Esta ley enmienda la Ley Notarial de Puerto Rico para requerir a todos los notarios públicos la presentación de un informe estadístico anual de su actividad notarial. Establece los plazos y el formato para dicho informe, así como las consecuencias del incumplimiento.
(Approved January 8, 2004)
To add a Section 13-A to Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Notarial Act", for the purpose of providing that all public notaries shall render an annual statistical report of notarial activity.
Rule 13 of the Puerto Rico Notarial Regulations establishes the obligation of all notaries to present an annual statistical report of notarial activity. Said obligation is of such importance for the organization and documentation of notarial activities in Puerto Rico, that the failure to do so entails severe sanctions of the Supreme Court. See, In re Vargas Pérez, 145 D.P.R. 160 (1998). It must be kept in mind that a great part of the juridical and business activity is conducted under a notarial seal since its public faith legitimizes and gives greater formality to said acts.
However, Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, known as the "Puerto Rico Notarial Act", does not impose such obligation. The only obligation imposed by the law to such effects is to present monthly notarial activity reports. See, Section 12 of Act No. 75, supra, and Rule 12 of the Puerto Rico Notarial Act.
This important notarial procedure should be established by law to harmonize the statutory rule with jurisprudence and the regulations in effect.
In order to maintain uniformity between statutory law and regulations, the Legislature of Puerto Rico harmonizes the provisions of Rule 13 of the Puerto Rico
Notarial Regulations, as amended. In this manner, future confusion is prevented when applying the Act and the Puerto Rico Notarial Regulations.
Section 1.- Section 13-A is hereby added to Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 13-A. Annual statistical report of notarial activity. Every notary shall remit to the Director of the Notarial Inspection Office, the annual statistic report that is required on the notarial documents authorized during the preceding year no later than the last day of February of the following year.
In the event that said date is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, or if by provision of the competent authority the Notarial Inspection Office is closed, the deadline shall be considered extended to the next working day.
The report shall be made on the form provided by the Director of the Notarial Inspection Office.
In case of a late presentation of the annual statistical report on notarial activity, the Director of the Notarial Inspection Office may require the notary to explain the delay and to submit any other information that the Director deems convenient.
The Director of the Notarial Inspection Office may accept the explanation offered and advise the notary of the strict compliance of his/her obligations as such in the future. In the cases deemed pertinent, the Director may submit a report on this matter to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.
The report shall be made in the form provided by the Notarial Inspection Office. When the notary is an employee of a public instrumentality which allows him/her to engage in notarial private practice outside working hours, the notary shall separate the notarial work performed as notary of a public body from the work performed in private practice in the required report."
Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 24 (H.B. 3703) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to add a Section 13-A to Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Notarial Act", for the purpose of providing that all public notaries shall render an annual statistical report of notarial activity, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $11^{ ext {th }}$ of April of 2005.
Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director