P.R. Laws tit. 13, § 10641a
In the evaluation, analysis, consideration, award, renegotiation, and revision of any incentive or benefit granted under this chapter, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the Industrial Tax Exemption Office, and the Director thereof shall be required to oversee and ensure compliance with the following governing principles, as provided below:
(a) Jobs.— The incentivized activity and the exempt business promote the creation of new jobs.
(b) Sound integration.— The conceptual design and planning of the incentivized activity and the exempt business shall be carried out, first of all, while taking into consideration environmental, geographical, and physical aspects, as well as the materials and goods that are abundantly available in the site where it is to be developed.
(c) Commitment to economic activity.— That the incentivized activity and the exempt business shall acquire raw materials and products manufactured in Puerto Rico for the construction, maintenance, renovation, or extension of the physical facilities thereof. If the purchase of said products cannot be financially justified when taking into account criteria such as quality, quantity, price, or availability of these products in Puerto Rico, the Director may issue a certificate attesting to such fact.
(d) Commitment to agriculture.— The incentivized activity and the exempt business shall acquire agricultural products from Puerto Rico for their operation. If the acquisition of said products cannot be financially justified when taking into account criteria such as quality, quantity, price, or availability of these products in Puerto Rico, the Director may issue a certificate attesting to such fact.
(e) Transfer of knowledge.— The incentivized activity and the exempt business shall acquire services from professionals or companies with a presence in Puerto Rico. However, if this is not possible due to criteria such as availability, experience, specificity, or skill, or any other valid reason recognized by the Director, the exempt business may acquire such services through an intermediary with a presence in Puerto Rico, which shall contract directly with the service provider chosen by the exempt business, in order to receive the requested services.
The term “services” shall mean, but the list below shall not be construed as limiting the Director to include others by regulations, as the contracting of jobs related to:
(1) Surveying, production of construction plans, as well as engineering and architectural designs, and related services;
(2) construction and all that pertains to this sector;
(3) financial, environmental, technological, scientific, management, marketing, human resources, information systems, and auditing consulting services;
(4) advertising, public relations, commercial art, and graphic design services; and
(5) security or facility maintenance.
(e) Financial commitment.—
The incentivized activity and the exempt business shall submit proof that they use the services of, and that a significant amount of the income derived from their economic activity is deposited in, banking and/or cooperative institutions with a presence in Puerto Rico. If the financial activity cannot be financially justified when taking into account criteria such as availability or accessibility of these institutions in Puerto Rico, the Director may issue a certificate attesting to such fact.
The Director of the Industrial Tax Exemption Office shall be the sole official responsible for verifying and ensuring that exempt business meet the eligibility requirements established in this section and this chapter.
If the exempt business partially meets the requirements established in this section, the Director shall be required to establish a formula that allows for the quantification of the aforementioned factors, and for the subtraction of the requirement that has not been met from the total percentage of the specific credit, in order to obtain the exact percentage of the benefit in question.
The governing principles established in this section shall apply to any incentivized activity or new business that applies for any of the benefits granted under this chapter as of December 1 st, 2015. However, the provisions of this section shall apply to any request made by an eligible business for the renegotiation and/or conversion of the decree that has not been signed and completed prior to the aforementioned date, as authorized by § 10653 of this title.
History —May 28, 2008, No. 73, added as § 1-A on Nov. 17, 2015, No. 187, § 84.