien. The Secretary shall, upon written request made after the acquisition is completed, furnish the successor with a written statement of the amount of contributions, interest or penalties due or accrued and unpaid by the employer as of the date of such acquisition, and the amount of the liability of the successor or the amount of the lien shall in no event exceed the liability disclosed by such statement. The foregoing remedies shall be in addition to all other existing remedies against the employer or his successor.
(2) The liability under any bond given or to be given to secure the compliance of any kind of private or public work shall be deemed extensive to cover the payment of contributions, interest and penalties due and which must be paid under this chapter by a contractor or other person designated as principal in said bond independent of whether said bond contains or does not contain a provision to this effect.
History —June 26, 1968, No. 139, p. 354, § 9; May 30, 1970, No. 83, p. 205, § 7; May 31, 1972, No. 85, p. 204, § 7; July 1, 1988, No. 51, p. 237, § 8.