2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FIVE - Internal Security (§§ 1 — 3356) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 1973) › PART V - Regulation of Firearms, Explosives, and Other Dangerous Devices (§§ 411-454 — 593) › Chapter 51A - Puerto Rico Arms Act of 2000 (§§ 455 — 460k) › Subchapter II - Licenses and Regulations (§§ 456 — 456o) › § 456g - Gunsmith license; report of transactions

(a) No person may be engaged in business as a gunsmith or trader of firearms and ammunition, unless he/she holds a gunsmith license issued by the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury. Said licenses shall expire one (1) year after their date of issue and shall again be subject to the formalities and application requirements of this chapter. Gunsmith licenses shall be subject to approval and certification by the Police, upon prior inspection of the safety measures required in the building where the establishment is located. The application for the renewal of a license shall be submitted thirty (30) days prior to its expiration date.
(b) Each transaction regarding the introduction of weapons into Puerto Rico by dealers, or to the sale of weapons and ammunition between dealers, must be informed through the electronic system established in this chapter. If said system is not available at the time of the transaction, the same shall be reported to the Superintendent on a form provided by the latter, which shall include the name, domicile, place of business and the specifics of the license of the vendor and the buyer, as well as the number, amount and description of the weapons or ammunition, including the serial numbers, subject to each transaction, as required by the Superintendent.
(c) A gunsmith who holds a license issued pursuant to this chapter, may acquire a weapon registered under the provisions of this chapter in the weapons register, by purchasing said weapon from the person who has registered the same in his/her name, provided said person holds a weapons license issued pursuant to this chapter. When any sale of firearms or ammunition is made, said transaction must be reported through the electronic system established by this chapter. If said system is not available at the time of the transaction, the vendor and the buyer must notify this fact to the Superintendent in writing with return receipt requested, both on the same form provided by the latter for such purposes. In the case of a multiple weapons sale, more than one (1) at a time or more than one (1) weapon to the same person within a period of thirty (30) consecutive days, and if the electronic system is unavailable, the gunsmith, within twenty four (24) hours after delivering the weapons, shall notify the Superintendent by facsimile and by telephone, and shall register in his/her books the name and identification number of the person who received the information. Likewise, the same procedure shall be followed when carrying out any unitary sale of over six hundred (600) units of ammunition to any person with a weapons license for target shooting or hunting. If communication via facsimile and telephone is not achieved, the notification shall be made by certified mail with return receipt requested or in person.
(d) When any gunsmith, to his/her best judgment, detects abnormalities in the identification card of a licensee, or if the weapons delivery is denied or prohibited by federal provisions of law, said gunsmith shall immediately notify the Superintendent, or the person who is duly designated by the same, by facsimile and telephone and notify the gunsmiths. The Superintendent shall immediately proceed to investigate the licensee to determine whether the cancellation of the license and the filing of criminal charges are warranted.
Any infringement against the provisions set forth in subsection (a) above shall constitute a felony punished with imprisonment for a fixed term of six (6) years. If there are aggravating circumstances, the established fixed penalty may be increased to up to a maximum of twelve (12) years; if there are extenuating circumstances, it may be reduced to a minimum of three (3) years. Provided, That mechanical or cosmetic adjustment work between persons who are weapons license holders shall constitute no felony at all. Any infringement against the provisions set forth in subsections (c) and (d) above shall be sanctioned with an administrative fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for failing to notify on the first infringement, and two thousand dollars ($2,000) for subsequent infringements; Provided, That should a third infringement arise, the Superintendent may decide to impose the fine or to initiate the procedure for the cancellation of the gunsmith license and, should another offense occur, the Superintendent shall then proceed to cancel the gunsmith license.
History —Sept. 11, 2000, No. 404, § 2.08; Jan. 10, 2002, No. 27, § 8; June 3, 2004, No. 137, § 7.