82R11600 MXM-D

By: Quintanilla H.B. No. 1894

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to customs brokers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 151.157(a-1), (f), and (f-1), Tax Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a-1) The comptroller shall maintain a password-protected website that a customs broker, or an authorized employee of a customs broker, licensed under this section must use to prepare documentation to show the exemption of tangible personal property under Section 151.307(b)(2). The comptroller shall require a customs broker or authorized employee to use the website to actually produce the documentation after providing all necessary information. The comptroller shall use the information provided by a customs broker or authorized employee under this subsection as necessary to enforce this section and Section 151.307. [The comptroller shall provide an alternate method to prepare documentation to show the exemption of tangible personal property under Section 151.307(b)(2) in those instances when the password-protected website is unavailable due to technical or communication problems.]

(f) The comptroller may suspend or revoke a license issued under this section if the customs broker does not comply with Section 151.1575(c) or issues documentation that is false [to obtain a refund of taxes paid on tangible personal property not exported or to assist another person in obtaining such a refund]. The comptroller may determine the length of suspension or revocation necessary for the enforcement of this chapter and the comptroller's rules. A proceeding to suspend or revoke a license under this subsection is a contested case under Chapter 2001, Government Code. Judicial review is by trial de novo. The district courts of Travis County have exclusive original jurisdiction of a suit under this section.

(f-1) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the comptroller may require a customs broker to pay to the comptroller the amount of any tax refunded and the amount of any penalty imposed under Section 151.1575(c) if the customs broker did not comply with this section or the rules adopted by the comptroller under this section [in relation to the refunded tax].

SECTION 2. Section 151.1575, Tax Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) A customs broker licensed by the comptroller or an authorized employee of the customs broker may issue documentation certifying that delivery of tangible personal property was made to a point outside the territorial limits of the United States as required by Section 151.307(b)(2)(B) only if the customs broker or authorized employee:

(1) watches the property cross the border of the United States;

(2) watches the property being placed on a common carrier for delivery outside the territorial limits of the United States; or

(3) verifies that the purchaser is transporting the property to a destination outside of the territorial limits of the United States by:

(A) examining a passport, laser visa identification card, or foreign voter registration picture identification indicating that the purchaser of the property resides in a foreign country;

(B) requiring that the documentation examined under Paragraph (A) have a unique identification number for that purchaser;

(C) requiring the purchaser to produce the property and the original sales receipt for the property;

(D) [(C)] requiring the purchaser to state the foreign country destination of the property which must be the foreign country in which the purchaser resides;

(E) [(D)] requiring the purchaser to state the date and time the property is expected to arrive in the foreign country destination;

(F) [(E)] requiring the purchaser to state the date and time the property was purchased, the name and address of the place at which the property was purchased, the sales price and quantity of the property, and a description of the property;

(G) [(F)] requiring the purchaser and the broker or an authorized employee to sign in the presence of each other a form prepared by the comptroller as provided by Subsection (a-1):

(i) stating that the purchaser has provided the information and documentation required by this subdivision; [and]

(ii) that contains a notice to the purchaser that tangible personal property not exported is subject to taxation under this chapter and the purchaser is liable, in addition to other possible civil liabilities and criminal penalties, for payment of an amount equal to the value of the merchandise if the purchaser improperly obtained a refund of taxes relating to the property;

(iii) that discloses the following to the purchaser in English and Spanish:

(a) that state law requires that both the sales receipt and all property for which the purchaser is claiming an exemption must be presented to the broker or authorized employee;

(b) that the form must be signed in the presence of each other by both the purchaser and the broker or authorized employee; and

(c) that the purchaser and the broker or authorized employee are signing the form under penalty of perjury; and

(iv) that contains a signature block that requires the broker's license number and the identification number of the identification presented by the purchaser;

(H) requiring the purchaser to acknowledge each disclosure item under Paragraph (G)(iii) by signing next to each item; and

(I) [(G)] requiring the purchaser to produce the purchaser's:

(i) Form I-94, Arrival/Departure record, or its successor, as issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, for those purchasers in a county not bordering the United Mexican States; or

(ii) air, land, or water travel documentation if the customs broker is located in a county that does not border the United Mexican States.

(a-1) The purchaser and the customs broker or authorized employee must sign, in the presence of each other and under penalty of perjury, the form described by Subsection (a)(3)(G). The signatures must be notarized. The signature block on the form must include the customs broker's license number and the identification number of the identification presented by the purchaser.

(b) A customs broker licensed by the comptroller or an authorized employee of the customs broker may issue and deliver documentation under Subsection (a) at any time after the tangible personal property is purchased and the broker or employee completes the process required by Subsection (a). The customs broker or authorized employee may issue or deliver documentation only for property that is listed on a single receipt. The documentation must include:

(1) the name and address of the customs broker;

(2) the license number of the customs broker;

(3) the name and address of the purchaser;

(4) the name and address of the place at which the property was purchased;

(5) the date and time of the sale;

(6) a description and the quantity of the property;

(7) the sales price of the property;

(8) the foreign country destination of the property, which may not be the place of export;

(9) the date and time:

(A) at which the customs broker or authorized employee watched the property cross the border of the United States;

(B) at which the customs broker or authorized employee watched the property being placed on a common carrier for delivery outside the territorial limits of the United States; or

(C) the property is expected to arrive in the foreign country destination, as stated by the purchaser;

(10) a declaration signed by the customs broker or an authorized employee of the customs broker stating that:

(A) the customs broker is a licensed Texas customs broker; and

(B) the customs broker or authorized employee inspected the property and the original receipt for the property; and

(11) an export certification stamp issued by the comptroller.

(c) The comptroller may require a customs broker to pay the comptroller the amount of any tax refunded if the customs broker does not comply with this section, Section 151.157, or the rules adopted by the comptroller under this section or Section 151.157. In addition to the amount of the refunded tax, the comptroller may require the customs broker to pay a penalty of [in an amount equal to the amount of the refunded tax, but] not less than $500 nor more than $5,000. The comptroller and the state may deduct any penalties to be paid by a customs broker from the broker's posted bond.

SECTION 3. Subchapter E, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended by adding Section 151.1576 to read as follows:

Sec. 151.1576. NOTICE REQUIRED ON CERTAIN ADVERTISEMENTS AND PREMISES RELATED TO EXPORTATION OF PROPERTY. (a) In this section, "customs broker" and "authorized employee" have the meanings assigned by Section 151.157.

(b) A premises at which a form is signed by a purchaser, customs broker, or authorized employee under Section 151.1575(a)(3)(G) shall prominently display at each entrance to the premises a sign that gives notice in both English and Spanish that the purchaser must present all property at the time the form is signed. The sign must appear in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height. The sign shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public.

(c) All advertising by any media, including websites, regarding services provided by a customs broker or authorized employee under Section 151.157 or 151.1575 must include a conspicuous notice in English and Spanish that the purchaser must produce all property at the time the form is signed under Section 151.1575(a)(3)(G).

SECTION 4. Section 151.158, Tax Code, is amended by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsections (g-1) and (g-2) to read as follows:

(g) The comptroller shall charge $3.20 [$1.60] for each stamp. The comptroller shall use $1.60 of the money from the sale of the stamps only for costs related to producing the stamps, including costs of materials, labor, and overhead. The remaining $1.60 is distributed as follows:

(1) the comptroller shall use 50 cents only for enforcement of the laws relating to customs brokers under this title; and

(2) the comptroller shall deposit $1.10 to the credit of the foundation school fund.

(g-1) Any unspent money from the $2.10 to be used by the comptroller shall be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.

(g-2) Customs brokers who return unused stamps to the comptroller's office on a quarterly basis shall get credit towards the purchase of new stamps.

SECTION 5. Section 151.307(d), Tax Code, is repealed.

SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only to documentation issued on or after the effective date of this Act. Documentation issued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the documentation was issued, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.