Florida Senate - 2025 SB 624 By Senator Rodriguez 40-00750A-25 2025624__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to forwarding agents; amending s. 3 212.06, F.S.; defining the term electronic database; 4 providing that an applicant may not be required to 5 submit an application to register as a dealer under 6 certain circumstances; requiring the forwarding agent 7 to surrender its certificate to the Department of 8 Revenue under certain circumstances; requiring the 9 department to report the state sales tax rate and 10 discretionary sales surtax rate in a specified system 11 as zero under certain circumstances; providing 12 applicability; prohibiting certain dealers from 13 collecting certain taxes under certain circumstances; 14 revising the liability of a dealer under certain 15 circumstances; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1.Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 20 212.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 21 212.06Sales, storage, use tax; collectible from dealers; 22 dealer defined; dealers to collect from purchasers; 23 legislative intent as to scope of tax. 24 (5) 25 (b)1.As used in this subsection, the term: 26 a.Certificate means a Florida Certificate of Forwarding 27 Agent Address. 28 b.Electronic database means the database created and 29 maintained by the department pursuant to s. 202.22(2). 30 c.b.Facilitating means preparation for or arranging for 31 export. 32 d.c.Forwarding agent means a person or business whose 33 principal business activity is facilitating for compensation the 34 export of property owned by other persons. 35 e.d.NAICS means those classifications contained in the 36 North American Industry Classification System as published in 37 2007 by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of 38 the President. 39 f.e.Principal business activity means the activity from 40 which the person or business derives the highest percentage of 41 its total receipts. 42 2.A forwarding agent engaged in international export may 43 apply to the department for a certificate. 44 3.Each application must include all of the following: 45 a.The designation of an address for the forwarding agent. 46 b.A certification that: 47 (I)The tangible personal property delivered to the 48 designated address for export originates with a United States 49 vendor; 50 (II)The tangible personal property delivered to the 51 designated address for export is irrevocably committed to export 52 out of the United States through a continuous and unbroken 53 exportation process; and 54 (III)The designated address is used exclusively by the 55 forwarding agent for such export. 56 c.A copy of the forwarding agents last filed federal 57 income tax return showing the entitys principal business 58 activity classified under NAICS code 488510, except as provided 59 under subparagraph 4. or subparagraph 5. 60 d.A statement of the total revenues of the forwarding 61 agent. 62 e.A statement of the amount of revenues associated with 63 international export of the forwarding agent. 64 f.A description of all business activity that occurs at 65 the designated address. 66 g.The name and contact information of a designated contact 67 person of the forwarding agent. 68 h.The forwarding agents website address. 69 i.Any additional information the department requires by 70 rule to demonstrate eligibility for the certificate. 71 j.and A signature attesting to the validity of the 72 information provided. 73 4.An applicant that has not filed a federal return for the 74 preceding tax year under NAICS code 488510 shall provide all of 75 the following: 76 a.A statement of estimated total revenues. 77 b.A statement of estimated revenues associated with 78 international export. 79 c.The NAICS code under which the forwarding agent intends 80 to file a federal return. 81 5.If an applicant does not file a federal return 82 identifying a NAICS code, the applicant must shall provide 83 documentation to support that its principal business activity is 84 that of a forwarding agent and that the applicant is otherwise 85 eligible for the certificate. 86 6.A forwarding agent that applies for and receives a 87 certificate shall register as a dealer with the department. An 88 applicant is not required to submit an application to register 89 as a dealer when application is made for a certificate, or 90 renewal of a certificate, if the applicant is already registered 91 as a dealer with the department. 92 7.A forwarding agent must shall remit the tax imposed 93 under this chapter on any tangible personal property shipped to 94 the certified designated forwarding agent address if no tax was 95 collected and the tangible personal property remained in this 96 state or if delivery to the purchaser or purchasers 97 representative occurs in this state. This subparagraph does not 98 prohibit the forwarding agent from collecting such tax from the 99 consumer of the tangible personal property. 100 8.A forwarding agent shall maintain the following records: 101 a.Copies of sales invoices or receipts between the vendor 102 and the consumer when provided by the vendor to the forwarding 103 agent. If sales invoices or receipts are not provided to the 104 forwarding agent, the forwarding agent must maintain export 105 documentation evidencing the value of the purchase consistent 106 with the federal Export Administration Regulations, 15 C.F.R. 107 parts 730-774. 108 b.Copies of federal returns evidencing the forwarding 109 agents NAICS principal business activity code. 110 c.Copies of invoices or other documentation evidencing 111 shipment to the forwarding agent. 112 d.Invoices between the forwarding agent and the consumer 113 or other documentation evidencing the ship-to destination 114 outside the United States. 115 e.Invoices for foreign postal or transportation services. 116 f.Bills of lading. 117 g.Any other export documentation. 118 119 Such records must be kept in an electronic format and made 120 available for the departments review pursuant to subparagraph 121 9. and ss. 212.13 and 213.35. 122 9.Each certificate expires 5 years after the date of 123 issuance, except as specified in this subparagraph. 124 a.At least 30 days before expiration, a new application 125 must be submitted to renew the certificate, and the application 126 must contain the information required in subparagraph 3. Upon 127 application for renewal, the certificate is subject to the 128 review and reissuance procedures prescribed by this chapter and 129 department rule. 130 b.Each forwarding agent shall update its application 131 information annually or within 30 days after any material 132 change. 133 c.The department shall verify that the forwarding agent is 134 actively engaged in facilitating the international export of 135 tangible personal property. 136 d.The department may suspend or revoke the certificate of 137 any forwarding agent that fails to respond within 30 days to a 138 written request for information regarding its business 139 transactions. 140 e.Each forwarding agent shall surrender its certificate to 141 the department if: 142 (I)The forwarding agent has ceased to do business; 143 (II)The forwarding agent has changed addresses; 144 (III)The forwarding agents principal business activity 145 has changed to something other than facilitating the 146 international export of property owned by other persons; or 147 (IV)The certified address is not used for export under 148 this paragraph. 149 10.a.The department shall provide a list on the 150 departments website of forwarding agents that have applied for 151 and received a Florida Certificate of Forwarding Agent Address 152 from the department. The list must include a forwarding agents 153 entity name, address, and expiration date as provided on the 154 Florida Certificate of Forwarding Agent Address. 155 b.For any certified address with a special five-digit zip 156 code provided by the United States Postal Service, the 157 department shall report the state sales tax rate and 158 discretionary sales surtax rate in the departments Tax and 159 Address Lookup System as zero. This sub-subparagraph does not 160 apply to a certified address with a special five-digit zip code 161 provided by the United States Postal Service if that address 162 includes a suite address or secondary address. 163 11.A dealer, other than a forwarding agent that is 164 required to remit tax pursuant to subparagraph 7., may not 165 collect the tax imposed under this chapter on tangible personal 166 property shipped to a certified address listed may accept a copy 167 of the forwarding agents certificate or rely on the list of 168 forwarding agents names and addresses on the departments 169 website in lieu of collecting the tax imposed under this chapter 170 when the property is required by terms of the sale to be shipped 171 to the designated address on the certificate. A dealer who 172 accepts a valid copy of a certificate or who relies on the list 173 of forwarding agents names and addresses on the departments 174 website or the electronic database and who in good faith and 175 ships purchased tangible personal property to a certified the 176 address on the certificate is not liable for any tax due on 177 sales made during the effective dates indicated on the 178 certificate. 179 12.The department may revoke a forwarding agents 180 certificate for noncompliance with this paragraph. Any person 181 found to fraudulently use the address on the certificate for the 182 purpose of evading tax is subject to the penalties provided in 183 s. 212.085. 184 13.The department may adopt rules to administer this 185 paragraph, including, but not limited to, rules relating to 186 procedures, application and eligibility requirements, and forms. 187 Section 2.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.