Esta ley establece la "Ley de Cumplimiento para Regular la Responsabilidad de los Fabricantes de Productos de Tabaco ante el Gobierno de Puerto Rico". Crea una lista oficial de fabricantes que cumplen con la Ley Núm. 401 de 2000 (Ley para Regular la Responsabilidad de los Fabricantes de Productos de Tabaco ante el Gobierno de Puerto Rico) y prohíbe la venta de productos de tabaco de fabricantes que no cumplan con esta ley y la Ley Núm. 401. También regula la fijación de sellos de impuestos en cigarrillos de fabricantes que no participan en el Master Settlement Agreement y no han realizado los pagos requeridos en fideicomiso.
(Approved September 15, 2004)
To establish the "Act of Compliance to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," in order to create an official list of those manufacturers that comply with the provision of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and to also prohibit the sale of tobacco products of those manufacturers that fail to comply with the provisions of this Act and the fixing of tax stamps on the cigarettes of those manufacturers that have failed to participate in the Master Settlement Agreement and have not made all payments in escrow required by the Government of Puerto Rico under Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended.
In 1998 the Government of Puerto Rico, together with 45 states of the United States, entered into an agreement known as the Master Settlement Agreement or MSA, with the principal cigarette manufacturers (Participating Manufacturers) thus solving dozens of litigations with the tobacco industry. In the year 2000, as part of the agreement with the Participating Manufacturers, the Government of Puerto Rico passed a law pursuant to the MSA, called the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," Act No. 401 of September 9,
This "Act of Compliance to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," shall establish, among other things, an official list of those manufacturers that comply with the provisions of Section 3 of Act No. 401, as amended, and shall furthermore prohibit the sale of tobacco products of manufacturers that fail to comply with the provisions of Act No. 401 and the fixing of tax stamps on the cigarettes of those manufacturers that have failed to participate in the Master Settlement Agreement and have not made all payments in escrow required by the Government of Puerto Rico under Section 3 of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico." This Act would also protect the payments made under the MSA to the Government of Puerto Rico, estimated to be over 2.2 billion dollars for the next twenty (20) years, which are directly threatened by manufacturers that are not making the escrow payments required by the Act.
During the past three (3) years, 31 states of the United States have approved compliance legislation such as the one herein proposed. This legislation would place Puerto Rico at the vanguard regarding these efforts.
Furthermore, the established trend in the decrease of the number of cigarettes sold in Puerto Rico and the United States by the Participating Manufacturers has caused a substantial reduction in the payments to the states and other jurisdictions under the MSA. This is due to a section of the agreement that reduces the payments to the states and territories when there is a general decrease in the sale of cigarettes. One (1) year before the agreement was signed the industry volume reported in the United States has suffered a decrease of sixteen (16) percent. A study prepared in March 2002 by the Council of State Governments (CSG) indicates that the states and jurisdictions participating in the MSA are going to experience a reduction of $14 billion in the revenues projected for the next nine (9) years. The participants in the agreement have also collected $1.6 billion less than what was originally projected. Part of the reduction in sales is due to the increase in the sales of certain Non-Participating Manufacturers that have created an artificial price advantage over the Participating Manufacturers by failing to make the payments into the escrow account required by the Act.
Lastly, there is general agreement as to the fact that the States participating in the MSA would benefit if they were to have additional tools to make effective the requirement of making the payments into the escrow accounts. The legislation would thus provide the following:
The approval of this Act would substantially boost compliance with Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, and as a result produce significant additional revenues and payments into the escrow accounts for the Government of Puerto Rico.
Section 1.-Title This Act shall be known as the "Act of Compliance to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
Section 2.-Definitions:
(a) Master Settlement Agreement has the same meaning as provided in Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
(b) Cigarette has the same meaning as provided in Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
(c) Distributor means any distributor, retailer or intermediary similar to other intermediaries that sell cigarettes to consumers in Puerto Rico, as provided in Section 9056 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994."
(d) "Family of Brand Names" means all types of cigarettes sold under the same brand and that differ among themselves by modifiers or additional descriptive terms, including but not limited to "menthol," "light," "Kings," and " 100 's" and including any brand name (alone or in conjunction with another word), trademark, logo, symbol, slogan, sales message, recognizable color pattern and any other means of identifying the product identical or similar to, or identifiable with, a formerly known brand of cigarettes.
(e) Qualified Escrow Fund has the same meaning as said term is defined in Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
(f) Non-Participating Manufacturer means any cigarette manufacturer that is not a Participating Manufacturer.
(g) Participating Manufacturer has the same meaning as said term is defined in Section II(jj) of the Master Settlement Agreement and Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the
Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
(h) Tobacco Products Manufacturer has the same meaning as said term is defined in Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
(i) Secretary of the Treasury means the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as provided by Act No. 34 of June 9, 1956, as amended, known as the "Department of the Treasury Organic Act."
(j) Secretary of Justice means the Secretary of the Department of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as provided in Sections 63 and 64 of the Political Code of 1902.
(k) Sold Units has the same meaning as said term is defined in Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico."
Section 3.-Certified Form
(a) CERTIFIED FORM. Any Tobacco Products Manufacturer that sells cigarettes in Puerto Rico, be it directly or through a distributor, retailer or intermediary similar to other intermediaries, shall submit, in a form to be provided by the Department of the Treasury, a
certification to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice, not later than April 30 of each year, certifying under oath before a notary public that, as of the date of said certification, said Tobacco Products Manufacturer is a Participating Manufacturer or is in compliance with Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," including the payment of the quarterly partial payments required by Section 5(b) of this Act. (1) Every Participating Manufacturers shall include in this form a list of its Family of Brands. The Participating Manufacturer shall update said list thirty calendar days before any addition or modification to its Family of Brands is made by providing and submitting a supplementary form to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice. (2) Every Non-Participating Manufacturer shall include in their certified form
(i) a list of all their Families of Brands and the number of Units Sold for each Family of Brands that were sold in Puerto Rico in the past calendar year; (ii) a list of all their Families of Brands sold in Puerto Rico at any time during the calendar year; (iii) indicating, by an asterisk, any Family of Brands sold in Puerto Rico during the
past calendar year that is no longer sold in Puerto Rico as of the date of said certification, and (iv) identifying by name and address any other manufacturer of said Family of Brands in the past or the current calendar year. The Non-Participating Manufacturer shall update said list thirty (30) days before making any addition to or modification of its Family of Brands by providing and submitting a supplementary form to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice. (3) In the case of a Non-Participating Manufacturer, said form shall also certify: (A) That said Non-Participating Manufacturer is registered to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or has appointed a resident agent as process server and has provided notice thereof as required by Section 4 of this Act. (B) That said Non-Participating Manufacturer
(i) has established and continues maintaining a Qualified Escrow Account and (ii) has granted a Qualified Escrow Agreement that has been revised and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and that the same applies to the Qualified Escrow Fund. (C) That said Non-Participating Manufacturer is in compliance with Act No. 401 of
September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," and with Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended, as well as this Act and any other regulations promulgated under these; (D)
(i) The name, address, and telephone number of the financial/banking institution in which the Non-Participating Manufacturer has established said Qualified Escrow Account required under Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended, as well as any regulations promulgated under the latter; (ii) the account number of said Qualified Escrow Account and any numbers of supplementary accounts for Puerto Rico; (iii) the amount that said Non-Participating Manufacturer placed in said fund for cigarettes sold in Puerto Rico during the prior calendar year, the date and amount of each deposit, and whichever evidence or verification that may be deemed necessary
by the Secretary of the Treasury to confirm the latter; and (iv) the amount and date of any withdrawal or transfer of funds of the Non-Participating Manufacturer made at any tine from said fund or from any other Qualified Escrow Account to which it has at any time made escrow payments pursuant to Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and all regulations promulgated under the same. (4) A Tobacco Products Manufacturer may not include a Family of Brands in its certified form unless
(i) in the case of a Participating Manufacturer, said Participating Manufacturer assures that the Family of Brands shall be deemed to be its Cigarettes for the purpose of calculating its payments under the Master Settlement Agreement for the relevant year, in the volume and the contributions determined according to the Master Settlement Agreement; and (ii) in the case of a Non-Participating Manufacturer, said Non-Participating Manufacturer assures that the Family of Brands shall be deemed to be its Cigarettes for the purposes of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the
"Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as limiting or otherwise affecting the right of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to maintain that a Family of Brands constitutes cigarettes of another Tobacco Products Manufacturer for the purpose of calculating the payments under the master Settlement Agreement or for the purposes of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended. (5) Tobacco Products Manufacturers shall retain all sales invoices and documents and all other information used for said certification for a period of five (5) years, unless it is required by law that they be maintained for a longer period of time.
(b) OFFICIAL LIST OF CIGARETTES APPROVED FOR SALE. Not later than December 31, 2003, the Secretary of the Treasury shall prepare an official list including all Tobacco Products Manufacturers that have submitted the updated and true certified forms pursuant to the requirements of Section 3
(a) of this Act and of all the
Families of Brands included in said certification (the "Official List"), except as indicated below. (1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall not include or retain in said Official List the name or the Families of Brands of any Non-Participating Manufacturer that has failed to provide the form required or that the Secretary of the Treasury has determined that said form does not meet the requirements of subsection 2(a), 2 and (3), unless the Secretary of the Treasury has determined that said violation has been rectified to his/her satisfaction. (2) Neither the Tobacco Products Manufacturer nor the Family of Brands shall be included or retained in the Official List if the Secretary of the Treasury concludes, in the case of Non-Participating Manufacturers, that
(i) any escrow payment required pursuant to Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended, for any period of any Family of Brands, listed or not by said Non-Participating Manufacturer, has not been paid into a Qualified Escrow Fund governed by a qualified escrow agreement that has been approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, or (ii) that any final sentence pending, including interest on the
same, for violations of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended, has not been fully satisfied for said Family of Brands or said manufacturer. (3) The Secretary of the Treasury shall update the Official list as may be necessary in order to correct errors and to add or remove a Tobacco Products Manufacturer or a Family of Brands so as to maintain the Official List in agreement with the requirements of this Act. (4) Every distributor, retailer or intermediary similar to other intermediaries shall provide and update as necessary an electronic address to the Secretary of the Treasury for the purpose of receiving any notice as may be required by this Act.
(c) PROHIBITION AGAINST SELLING OR IMPORTING CIGARETTES NOT INCLUDED IN THE OFFICIAL LIST. No natural or juridical person, including any Tobacco Products Manufacturer, that sells cigarettes to consumers in Puerto Rico, be it directly or through a distributor, retailer or intermediary similar to other intermediaries, may fix, or cause to be fixed, the label required by the Department of the Treasury in subsection
(b) of Section 2009 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999
[sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994," to a box, carton or pack of cigarettes unless said cigarette Family of Brands and the Tobacco Products Manufacturer that produces or sells those cigarettes is included in the Official List described in Section 3(b) of this Act. Furthermore, no distributor, retailer or intermediary shall sell or market a box, carton or pack of cigarettes unless said cigarette Family of Brands and the Tobacco Products Manufacturer that produces or sells those cigarettes is included in the Official List described in Section 2(b) of this Act.
Section 4.-Agent for Serving Summons
(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENT FOR SERVING SUMMONS. Any non-domestic or foreign Non-Participating Manufacturer that has not registered to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a foreign corporation or business entity must, as a condition for its Families of Brands to be included or retained in the Official List appoint and continuously commit without interrupting the services of an agent residing in Puerto Rico that acts as agent for serving summons on whom every summons served and any action or proceeding against the latter related to, or arising from the execution of this Act and Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended, may be served a summons in any manner authorized by law.
Said serving of a summons shall constitute the legal and valid serving of a summons to the Non-Participating Manufacturer. The Non-Participating Manufacturer shall provide the name, address, telephone number and proof of appointment and availability of said agent to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice.
(b) The Non-Participating Manufacturer shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice thirty (30) calendar days prior to the termination of the authority of a resident agent and shall furthermore provide evidence to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Justice of the appointment of a new agent within not less than five (5) calendar days prior to the termination of an existing agent. In the case of the termination of the appointment of an agent as resident agent, the NonParticipating Manufacturer shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice of said termination within five (5) calendar days and shall include satisfactory evidence to the Secretary of Justice of the appointment of the new agent.
(c) Any Non-Participating Manufacturer whose cigarettes are sold in Puerto Rico, who has not appointed or contracted a resident agent as herein required, shall be considered as having appointed the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as said agent and an action may be brought against the former in the courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto through a summons issued by the Secretary of State; provided, however that the appointment of the Secretary of State as said agent shall not satisfy the preceding condition that requires that the Family
of Brands of the Non-Participating Manufacturer be included or retained in the Official List.
Section 5.-Information Report; Partial Payments to the Escrow Account.
(a) Reports from the Distributors. Not later than twenty (20) calendar days after the conclusion of every calendar quarter, and more often if so required by the Secretary of the Treasury, every distributor shall submit that information required by the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure compliance with this Act, including, but not limited to, a list of the total number of boxes, cartons or packs of cigarettes sold, by Family of Brands, on which the distributor fixed the label required by the Department of the Treasury in subsection
(b) of Section 2009 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994," during the prior calendar quarter of the payment of excise taxes made by said cigarettes. The distributor shall maintain, and make available to the Secretary of the Treasury all invoices and sales documents of all the cigarettes of the Non-Participating Manufacturers and any other information that supports the reports submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury during a period of five (5) years.
(b) Information to be Disclosed. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to disclose to the Secretary of Justice any information received under this Act and requested by the Secretary of Justice for the purpose of determining compliance with and execution of the provisions of this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Justice shall share the information received under this Act and may share said
information with other Federal. Commonwealth or local agencies only for the purpose of executing this Act, Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as amended and the corresponding laws of other states of the United States.
(c) Verification of a Qualified Escrow Fund. The Secretary of the Treasury may require at any time from a Non-Participating Manufacturer evidence of the financial/banking institution in which the Manufacturer has established a Qualified Escrow Fund for the purposes of complying with the provisions of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," and Act No. 453 of December 28, 2000, as to the amount of monies in said fund, excluding the interest, the amount and date of each deposit to said fund and the amount and date of each withdrawal from said fund.
(d) Application for Additional Information. Besides the information that must be submitted pursuant to Section 4 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may require that any Tobacco Products Manufacturer or distributor submit any additional information including, but not limited to, samples of the packaging or labeling of every Family of Brands, as may be necessary to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to determine
whether a Tobacco Products Manufacturer is in compliance with this Act.
(e) Payments to the Escrow Account (Quarterly). To promote compliance with this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may promulgate regulations that require that a Tobacco Products Manufacturer, subject to the requirements of Section 3(a)(2) of this Act, make the deposits to the escrow account required in (quarterly) payments during the year in which the sales covered by said deposits were made. The Secretary of the Treasury may require the production of enough information to permit making a determination as to the sufficiency of the amount of the payment deposited.
Section 6.-Penalties and Other Remedies.
(a) Revocation of License and Civil Penalty. Besides or instead of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, after determining that any natural or juridical person or a distributor has violated the provisions of Section 3(c) or any regulation adopted pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may revoke or suspend the license of a cigarette dealer in the manner provided by the Section of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994." Every label fixed or sale or offer to sell cigarettes in violation of Section 3(c) shall constitute a separate violation. For each violation of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury may also impose a civil penalty in an amount that shall not be greater that five hundred (500) percent of the retail value of the cigarettes or five thousand $(5,000)$ dollars in a
determination as to the violation of Section 3(c) or any regulations adopted pursuant to this Act.
(b) Contraband and Confiscation. Any cigarettes sold, offered for sale or possessed for sale in Puerto Rico in violation of Section 3(c) shall be deemed as contraband under Section 8140 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994," and said cigarettes shall be subject to seizure and confiscation as provided in said Section, and all cigarettes so seized and confiscated shall be destroyed and not resold.
(c) Injunction. The Secretary of Justice, on behalf of the Secretary of the Treasury, may solicit an injunction to restrict a real threat or violation of Section 3(c), 5(a) or 5(d) by any natural or juridical person, including any Distributor, and to demand that the latter comply with said Sections. In any action initiated pursuant to this Section, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be entitled to recover the costs of the investigation, the costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees.
(d) Illegal Sale and Distribution. It shall be illegal for a person to
(i) sell or distribute cigarettes, or (ii) acquire, retain, own, possess, transport, import or promote the importation of cigarettes, that the person knows or should know are intended for distribution or sale in Puerto Rico in violation of Section 3
(c) . A violation of this Section shall be a misdemeanor as provided by Section 8140 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994."
Section 7.-Miscellaneous Provisions.
(a) Notice and Revision of Determination. Before excluding or removing a Tobacco Products Manufacturer and any of its Family of Brands of cigarettes from the Official List described in Section 2(b) of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the manufacturer of his/her determination. The manufacturer or the affected party may appeal against the notice of the Secretary, by filing a complaint before the Office of the Secretary of Adjudicative Procedure of the Department pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, known as the "Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico." Said complaint must be filed within the thirty (30) days following the date of notice of the determination of the Secretary to such effects.
(b) License Applicants. No license shall be issued to any person under Section 9056 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1999 [sic], as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 1994," or be granted a license renewal to act as distributor unless said person has certified in writing, under penalty of perjury, that said person shall fully comply with the provisions of this Act.
(c) Dates. The first report of the distributors required by Section 5(a) for the year 2003, if the date of effectiveness of this Act is later than August 1, 2003, must be submitted thirty (30) calendar days after said effective date; the certifications from Tobacco Products Manufacturers described in Section 2(a) must be submitted forty-five (45) calendar days after said effective
date; and the Official List described in Section 2(b) shall be published or be available within ninety (90) calendar days after said effective date.
(d) Promulgation of the Regulations. The Secretary of the Treasury may promulgate the regulations needed to achieve the purposes of this Act.
(e) Recovery of costs and fees by the Secretary of Justice. For any action initiated by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to execute this Act, the Government shall be entitled to recover the costs of the investigation, except for the fees for witnesses, the costs of the action and reasonable attorney's fees.
(f) Return of Earnings for Violations of this Act. If a court determines that a person has violated this Act, the court may order that any profits, earnings, gross income or other benefits obtained from said violation shall be returned and paid to the Secretary of the Treasury to be deposited in the Tobacco Control Special Fund, herein created. Unless otherwise provided the remedies and penalties provided in this Act are cumulative among themselves and to the remedies or penalties provided under all other laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(g) Construction and Severability. If a court with competent jurisdiction determines that the provisions of this Act and of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," are in conflict and cannot be harmonized, then the provisions of Act No. 453 shall
prevail. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Act has the effect of preventing Act No. 401 from constituting a Qualified Model Statute, as said term as defined in the Master Settlement Agreement, then that portion of this Act shall not be valid. If it is determined that any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Act is invalid, illegal or unconstitutional, said determination shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Act, or any part thereof.
Section 8.-This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 305 (H.B. 4845) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to establish the "Act of Compliance to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico," in order to create an official list of those manufacturers that comply with the provision of Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, better known as the "Act to Regulate the Tobacco Products Manufacturers Liability to the Government of Puerto Rico" and to also prohibit the sale of tobacco products of those manufacturers that fail to comply with the provisions of this Act and the fixing of tax stamps on the cigarettes of those manufacturers that have failed to participate in the Master Settlement Agreement and have not made all payments in escrow required by the Government of Puerto Rico under Act No. 401 of September 9, 2000, as amended, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 17th of November of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director