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.