Esta ley enmienda la Ley del Registro Compulsorio de Comerciantes y Empresas para ajustarla a la creación de la Compañía de Comercio y Exportación de Puerto Rico. Elimina los cargos por registro, hace obligatorio el registro para todas las pequeñas y medianas empresas, y autoriza al Secretario de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio a establecer tarifas por ciertos servicios e información. También fija el 15 de julio como fecha límite anual para la presentación de información.
(Approved September 15, 2004)
To amend Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, known as the "Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Act," in order to adjust said Act to the creation of the new Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company; eliminate the charges for registering in said Register; make compulsory the registration of all small and medium businesses; empower the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce to establish a fee for certain services and information provided to all users; establish July 15 of each year as the closing date for all merchants to provide the information solicited in the Register; and for other related purposes.
Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, created the Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses. The adoption of this registry system sought to make possible the acquisition of trustworthy statistical data on businesses in Puerto Rico. The register was conceived as a useful mechanism for providing diverse information that would help in the achievement of efficient economic planning. It would also serve as a databank for establishing a business or for conducting feasibility studies.
On the one hand, with the approval of Act No. 323 of December 28, 2003, which created the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company and eliminated the Commercial Development Administration, this Legislature is
duty bound to adjust the "Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Act", to this new Company. Thus, through this Act all references to the Commercial Development Administration (AFC, Spanish acronym) are eliminated and the latter is substituted by the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company.
On the other hand, Act No. 171, supra, imposes a limit to the many businesses that have to register since these must register an annual sales volume of over fifty thousand $(50,000)$ dollars. This limitation does not allow maximum compliance with the purposes of the Act that creates the Register as to the preparation of trustworthy economic reports and statistical studies. It is imperative for us to have access to a broad bank of information, especially when the aforementioned studies seek to incorporate small and medium businesses. For these reasons it is necessary that all merchants and businesses register regardless of their sales volume.
It is furthermore important to amend the closing date for providing the information required in the Register, so that July 15 of each year may be established as said date. Several business and professional associations have indicated that establishing July 15 of each year as the closing date in the Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Act shall permit handling a greater amount of more precise information leading to the production of more complete and thorough economic reports. This would prevent having to work with estimated and preliminary data.
Lastly, Section 7 is hereby amended so as to be able to fix a certain fee for some of the services rendered to the public. Even though the Registry shall publish free general economic information reports on the country, it is necessary to be able to charge for some of the services rendered so as to recover the funds to be invested.
With this Act the Legislature acknowledges the importance of having complete up-to-date information on the businesses in Puerto Rico and the pressing need for gathering such data to formulate strategies and the public policy for the development of small and medium businesses.
Section 1.-Section 2 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 2.-Creation of the Program The Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Program is hereby created, attached to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, under the direction of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company."
Section 2.-Section 4 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 4.-Scope of the Program It shall be obligatory for any natural or juridical person whose business operates, or has its main business location in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to register in the Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses and to submit to the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company the information the latter may require not later than July 15 of each year.
It is likewise provided that the various agencies, public corporations and other government instrumentalities, to wit, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor and Human Resources, the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the Industrial Development Company, the Electric Power Authority and the Office of the Ombudsman, among other government entities shall share with and provide to the Registry the pertinent information
the latter may require in order to achieve the purposes for which it was created."
Section 3.-Section 5 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 5.-Rules and Regulations The Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company shall be the official responsible for drafting and submitting the rules and regulations for the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. The regulations adopted shall provide for the establishment and collection of a fee for searching for information in the registry. Provided, however, that the fee to be collected shall be fixed so as not to be an unreasonable and onerous expense for the natural or juridical person interested in the information."
Section 4.-Section 6 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 6.-Funds A special fund is hereby created which shall be known as the "Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Fund". This fund shall be administered pursuant to the rules and regulations adopted by the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company, attached to the Department of Development and Commerce, in harmony with the provisions in effect for the administration of similar funds. The total fees collected for searching for information in the Registry by natural or juridical private persons as well as the total amount collected for other related services shall be covered into said Fund. Legislative appropriations, contributions of federal and municipal funds, and funds from public corporations and any other contributions from the private sector shall also be covered into said Fund. It being understood
that said Fund shall in no way be nourished by fees for registering in said Registry which shall be deemed proscribed pursuant to this Act.
The Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company shall use those funds pursuant to the regulations adopted for the organization and implementation of the Program created by this Act."
Section 5.-Section 7 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 7.-Accessibility through the Internet The Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company, when designing the operations of the Registry, shall make available to those natural or juridical persons who must provide the information required for registering, electronic means so they may access said information in the Internet. The Executive Director shall also ensure that the information in the Registry is accessible through the Internet. Access to said information shall entail the payment of a fee to be fixed by the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company for natural and juridical persons. The accepted means for paying for the registration or access to the information shall include both credit or debit cards."
Section 6.-Section 8 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 8.-The Secretary of the Department of Development and Commerce is hereby authorized to establish through regulations and pursuant to the recommendations made by the Executive Director of the Trade and Export Company, the fees for searching for information and/or any other specialized services through the Registry. The Secretary is furthermore authorized to establish through regulations and again as
pursuant to the recommendations of the Executive Director, the penalty to be imposed upon those merchants and businesses who fail to register in the Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses."
Section 7.-Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 304 (H.B. 4777) of the $\underline{7}^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $\underline{14}^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Act No. 171 of August 12, 2000, as amended, known as the "Compulsory Registry for Merchants and Businesses Act," in order to adjust said Act to the creation of the new Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company; eliminate the charges for registering in said Register; make compulsory the registration of all small and medium businesses; etc., has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $1^{ ext {st }}$ of November of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director