(a) The Department of the Treasury shall be authorized, acting on behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to jointly or severally sell, assign, exchange, negotiate, transfer, dispose of or convey tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon to any eligible person or public entity.
(b) The Department of the Treasury may jointly or severally sell, assign, exchange, negotiate, transfer, dispose of or convey tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon, by direct negotiation with no need for auctions, bidding or any other means the Department deems convenient.
(c) The Department of the Treasury shall analyze and screen records relative to tax receivables and make all necessary efforts to identify those tax receivables that meet the criteria and requirements of this chapter and the regulations thereunder.
(d) The Department of the Treasury, with the advice of the Government Development Bank, shall establish the criteria to be considered when determining the price of sale or transfer, whether jointly or severally, of tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon. Said price may be at a discount or with a premium. The cost associated with handling the transaction may be added to the price.
(e) The Department of the Treasury may accept, as part of the price of sale or transfer, any valid cause, including but not limited to any note, share, bond, voucher, debt voucher, trust certificate, or any obligation of the buyer or acquirer whereby he/she commits to make additional payments to the Department of the Treasury under the terms and conditions agreed to between them, or in general, any security, obligation or share in any of the aforementioned instruments issued by the buyer or acquirer.
(f) As to any portion of the price of sale or transfer payable in cash, the Department of the Treasury, in its discretion, may accept cash or its equivalents, in payment of the price on tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon.
(g) The Department of the Treasury, in consultation with and with the prior approval of the Government Development Bank, may make all necessary efforts for the sale or transfer of tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon, as well as enter into negotiations, execute contracts and issue certificates of sale or transfer. The Department of the Treasury shall protect the right to privacy conferred by the laws of the federal government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico upon taxpayers, in connection with the information in possession of the Department of the Treasury concerning taxpayers.
(h) Under no circumstance shall it be construed that the sale or transfer of tax receivables or the right to receive payments on account of tax receivables or any interest thereon constitutes a loan or a financing mechanism for the Department of the Treasury or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its instrumentalities, subdivisions or agencies, and shall therefore not be deemed to be a violation of §§ 8751 et seq. of Title 3, better known as the “Fiscal Reform Act of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of 2006”.
History —July 20, 2008, No. 125, § 4.