P.R. Laws tit. 34, § 1724q
(1) The Board shall be empowered to determine the method and order of priority to dispose of forfeited property pursuant to this chapter, and according to:
(a) The available resources;
(b) the needs of the Board, and
(c) the public interest.
(2) The Board shall dispose of forfeited property by sale, auction, donation, transfer, exchange, or any other lawful means, in the following manner:
(a) Motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and other modes of transportation.— The Board may dispose of vehicles under its custody by sale, auction, or exchange with the general public, as provided by regulations to such effect. Donations and transfers of property under custody of the Board shall be allowed as an exception, as provided in this chapter.
Vehicles suitable for official use by state law enforcement agencies shall be conveyed thereto after they pay a minimum price equal to ten percent (10%) of the appraised value established by the Board. The Puerto Rico Police Department shall have priority over any other law enforcement agency during the conveyance of forfeited vehicles suitable for official use without having to incur additional expenses for the acquisition thereof. These agencies shall also be required to refund any expenses incurred by the Board for the maintenance of transferred vehicles. Forfeited property that is not useful for law enforcement agencies may be transferred by the Board for a valuable consideration to other government instrumentalities and municipalities which may have a public use therefor using the appraisal value as the sales price and subject to the terms and conditions established to such effect.
The Board may negotiate with instrumentalities of the Government of Puerto Rico that are interested in acquiring vehicles that have not been sold at the appraisal value. These properties cannot be sold for a price lower than fifty percent (50%) of the appraisal value without previous authorization from the Board.
Vehicles may be transferred, for a valuable consideration, to nonprofit organizations or eligible persons, as provided by regulations to such effect, when they have not been transferred to Government instrumentalities, as established in the preceding paragraphs.
Vehicles or means of transportation for which no agency, office, or instrumentality of the Government of Puerto Rico have use may be transferred to vocational schools or public or private educational institutions that offer auto mechanic or bodywork courses, upon request. Vehicles repaired in those shops may be sold at a lower price for the benefit of the participating school.
A replacement identification number shall be assigned to forfeited vehicles or any other means of ground transportation that have no serial or identification number because it was either erased, mutilated, altered, substituted, superimposed, detached, adapted, or otherwise modified, but that might still be useful, in the special register of the Department of Transportation and Public Works at the request of the Board and according to the procedures established in the Board’s regulations. Vehicles with a replacement identification number shall be transferred, in accordance with the parameters established in this section, firstly, to the Puerto Rico Police, the Municipal Police, or the Employment and Training Enterprises Corporation.
Once the transferred vehicles are no longer useful, they shall be returned to the Board which may, according to the procedures prescribed by regulations, destroy it or transfer it to vocational schools or public and private educational institutions that offer auto mechanic or bodywork courses. Such vehicles shall be used for learning purposes and to practice skills; therefore, driving said vehicles in Puerto Rico’s thoroughfares is hereby prohibited.
When the resources of the Board so allow, in cases where the forfeited property is a fishing vessel, said vessel may be sold directly for a price equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total appraisal value to any bona fide commercial fisherman or commercial fishermen’s organization, which attests through a sworn statement that fishing is its only source of income or represents at least eighty percent (80%) of its annual gross income. Said statement shall enclose a certification from the Fishing Promotion, Development, and Administration Program of the Department of Agriculture stating that the interested party is a bona fide commercial fisherman or commercial fishermen’s organization, a certified copy of the previous year’s income tax return, and a certification of the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury confirming that there is no pending tax debt or, if there is one, that the debtor has availed himself of a payment plan and is current on his payments.
When the resources of the Board so allow, any public carrier that has been duly certified by the Department of Transportation and Public Works may acquire up to two (2) motor vehicles per year through direct sale and for a price equal to half of the appraisal value. Said vehicles shall meet the necessary public transportation requirements and must have been forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. If a public carrier who has availed himself of the benefits of this section sells the vehicle within one year after the acquisition thereof, he/she shall repay the total amount of the appraisal or the amount for which it was sold, whichever is higher, except in cases in where the resale buyer is a public carrier who would have otherwise qualified to benefit from the provisions of this section.
The board shall dispose of forfeited motor vehicles that have not been transferred to the Puerto Rico Police or to the Natural and Environmental Resources Ranger Corps, or to any other agency of the Government of Puerto Rico by selling them to certified public carriers. The sale shall be made following the strict chronological order in which the requests where submitted to the Board, adjudicating one (1) vehicle per person until the end of the list is reached, at which point, a second round of sales shall commence until all requests are fulfilled; however, in any case, not more than two (2) vehicles per person within a term of a year shall be adjudicated.
(b) Cash, securities, negotiable instruments, jewels, works of art.— The agency or official under whose authority the cash, securities, or negotiable instruments were seized shall deposit them through assistant collectors of the Department of Justice, appointed as such by the Department of the Treasury, for the purpose of having the Secretary of the Treasury cover them, through said collectors, into the Special Fund created by virtue of this chapter. Forfeited jewels and works of art shall be kept under custody and preserved according to the procedures prescribed by regulations. Likewise, if deemed convenient, the property can be deposited in the Forfeiture Board.
Forfeited jewelry may be disposed of through sale, auction, or exchange according to the regulations to be adopted.
Forfeited works of art shall become patrimony of the People of Puerto Rico and may be transferred at no cost to the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico pursuant to the procedures adopted by the Board for such purposes.
The Forfeitures Board shall prescribe by regulations the procedure whereby assets and negotiable instruments shall be held, disposed of, or liquidated, as well as the procedure to exchange foreign currency.
(c) Animals.— Forfeited animals classified as exotic species may be transferred at no cost to the Puerto Rico Zoo, attached to the Puerto Rico National Parks Company, or any other zoo or institution with capacity to maintain and keep said animals, according to local and federal laws and regulations.
If the animal is not classified as an exotic species, measures shall be taken according to the legislation and regulations to be adopted for such purposes by the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
In the case of stolen cattle, the procedure established in §§ 861 to 867 of title 5, known as the Act to Prevent the Theft of Cattle in Puerto Rico, shall be followed.
(d) Weapons.— Forfeited weapons shall be transferred to the Police Weapons and Ammunition Depot and shall be disposed of in accordance with the legislation and regulations approved for such purposes.
(e) Real property.— Once the forfeiture of any real property has been ordered, and any administrative or judicial proceedings have concluded, the corresponding entry shall be made in the Property Registry in favor of the Government of Puerto Rico.
Forfeited real property may be disposed of through sale, auction, transfer, exchange, or any other lawful means in accordance with the adopted regulations.
In the case of real property such as office buildings, the Board may transfer them, for a valuable consideration or free of charge, to any government instrumentality that may have a public use therefor, subject to the terms and conditions adopted for such purposes.
Commercial real property shall be disposed of according to the procedures established in §§ 9011 et seq. of Title 23, known as the “Puerto Rico Permit Process Reform Act”.
(f) Others.— In the case of other property, the Forfeiture Board shall dispose of said property through the procedures prescribed by regulations.
If the seized property has an appraisal value of less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of a similar property in the market, or if it is in a deteriorated or damaged state from which it cannot be restored or repaired, or if it is a vehicle without a serial or identification number because it was erased, mutilated, altered, substituted, superimposed, detached, adapted, or otherwise modified illegally, and a replacement number cannot be assigned, the Board shall have the authority to destroy said property, pursuant to the procedures prescribed by the Board by regulations for such purposes.
History —July 12, 2011, No. 119, § 20; Sept. 15, 2012, No. 252, § 6; Aug. 26, 2014, No. 145, § 1.