Esta ley enmienda la "Insular Supplies Act" para aumentar la cantidad mínima de daños que un consumidor puede reclamar cuando un artículo o servicio esencial se vende por encima del precio máximo establecido por el Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO). La enmienda establece que la compensación será el triple de la diferencia de precio o cien (100) dólares, lo que sea mayor, buscando incentivar a los ciudadanos a reclamar y fortalecer la implementación de las regulaciones de precios.
(Approved September 3, 2003)
To amend subsection
(d) of Section 13 of Act No. 228 of May 12, 1942, as amended, known as the "Insular Supplies Act," to increase the amount to be awarded for damages, and other purposes.
This amendment intends to update the "Insular Supplies Act," Act No. 228 of May 12, 1942, as amended, and currently in effect, at this time of worldwide crisis in view of the threat of a possible armed conflict that could entail changes in the supply and prices of products. The Legislature has the obligation to ascertain the effectiveness of laws that have been through the judicial crucible which constitute vital tools for the protection of Puerto Rican consumers.
This Act sets forth that any person who purchases an essential article or service at a price in excess of the maximum established by order or regulation of the Consumer Services Administration, now the Department of Consumer Affairs, may claim damages for three times over the total overprice, from the vendor.
The "Insular Supplies Act" intends to reimburse citizens that feel that the cost and time entailed by litigation in court, is not compensated by the amount they may recover as a result of a breach of law, and which, in turn, constitutes an additional mechanism to achieve the implementation of price regulations established by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The change in the value of money, inflation, and the fact that a penalty on the excess of the fixed price would only be of a few cents, such as for low cost articles, a compensation of three times on those pennies of difference would be useless. Therefore, it is foreseeable that this would not motivate any citizen to initiate a claim for a few cents, and it would be costly for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to hold an administrative hearing to impose said compensation.
Therefore it is imperative to adjust this Act to the present Puerto Rican reality on the threshold of the $21^{ ext {st }}$ Century.
Section 1.- Section 13 of Act No. 228 of May 12, 1942, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 13.-
(a) ...
(d) When the Administrator determines after holding the hearing that an article or product has been sold in contravention to the fixed prices regulations, the Administrator, upon request of the consumer plaintiff, shall have the power to direct the defendant to pay the plaintiff an amount for damages. The amount to be awarded for damages shall be three times the difference between the price fixed by the Administrator, and the price for which the article or product was sold to the consumer, or one hundred (100) dollars, whichever is greater."
Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 260 (H.B. 3567) of the $5^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsection
(d) of Section 13 of Act No. 228 of May 12, 1942, as amended, known as the "Insular Supplies Act," to increase the amount to be awarded for damages, and other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $30^{ ext {th }}$ of September of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director