The 30% discount for having no fines

It is Article 23.01 of Act 22-2000: the procedure for paying the vehicle’s annual fees, with the notice the government owes you before expiry, the prorating when fewer than six months remain, the five-dollar cap on the service charge, the up-to-ten-per-cent discount for a multiannual marbete, and the thirty per cent Road Responsibility Incentive.

The Road Responsibility Incentive is open to “any citizen who so requests” and who, at the moment of paying, meets the requirements and provides the documents the article sets: having committed no traffic infractions in the twelve months before the renewal, neither on the driver’s licence nor on the vehicle. The discount is available for use on one single vehicle registered in the name of the person granted it, during the marbete’s validity period, and applies only to the vehicle-licence renewal base charge in Article 23.02(a)(1).

• Having committed no traffic infractions in the twelve (12) months before the vehicle-licence renewal, as DTOP certifies regarding the driver’s licence of the person applying.Verified against the official source
• That the motor vehicle registered in the applicant’s name also has no traffic infractions in the twelve (12) months before the renewal, as DTOP certifies.Verified against the official source
• Using the discount on one single vehicle registered in the name of the person to whom it is granted, during the marbete’s validity period.Verified against the official source
• Requesting it at the moment of paying: the article requires the requirements to be met and the documents provided “at the moment of making the payment”.Verified against the official source

• Certification of fines against the driver’s licence of the person applying for the Incentive, issued by the Department of Transportation and Public Works and presented within thirty (30) days of being issued.
• Certification of fines against the motor vehicle registered in that person’s name, also issued by the Department of Transportation and Public Works and presented within thirty (30) days of being issued.

1. 1

   Step 1: The notice you are owed before expiry

   Before the discount comes a government duty almost nobody claims. Article 23.01 says the fees are paid “as shown in the electronic notification the Secretary shall issue”, and then sets how: “That notification shall be made by at least two of the following channels: the CESCO Digital app, e-mail or text message.” And when: “The notification shall be made thirty-one (31) days and seven (7) days before the marbete’s expiry date.” It uses the contact information available in DTOP’s official records, which makes keeping your e-mail and mobile current something with real consequences.

2. 2

   Step 2: Where you pay

   The article opens with the full list: every owner of a motor vehicle subject to annual permit fees shall pay “at any internal-revenue collector’s office in any municipality, at the place the Secretary of the Treasury designates, at the official inspection stations, banks, or at the place the Secretary designates”. On receiving the fees, the collector issues the motor-vehicle permit, which consists of the notification form itself with the collector’s annotations and signature showing payment was made. With the permit, the collector hands over the number plates where applicable.

3. 3

   Step 3: If fewer than six months remain, you pay less

   This is the prorating rule, and it applies to everyone. “The fees on this account shall be paid in advance for the whole year, except that when at the moment of paying fewer than six (6) months remain to the next renewal, only payment equivalent to the months left to run on the date they accrue shall be required, counting fractions of a month as a full month.” And the article closes the door on any distinction: “This provision shall apply to all motor vehicles, regardless of the amount they pay in licence fees per year.”

4. 4

   Step 4: The thirty per cent discount

   Here is the incentive: “The Road Responsibility Incentive is established and the granting of a thirty per cent (30%) discount on the total payment of the base charge of annual fees for vehicle-licence renewal is authorised, to any citizen who so requests and who, at the moment of making the payment, meets the requirements set out here and provides the supporting documents requested here.” Three things in that sentence matter: it is requested, it is proved with documents, and it is done at the moment of paying.

5. 5

   Step 5: The two certifications, and the thirty days

   There are two documents, not one. Subsection (a) requires the certification of fines against the driver’s licence of the person applying, issued by DTOP, “presented within thirty (30) days of being issued”, certifying that the driver has committed no traffic infractions in the twelve months before the vehicle-licence renewal. Subsection (b) requires the same but on the motor vehicle registered in that person’s name: no infractions in the previous twelve months, and also presented within thirty days of issue. The thirty days run from when DTOP issues the certification, not from when you request it: an old certification is no good.

6. 6

   Step 6: One single vehicle, and only on the base charge

   Two limits close the incentive and are worth being clear on before counting the saving. Subsection (c): “The Road Responsibility Incentive discount shall be available for use on one single vehicle registered in the name of the person to whom the discount is granted, during the marbete’s validity period.” And subsection (d): “The Road Responsibility Incentive discount shall apply only to the base charge for vehicle-licence renewal contained in Article 23.02, subsection (a), sub-subsection (1).” That sub-subsection is the forty-four dollars for a private or public car. It is not thirty per cent of everything you pay for the marbete: it is thirty per cent of that item.

7. 7

   Step 7: The multiannual marbete discount

   There is a second discount in the same article, and it is different from the first: “The Secretary is authorised, after consulting the Treasury Secretary, to adopt a Regulation for the purpose of granting a discount of up to ten per cent (10%) to those drivers who choose to acquire and pay in advance for multiannual marbetes for their vehicles.” Note how it is written: the Act authorises, and the discount depends on the regulation existing. We did not read that regulation, so we publish the authorisation and publish neither that it is in force nor how to take it up.

8. 8

   Step 8: The service charge may not exceed five dollars

   At the end of the operative block there is a line worth money: “The service charge levied by the inspection station, the bank or any other place the Treasury Secretary designates shall not be greater than five dollars ($5).” It is a legal cap, not a recommendation. The same paragraph explains the mechanics behind it: the inspection-station owner deposits into a special account so Treasury makes daily transfers of the marbetes issued, under a regulation requiring a bond and insurance to guarantee the proceeds are received.

9. 9

   Step 9: How the other fees are paid

   The article separates the marbete from the rest. “In cases concerning exam fees, including learner’s permits, issuing duplicate licences, driver’s licence renewals, vehicle transfers and every other fee collection, payment vouchers, internal-revenue stamps or any other payment mechanism the Treasury Secretary establishes shall be used.” The amounts for each of those transactions are in Article 23.02 and we publish them in the fees guide.

10. 10

    Step 10: Where the money goes

    Worth knowing because it explains why these figures move little. “Unless this Act provides otherwise, the proceeds of the fees collected under Articles 23.01 and 23.02 of this Act shall go in their entirety into a Special Deposit in the name and for the benefit of the Highways and Transportation Authority.” The Authority may commit or pledge that collection to pay bond principal and interest, subject to Section 8 of Article VI of the Constitution, and the Government covenants with those acquiring those bonds “not to reduce these licence fees or the sum the Authority is to receive from them”. The Treasury Secretary may delegate the collection function to the Secretary.

The incentive is requested at the moment of paying the fees, at the same place where you pay: any internal-revenue collector’s office in any municipality, the place the Treasury Secretary designates, the official inspection stations, banks, or the place the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works designates. The two fine certifications are issued by the Department of Transportation and Public Works. The Act publishes no addresses, phone numbers or specific form for the incentive in this article, and we did not read the regulation implementing it, so we do not invent them here.

• Believing the thirty per cent comes off everything you pay for the marbete: it applies only to the base charge in Article 23.02(a)(1).
• Presenting only one certification: two are needed, one for the driver’s licence and one for the vehicle.
• Bringing a certification issued more than thirty days ago: the Act requires presenting it within thirty days of issue.
• Thinking it is enough to have no outstanding fines: what is certified is that there were no traffic infractions in the twelve months before the renewal.
• Trying to use the discount on two vehicles: it is available for one single vehicle during the marbete’s validity.
• Asking for it after paying: the Act requires meeting the requirements and providing the documents at the moment of payment.
• Not updating your e-mail and mobile in DTOP’s records: the thirty-one-day and seven-day notices go to that contact information.
• Paying the full year when fewer than six months remain to the next renewal: the Act allows paying only the remaining months.
• Accepting a service charge over five dollars at the inspection station or the bank.
• Taking the ten per cent multiannual marbete discount for granted: the Act authorises it by regulation and we did not read the regulation.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP)

  DTOP

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov