2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTEEN - Taxation and Finance (§§ 1 — 33423) › Subtitle 2 - Taxation In General (§§ 161 — 393) › Chapter 49 - Release of Interest, Charges and Penalties (§§ 392 — 393) › § 393 - Public Health and Security Strengthening Act

(1) Relief from the payment of interest, surcharges, penalties, and other additions to the tax.—
(a) Any taxpayer who, on or before June 15, 2012, or at a later date pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, pays in full the taxes owed to the Government of Puerto Rico on account of income, estate and gift taxes, and any special tax on real estate levied by Subtitles A, C, and CC, respectively, known as the “Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994”, including debts subject to payment plans or payroll deduction, shall be relieved from the payment of interest, surcharges, penalties, and any other additions to such taxes.
(b) In the case of assessed receipts, the taxpayer shall pay the amount that appears as “principal” in such receipts although said “principal” comprises only the interests or penalties assessed under the applicable tax laws.
(c) The taxpayer shall indicate the tax year or the notice of taxes owed to which the payment shall be applied. In the event that the taxpayer fails to indicate this, the Secretary shall apply the same to the notices of debts owed in strict order of maturity, that is to say, the oldest debts, without interests, surcharges, or penalties.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (3)(a) of this section, partial payments shall not be accepted for the same notice of owed contributions or tax years.
(e) Except as provided in clauses (a) and (b) of subsection (3) of this section, the interest, surcharges, and penalties provided by this Act as of the original maturity date of the tax shall be imposed on debts not paid by June 15, 2012.
(f) For purposes of this section, the term “income tax” shall include income taxes levied under former Subtitle A of Act No. 120-1994, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994,” including taxes withheld at the source on any account, as well as those levied by the Insurance Code.
(2) Returns under investigation or judicial proceedings or cases of required payment.—
(a) Those taxpayers whose returns are under an administrative investigation process by the Department of the Treasury may avail themselves of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section regarding income detected or the items under investigation by paying the corresponding taxes and, in such case, investigation proceedings shall be dismissed.
(b) Those taxpayers whose returns are subject to an administrative proceeding due to deficiency notices or who have received final notices of deficiency, or who have contested a tax deficiency determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, hereinafter the Secretary, may avail themselves of the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, by paying in full the total amount of the principal of the original deficiency that prompted the case or the principal resulting from the administrative review process, whichever is less.
(c) Those taxpayers who have received a notice and demand for payment may also avail themselves of the provisions of said subsection (1).
(d) In the case of persons who have initiated a legal action objecting the payment of a tax deficiency determined by the Secretary and over which a final and binding ruling has yet to be issued on the date of the approval of this act, and who avail themselves of these provisions and pay the principal of the deficiency as originally established in the tax owed regarding the tax event in litigation, such payment shall constitute sufficient cause for the suspension and dismissal of that part of the lawsuit corresponding to taxes paid under this section by the taxpayer who filed the lawsuit.
(3) Option and payment of taxes.—
(a) The option to avail oneself of the benefits granted under this Act may be exercised only if the taxpayer pays in full, on or before June 15, 2012, any taxes owed as of March 31, 2012 to the Government of Puerto Rico imposed by Act No. 120-1994, known as the “Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994”,’ or §§ 30011 et seq. of this title, known as the “Internal Revenue Code for the New Puerto Rico”, as well as those levied by the Insurance Code. The taxpayer may also choose to avail him/herself of the benefits granted under this Act through the full payment of the principal of the taxes owed for one or more of the tax items indicated in subsection (1)(a) of this section. However, the Secretary is hereby authorized to approve payment plans for said taxes owed under those terms and conditions established through regulations, circular letter, or other means of general communication; provided, that the taxes described in subsection (1)(a) of this section are paid on or before June 30, 2012. The payment plan may be requested by the taxpayer on or before February 29, 2012.
(b) The taxpayer shall have the right to object any tax that appears as owed by him/her in the records of the Department of the Treasury; provided, that such claim is made on or before June 15, 2012, in the manner and submitting such information as the Secretary may establish through regulation, circular letter, or other means of communication of a general nature. In those cases in which the Department of the Treasury determines that the collection of the debt objected after June 15, 2012 must be collected in whole or in part, the affected taxpayers may avail themselves of the benefits provided in this section with respect to the sums thus determined provided that the corresponding payment is made within thirty (30) days following the date on which the determination of the Secretary was notified. However, if the Secretary determines that the objection was frivolous, or had the purpose of benefitting from the provisions of this section through fraud or forgery, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the taxpayer with respect to any part of the taxes owed by him/her.
(c) To make the tax payment required pursuant to the provisions of this section, taxpayers shall go to any of the Internal Revenue Collection Centers of Puerto Rico, or to the place determined by the Secretary through regulations, circular letter, or other means of general communication. The payment shall be made or deposited on or before June 15, 2012 (or a subsequent date pursuant to preceding clauses (a) or (b)), only in cash or by electronic transfer, certified check, credit or debit card, manager’s check, and/or money order.
(d) The payment made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be voluntary and final for all purposes and shall not be subject to subsequent claims for refund and/or credit.
(4) Ineligibility to exercise this option.— The following shall not avail themselves of the benefits of this section:
(a) Corporations that are exempt by virtue of §§ 10641 et seq. of this title, known as the “Puerto Rico Economic Incentives Development Act”, or its predecessors; §§ 6341 et seq. of Title 23, known as the “Puerto Rico Tourism Development Act of 2010”, or its predecessors; or by any other law of a similar nature. Hospitals and bona fide farmers are exempt from this provision;
(b) elected officials as provided by law and the Constitution of Puerto Rico;
(c) taxpayers against whom criminal proceedings have been filed and are pending for any tax crime;
(d) those taxpayers who have been convicted of the crime of tax fraud or whose source of income is illegal, or those whose activities or businesses could be identified as criminal activities or having a pattern of organized crime within said definition pursuant to §§ 971 et seq. of Title 25, known as the “Act Against Organized Crime”, or
(e) for taxes corresponding to taxable year 2011 or for taxable years beginning in 2011.
(5) Definition of taxpayer.— For purposes of this section, the terms “person” and “taxpayer” shall have the meaning established in §§ 30011 et seq. of this title, known as the “Internal Revenue Code for a New Puerto Rico”.
(6) Inspection of statements.—
(a) Document confidentiality.— The statements submitted and the payment agreements signed under the provisions of this section shall not be considered public documents and shall only be subject to inspection and examination by the Secretary.
(b) Penalties for the disclosure of information.— It shall be unlawful for any official, employee, or person under contract with the Government of Puerto Rico to disclose or make known all or part of the contents of any statement or payment agreement in any manner not established by law to any person. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection be guilty of misdemeanor and, upon conviction, be punished by a penalty not greater than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment for a term not greater than six (6) months or both penalties at the discretion of the court.
(c) Officials, employees, or persons under contract with the Government of Puerto Rico who violate the provisions of this section shall be subject to separation or dismissal from their position or employment, or to the termination of their contract, in addition to the punishment provided above.
(7) Rules and regulations.— The Secretary of the Treasury shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations as are necessary for the administration of this section, which shall take effect upon previous notification to the Governor of Puerto Rico and the publication of a notice of the adoption thereof in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, without being subject to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”.
(8) Use of amounts collected.— The net funds collected by virtue of the provisions of this section from the appropriation described in subsection (10) of this section shall be appropriated in the following manner:
(a) The funds collected up to June 30, 2012, shall be used to defray costs related to public safety including, but not limited to the payment of overtime and any amounts owed to the members of the Puerto Rico Police and other law enforcement agencies, the purchase of equipment for the daily duties of the members of the Puerto Rico Police and other law enforcement agencies, the purchase of patrolling, surveillance, and prevention equipment and systems, and for criminal or administrative investigations, training and educational programs for law enforcement agents and prosecutors, as well as for costs related to health programs including, but not limited to programs directed to improving physical and mental health and medical and hospital facilities.
(b) Any amounts collected after June 30, 2012, shall be covered into a Special Fund denominated “Public Safety Fund”, to be used to defray costs related to the public safety including, but not limited to the purchase of patrolling, surveillance, and crime prevention equipment and systems, and for criminal or administrative investigations, training and educational programs for law enforcement agents and prosecutors.
(9) Creation of the Interagency Record Review Committee.—
(a) For the purpose of identifying the amount of tax debts in the records of the Department of the Treasury that are demandable and collectable by the same, a task force is hereby created, which shall be in charge of the design, structure, and implementation of a Record Review Program.
(b) The Interagency Tax Record Review Committee, hereinafter the “Committee”, shall be constituted by the following agencies, which shall delegate their representation on high ranking officials in order to ensure that they may effectively implement the determinations and actions to be taken:
(i) The Department of the Treasury, represented by two (2) members, one of which shall be the Secretary of the Treasury,
(ii) the Government Development Bank, represented by one member,
(iii) the Office of the Comptroller, represented by one member, and
(iv) the Office of Management and Budget, represented by one member.
(c) The Committee shall be chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(d) It shall be the duty of the Committee to structure an action plan to identify the amount of tax debts demandable and collectable by the Department of the Treasury, as well as to design, structure, and implement a Record Review Plan in order to eliminate from the Records of the Department of the Treasury those debts that, due to payment, expiration, extinguishment, bankruptcy, death, or liquidation by the taxpayer, among others, are determined to be uncollectable. This plan shall include, but shall not be limited to, an analysis of the records of the Department of the Treasury and the establishment of mechanisms and objective parameters for reviewing said records.
(e) The Committee is hereby authorized to draft the rules and regulations that shall govern the procedures for evaluation of debts and records, and the review thereof.
(f) The Committee shall meet as often as necessary as called by the chairperson. A simple majority of Committee members shall constitute a quorum for its deliberations and determinations.
(g) This Committee shall cease to exist once the objectives of its creation are attained.
(10) Appropriation.— Ten percent (10%) of the funds collected by virtue of this section are hereby appropriated to the Department of the Treasury to be used, without fiscal year limitation, in strengthening information systems, implementing the Records Review Plan, taxing duties, collecting taxes, as well as prosecuting and controlling tax evasion. This appropriation shall be increased by fifteen percent (15%) for funds collected between March 1, 2012, and June 15, 2012. Said funds may also be used to improve its systems or physical facilities, modernize service facilities, digitize processes and documents, implement measures to improve operational and oversight efficiency and effectiveness, evaluate reforms and changes in the tax systems and to defray other expenses, as appropriate, to assure compliance by the Department of the Treasury with its ministerial duties.
(11) Compliance with the Election Code.— The Department of the Treasury is hereby authorized to conduct an information campaign for taxpayers on the benefits provided by this section without being subject to the § 4231 of Title 16, known as the “Puerto Rico Election Code for the 21st Century”.
History —Nov. 7, 2011, No. 218, §§ 2–12; Apr. 19, 2012, No. 64, §§ 2–6; Dec. 5, 2013, No. 143, § 5.