2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTEEN - Taxation and Finance (§§ 1 — 33423) › Subtitle 17 - Internal Revenue Code of 2011 (§§ 30001 — 33423) › PART VII - Administrative Provisions, Procedures, Interests, Penalties, and Additions to Taxes (§§ 33001 — 33423) › Chapter 1065 - Powers of the Secretary (§§ 33201 — 33244) › Subchapter B - Excise Taxes (§ 33221) › § 33221 - Powers of the Secretary

(a) For purposes of the application and administration of this part, and in addition to any other duties and powers established therein, the Secretary is hereby empowered to:
(1) Examine records, documents, properties, work or business sites, premises, inventories, or any other material related to items, transactions, businesses, trades, or activities subject to taxes and fees, as established by §§ 31601 et seq. of this title. Any person in charge of any establishment, work or business sites, premises, or objects subject to examination and inspection shall facilitate any examination as required by the Secretary. The absence of the owner or head of an establishment shall not constitute cause or justification to prevent such examination from being conducted.
(2) Inspect luggage and items introduced into Puerto Rico by travelers from abroad when there is reason to believe that the items being introduced are subject to taxation under §§ 31601 et seq. of this title. This inspection or examination may be double-checked at any time with no need for consent of the traveler, consignee of the person claiming ownership of such items, or the carrier of such items.
(3) Require any person to take and submit an inventory of all or certain items in stock that are subject to taxation under §§ 31601 et seq. of this title that are in his/her possession or which are related to businesses or trades subject to payment of license fees.
(4) Review, from time to time, the bonds posted by taxpayers pursuant to the provisions of §§ 31601 et seq. of this title and require a raise in their amount or the posting of a new bond when, in his/her judgment, the bond posted does not suffice to guarantee payment of taxes plus interest, surcharges, and administrative fines that could be imposed on the bonded taxpayer.
(5) Attach and sell at public auction in order to collect taxes, surcharges, or interest and administrative fines owed, any items introduced into Puerto Rico that are not claimed thirty (30) days after their date of introduction. Any amount collected in excess of the amount owed shall be refunded to the taxpayer.
(6) Revoke the license of any person who fails to comply with the provisions of §§ 31601 et seq. of this title or the regulations thereunder. The Secretary may, after such revocation, deny the issue of a new license during such period as he/she, in his/her judgment, may deem necessary. This action shall not constitute an impediment for any other court or administrative proceeding authorized by law.
(7) Seize and sell at public auction or destroy:
(A) Any carton or pack of cigarettes that lacks its identification label.
(B) Any item that has not been canned or bottled pursuant to §§ 31601 et seq. of this title.
(C) Any vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft devoted to the transportation of items on which the corresponding taxes have not been paid.
(D) Any item for use or consumption which has had the manufacturer’s serial number or any other identification number removed, altered, mutilated, or otherwise destroyed.
(E) Any item displayed for sale in a fixed location or by an itinerant merchant, when the merchant does not hold the corresponding internal revenue license or when payment of the taxes imposed by §§ 31601 et seq. of this title cannot be verified.
(F) Any item introduced into Puerto Rico by any means that is not duly described in the shipping documents or not declared, in violation of the Secretary’s requirement, prior to its release from the point of arrival or from the custody of the carrier, as the case may be.
(G) Any coin or token-operated entertainment machine or device, as described in § 31712(a) of this title, when such machines or devices are being operated without a license or with an expired license, in cases of recurrent default in the payment of the license fees or in cases in which said machines or devices are being operated with the wrong type of license. He/she may also seize and destroy any coin or token-operated entertainment machine or device whose operation is illegal pursuant to the provisions of §§ 71 et seq. of Title 15, known as the “Games of Chance Act” or when inspection on the lawfulness of such machines or devices is somehow obstructed.
(8) Inspect, at any time he/she deems it necessary and convenient, the contents of any trailer that arrives in Puerto Rico and he/she may, at any time, close, seal off, or place a security seal on any trailer to examine any use and consumption items introduced.
(9) Arrest any person caught violating any provision of §§ 31601 et seq. of this title or the regulations approved thereunder and to interrogate such person and take him/her before the competent judge for the pertinent court action.
(10) Retain, for the length of time necessary, any document obtained or furnished pursuant to §§ 31601 et seq. of this title, in order to use such documents in the investigations or proceedings established under §§ 31601 et seq. of this title, or to be filed with the Department of the Treasury.
(11) Administer oaths and certify statements, tax returns, or other documents.
(12) Approve and adopt rules and regulations as necessary for the enforcement of §§ 31601 et seq. of this title.
(13) Delegate to any officer, official, or employee of the Department of the Treasury such powers and duties as he/she may deem necessary and convenient to discharge any function or authority conferred under §§ 31601 et seq. of this title, except rulemaking authority.
(14) Limit the effects of his/her administrative decisions to taxable transactions after such action has been taken in eminently contentious cases in terms of the extent and the nature of a tax or the rate applicable to a certain item or other factors that may affect the amount of tax. This provision shall not apply in cases in which the taxpayer has passed on the tax to the sales price.
(15) Reasonably extend the term fixed in §§ 31601 et seq. of this title to discharge any duty or obligation or to take action under a conditional exemption or otherwise if, in his/her judgment, the imposition of a restricted term would entail a penalty or undue hardship under the circumstances pertaining to each case, and when granting such extension does not compromise the best interest of the Government of Puerto Rico, and when there is no indication of negligence on the taxpayer’s part. Except as otherwise provided in §§ 31693 and 33077 of this title, the Secretary may not exercise this discretionary power as to the terms of payment. The Secretary may impose any conditions he/she deems appropriate to grant a time extension on such term.
(16) Enable and authorize, in such cases as he/she may deem necessary, bonded warehouses that shall be governed by the regulations to be adopted jointly by the Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico and the Department of the Treasury, and require that any person who operates a bonded warehouse posts a bond for the amount deemed appropriate so that such person may keep custody over taxable items on which no taxes have been paid. Such bond shall be posted in the time and manner as shall be established through regulations.
(17) Enter into contract with any taxpayer, in order for the fiscal officers and officials of the Department of the Treasury to conduct, outside regular business hours, inspections and oversight procedures on taxable transactions, and the amount charged on account of such services shall be covered into the funds of the Department of the Treasury for its operations.
(18) Appoint examining officials to manage administrative hearings, who shall render their reports and recommendations to the Secretary. The functions and procedures of these examining officials shall be established through regulation.
(19) Deny authorization to take possession of items introduced from abroad.
(20) Allow, by means of rules he/she shall establish by circular letter or regulation, the filing of any tax returns, statements, or forms required under §§ 31601 et seq. of this title, as well as the payment of excise taxes and license fees established in said Subtitle, by electronic means. In such case, the taxpayer’s digital signature or electronic authentication mechanism shall be accepted as valid for all the purposes provided by this Code.
History —Jan. 31, 2011, No. 1, § 6052.01, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011; Dec. 10, 2011, No. 232, § 176.