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) › § 456i - Conditions for operations of gunsmiths; evidence of transactions

A person, partnership or corporation to which a gunsmith license has been issued may engage in the sale of weapons and ammunition, or work as a gunsmith under the following conditions:
(a) The business may only be operated in the place designated in the license. Those dealers that have not been certified by the police to have met the safety measures pursuant to this chapter shall not initiate operations until they have met them, nor can they keep weapons and ammunition in said place, other than those that the dealer is authorized to own and carry pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Any infraction of this subsection by the dealer shall constitute a misdemeanor, which shall be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), at the discretion of the Superintendent. It shall also bring about the revocation of the license by the Superintendent, who shall register any modification in the electronic register.
(b) No dealer shall receive any weapon to be repaired, modified, cleaned, engraved, polished or to have any other mechanical work performed, without first having been shown the weapons license, nor shall he/she accept any firearm whatsoever under any condition, that has a mutilated serial number. Any infraction of this subsection by the dealer shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be sanctioned by a fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Failure to comply with this requirement shall bring about the revocation of the license by the Superintendent.
(c) The license of the dealer or a certified copy thereof shall be displayed in the establishment so that it can easily be read. Failure to comply with this requirement shall bring about the imposition of an administrative fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(d) Every dealer must place the following warning in a place that is visible to the buyer:
“The use of a locking device or safety lock on a firearm is advisable. Every loaded weapon as well as its ammunition must be kept out of the reach of minors or persons who are not authorized to use them. It is advisable to keep your weapons apart from the ammunition.”
Failure to comply with this requirement shall bring about the imposition of an administrative fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(e) A record shall be kept of each weapon sold and of each sale of ammunition in books provided for this purpose that shall be printed in the manner prescribed by the Superintendent, who shall furnish these books to the gunsmiths upon payment of the corresponding costs, as provided through regulations. The record of the sale shall be signed in person by the buyer and by the person who made the sale, in the presence of each other; and said record shall state the date, day and hour of the sale; caliber, make, model and manufacturer’s number of the weapon, the caliber, make and amount of ammunition, and the name and number on the weapons license. The vendor shall record the description of the ammunition, the amount sold, and the date, day and hour of the sale on the form provided by the Superintendent. Likewise, the electronic register shall contain documentary evidence of any weapon or munitions sold. The Superintendent must provide access to the electronic register to any person, partnership, society or corporation that has been issued a gunsmith license for the sole purpose of allowing the registration of the transactions to be conducted and ascertain that they are carried out according to the provisions of this chapter. The Superintendent shall have the obligation of keeping the register organized in a manner that will, at any time, expedite corroboration of the amount of ammunition acquired by each license holder and may not authorize the sale of calibers different from those registered in the name of the licensee.
(f) When the ammunition sold is as described in the second paragraph of § 459 of this title, the vendor shall keep a special register thereof in the books and forms intended for this purpose, that shall be printed in the manner prescribed by the Superintendent, which is also provided in subsection (e) of this section, showing the name of the buyer, the description of the ammunition and the date, day and hour of the sale. Said register shall also contain the following:
(1) A description of each weapon, including:
(A) The manufacturer thereof;
(B) the serial number that is engraved thereon;
(C) the caliber of the weapon, and
(D) the model and type of the weapon.
In the case of the wholesale sale of weapons of the same caliber, model and type, the dealer may group said sales in his records, provided that they are made on the same date and to a single buyer.
(2) The name and address of each person from whom the weapon was received for sale in the armory, along with the date of acquisition.
(3) The name, license number and address of the natural or juridical person to whom it was sold, and the date of delivery.
The use of the electronic registry system shall not constitute an exemption from compliance with the provisions of this section.
(g) The documents and books shall be kept in the indicated establishment and described on the license, and shall be available during working hours for inspection by any public official or law enforcement agent. In those cases that the license is revoked as prescribed in this section, or the establishment goes out of business, said books and documents shall be immediately delivered to the Superintendent.
(h) No weapons, ammunition or imitations thereof shall be displayed in any part of a business establishment dedicated to the sale of weapons, where they can be seen from outside of the establishment. Failure to comply with this requirement may bring about the imposition of an administrative fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000). Provided, That in cases of failure by the dealers to observe safety measures, or the measures provided in this section on two (2) or more occasions, the Superintendent, upon written notice, may revoke the license. If the person does not agree, he/she may file an action for review pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3.
(i) Any dealer who has been issued a license under the provisions of this section, who fails to keep the documents and books required herein, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction, shall be punished with a penalty of imprisonment for a fixed term of twelve (12) years, and a penalty of a fine that shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). If there were aggravating circumstances, the fixed penalty established herein may be increased to a maximum of twenty-four (24) years; if there were mitigating circumstances, it can be reduced to a minimum of six (6) years. In addition, the Superintendent shall revoke any weapons or dealer license held by this person.
History —Sept. 11, 2000, No. 404, § 2.10; Jan. 10, 2002, No. 27, § 9; June 3, 2004, No. 137, § 8.