S.B. No. 776
AN ACT
relating to customs brokers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (a-1), (f), and (f-1), Section
151.157, 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 may [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. A customs broker or authorized employee
may use the alternate method only if the comptroller provides prior
authorization for each use.
(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. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 151.1575,
Tax Code, are amended 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 or approved by the comptroller:
(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; [and]
(H) [(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; and
(I) requiring the purchaser and the broker or an
authorized employee, when using a power of attorney form, to
attest, as a part of the form and in the presence of each other:
(i) that the purchaser has provided the
information and documentation required by this subdivision; and
(ii) that the purchaser is on notice 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.
(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 comptroller shall
limit to six the number of receipts for which a single proof of
export documentation may be issued under this section. 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. 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 $2.10 [$1.60] for each
stamp. The comptroller shall use:
(1) $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; and
(2) the remaining 50 cents only for enforcement of the
laws relating to customs brokers under this title.
(g-1) Any unspent money 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 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 776 passed the Senate on
April 11, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 27, 2011, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 776 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 25, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
Nays 2, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor