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Senate Bill 776 |
Senate Author: Zaffirini |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Guillen et al. |
Previous law required the comptroller of public accounts to provide an alternate method for the preparation of proof of export documentation showing the exemption of tangible personal property exported outside the United States for use in those instances when the comptroller's password-protected website used by a customs broker or the broker's authorized employee to prepare such documentation is unavailable as a result of technical or communication problems. Senate Bill 776 amends the Tax Code to authorize, rather than require, the provision of this alternate method and to authorize a customs broker or authorized employee to use the alternate method only if the comptroller provides prior authorization for each use. The bill expands the comptroller's authority to suspend or revoke a customs broker's documentation license for issuing false documentation by removing language limiting the basis for such authority to the issuance of false documentation for the specific purpose of obtaining or aiding another person to obtain a tax refund. The bill authorizes the comptroller to add a penalty of up to $5,000 to the amount of any refunded tax that a customs broker must repay for failure to comply either with documentation requirements for the exemption of exported property or related comptroller rules.
The bill expands the means for verifying that a purchaser is transporting property to a destination outside of the territorial limits of the United States when such verification is required as a condition for the issuance by a licensed customs broker or the broker's authorized employee of documentation certifying that delivery of tangible personal property was made to a point outside the territorial limits of the United States. The bill requires the comptroller to limit to six the number of receipts for which a single proof of export documentation may be issued and adds to the information required to be included in such documentation.
The bill makes the amount of the penalty that the comptroller may impose on a customs broker who does not comply with statutory provisions or comptroller rules relating to the documentation requirements for the exemption of exported property independent of the amount of any refunded tax that must be repaid. The bill increases from $1.60 to $2.10 the amount of the charge required for each export stamp and provides for the disposition of the collected money.