bill cutting a customs broker export certification route

The text as introduced · 959 words

89R9675 RDS-D

By: Lozano
H.B. No. 3398

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirements for issuance of export documentation

by a customs broker for purposes of sales and use taxes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 151.1575(a) and (b), Tax Code, are

amended to read as follows:

(a) A customs broker licensed by the comptroller or an

authorized employee of the customs broker may issue documentation

certifying that delivery of tangible personal property was made to

a point outside the territorial limits of the United States as

required by Section 151.307(b)(2)(B) only if the customs broker or

authorized employee:

(1) watches the property cross the border of the

United States; or

(2) watches the property being placed on a common

carrier for delivery outside the territorial limits of the United

States[ ; or

[ (3) verifies that the purchaser is transporting the

property to a destination outside of the territorial limits of the

United States by:

[ (A) examining a passport, laser visa

identification card, or foreign voter registration picture

identification indicating that the purchaser of the property

resides in a foreign country;

[ (B) requiring that the documentation examined

under Paragraph (A) have a unique identification number for that

purchaser;

[ (C) requiring the purchaser to produce the

property and the original sales receipt for the property;

[ (D) requiring the purchaser to state the foreign

country destination of the property which must be the foreign

country in which the purchaser resides;

[ (E) requiring the purchaser to state the date

and time the property is expected to arrive in the foreign country

destination;

[ (F) requiring the purchaser to state the date

and time the property was purchased, the name and address of the

place at which the property was purchased, the sales price and

quantity of the property, and a description of the property;

[ (G) requiring the purchaser and the broker or an

authorized employee to sign in the presence of each other a form

prepared or approved by the comptroller:

[ (i) stating that the purchaser has

provided the information and documentation required by this

subdivision; and

[ (ii) that contains a notice to the

purchaser that tangible personal property not exported is subject

to taxation under this chapter and the purchaser is liable, in

addition to other possible civil liabilities and criminal

penalties, for payment of an amount equal to the value of the

merchandise if the purchaser improperly obtained a refund of taxes

relating to the property;

[ (H) requiring the purchaser to produce the

purchaser's:

[ (i) Form I-94, Arrival/Departure record,

or its successor, as issued by the United States Immigration and

Naturalization Service, for those purchasers in a county not

bordering the United Mexican States; or

[ (ii) air, land, or water travel

documentation if the customs broker is located in a county that does

not border the United Mexican States; and

[ (I) requiring the purchaser and the broker or an

authorized employee, when using a power of attorney form, to

attest, as a part of the form and in the presence of each other:

[ (i) that the purchaser has provided the

information and documentation required by this subdivision; and

[ (ii) that the purchaser is on notice that

tangible personal property not exported is subject to taxation

under this chapter and the purchaser is liable, in addition to other

possible civil liabilities and criminal penalties, for payment of

an amount equal to the value of the merchandise if the purchaser

improperly obtained a refund of taxes relating to the property ].

(b) A customs broker licensed by the comptroller or an

authorized employee of the customs broker may issue and deliver

documentation under Subsection (a) at any time after the tangible

personal property is purchased and the broker or employee completes

the process required by Subsection (a). The comptroller shall

limit to six the number of receipts for which a single proof of

export documentation may be issued under this section. The

documentation must include:

(1) the name and address of the customs broker;

(2) the license number of the customs broker;

(3) the name and address of the purchaser;

(4) the name and address of the place at which the

property was purchased;

(5) the date and time of the sale;

(6) a description and the quantity of the property;

(7) the sales price of the property;

(8) the foreign country destination of the property,

which may not be the place of export;

(9) the date and time:

(A) at which the customs broker or authorized

employee watched the property cross the border of the United

States; or

(B) at which the customs broker or authorized

employee watched the property being placed on a common carrier for

delivery outside the territorial limits of the United States; [ or

[ (C) the property is expected to arrive in the

foreign country destination, as stated by the purchaser; ]

(10) a declaration signed by the customs broker or an

authorized employee of the customs broker stating that:

(A) the customs broker is a licensed Texas

customs broker; and

(B) the customs broker or authorized employee

inspected the property and the original receipt for the property;

and

(11) an export certification stamp issued by the

comptroller.

SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act do not affect

tax liability accruing before the effective date of this Act. That

liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been enacted,

and the former law is continued in effect for the collection of

taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of the liability

for those taxes.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.