(a) All eligible businesses that hold a decree granted under this chapter shall file an annual income tax return with the Secretary of the Treasury, regardless of their gross or net income and separate from any other return they are required to file, with regards to the operation covered by the benefits provided by this chapter, and in accordance with the Code. The Secretary of the Treasury may share the information thus received with the Secretary and the Executive Director, provided that the confidentiality thereof is protected.
(b) Every shareholder or partner of an eligible business that holds a decree granted under this chapter shall file an annual income tax return with the Department of the Treasury, in accordance with the provisions of the Code, provided he/she is required to do so under said Code.
(c) An eligible business that holds a decree granted under this chapter shall be required to keep the accounting related to its operations, as well as the necessary records and files, in a separate manner in Puerto Rico, as well as to present and submit those sworn statements and comply with the rules and regulations in effect in order to duly fulfill the purposes of this chapter and in order for the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe, from time to time, the imposition and collection of all types of taxes.
(d) Every eligible businesses holding a decree granted under this chapter shall file annually with the Exemption Office a report authenticated by the signature of the President, managing partner, or his authorized representative, along with a copy to the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Executive Director not later than thirty (30) days after filing the corresponding income tax return. Said report shall include an account of data ascertaining compliance with the conditions established in the decree for the taxable year immediately preceding the filing date thereof, including, but not limited to the following: average number of jobs, services covered under the decree, the name of the business, the cadaster number of the property or properties connected to the business; the merchant registration number, the account connected to the business as required by the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code; the employer identification number; the information required by §§ 1411 et seq. of Title 23, better known as the “Fiscal Information and Permit Control Act”, as well as any other information that may be required in the form to be adopted for such purposes or through regulations. The report shall enclose the payment of the fees provided for through regulations, by postal money order, cashiers or certified check payable to the order of the Secretary of the Treasury. The information provided in this annual report shall be used for statistical and economic research purposes, as provided in this chapter. Likewise, the Secretary, through the Industrial Tax Exemption Office shall conduct an audit every two years to ascertain compliance with the terms and conditions of the decree granted under this chapter. Thus, an audit process shall be adopted within a term of sixty (60) days after the effective date of this act for such purposes. The Tax Exemptions Office shall be empowered to charge for said audits.
The fees in effect for the annual reports under §§ 10641 et seq. of this title, shall apply to the reports to be filed by businesses that are exempt under this chapter until the first regulation promulgated under these provisions is approved.
(e) The Director, after being notified by the agency concerned, may impose an administrative fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to any eligible business that holds a decree under this chapter and that fails to file any of the reports required by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Executive Director, or the Director pursuant to the provisions of subsections (a) to (d) of this section, or that files such reports after their due dates. Collections on account of these fines shall be covered into the Special Fund for the Development of Services for Export and Promotion, established in § 10841 of this title. Filing an incomplete report shall be deemed as failure to file if the agency concerned notifies the eligible business of any omission in the required report and said business fails to submit the missing information within fifteen (15) days after the notification, or does not reasonably justify the lack thereof.
History —Jan. 17, 2012, No. 20, § 12;, renumbered as § 13 on July 11, 2012, No. 138, § 6; Nov. 17, 2015, No. 187, § 105; Dec. 28, 2016, No. 208, § 32.