(a) Fiscal year.— Shall mean the fiscal year beginning on July 1 of a certain year and ending June 30 of the following year.
(b) Government Bank.— Shall mean the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, created by §§ 551 et seq. of Title 7, which has the obligation to act as fiscal agent of the municipalities and the Government of Puerto Rico, to include acting as its trustee, registrar, transfer agent, paymaster or countersigning agent, by virtue of §§ 581 et seq. of Title 7.
(c) Center.— Shall mean the Municipal Revenues Collection Center created by §§ 5801–5820 of this title, to offer fiscal services to the municipalities, and whose primary responsibility is to collect, receive and distribute those public funds corresponding to the municipalities, and which shall act pursuant to this chapter as the representative of the municipalities or the Government of Puerto Rico.
(d) Certificate of sale.— Shall mean the certificate of the sale of transferable tax debts in default which the Center shall deliver to the purchaser of said debts, pursuant to § 5929 of this title.
(e) Property taxes.— Shall mean those taxes levied on personal and real property by §§ 5001 et seq. of this title, known as the “Municipal Property Tax Act” or by any other law which levies or has levied taxes on personal and real property located in the municipalities of Puerto Rico.
(f) Taxpayer.— Shall mean any person under the obligation to pay property taxes.
(g) Credit for transferred tax debt.— The term credit for transferred tax debt, shall mean those transferable delinquent tax debts that have been sold pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, including interest, surcharges and penalties accrued up to the date of the sale and an additional fee for the expense of handling the transaction pursuant to § 5923(f) of this title.
(h) Department of the Treasury.— Shall mean the Department of the Treasury of Puerto Rico established by Art. IV, Sec. 6 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(i) Transferable tax debts in default.— Shall mean those property taxes in arrears, that have not been paid within the term of one year from the date they became delinquent, as provided by § 5091 of this title, or any applicable law at the time of the levy, and which have not prescribed. The term shall include the interest, surcharges and penalties applicable to tax debts in default under §§ 5001 et seq. of this title, known as the “Municipal Property Tax Act”, or under the law which levies or has levied them.
(j) Public entity.— Shall mean any instrumentality of the Government of Puerto Rico, including, but not limited to, any public corporation or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
(k) Date of sale.— Shall mean the date on which the sales contract for the transferable tax debts in default is signed.
(l) Fiscal lien.— Shall mean the lien or legal mortgage on real property subject to property taxes for the current fiscal year and the prior five (5) years, as established in § 5080 of this title.
(m) Municipal Property Tax Act.— Shall mean §§ 5001 et seq. of this title.
(n) Municipal Revenues Collection Center.— Shall mean §§ 5801–5820 of this title.
(o) Municipality.— Shall mean any existing or future municipality of Puerto Rico as defined in §§ 4001 et seq. of this title, known as the “Autonomous Municipalities Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
(p) Person.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person.
(q) Eligible person.— Shall mean any person who meets the requirements established in § 5925 of this title and the Regulations adopted by the Government Bank, to be able to purchase transferable tax debts in default.
History —June 26, 1997, No. 21, § 3; June 30, 1998, No. 105, § 1.