Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8901L0915A14 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-01-06

Which employees of a licensed customhouse broker could witness goods entering Mexico and certify their export?

Short answer: Full- or part-time salaried employees could do so if they held power of attorney and had U.S. Customs approval; commission workers could not.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

After reconsidering its policy at Representative Enrique Cuellar's suggestion, the Comptroller said a licensed U.S. customhouse broker could use full-time or part-time salaried employees to witness goods entering Mexico and certify the exports.

Each employee needed power of attorney for that purpose and approval from U.S. Customs. A person working for the broker on commission remained ineligible to certify exports for sales-tax purposes.

Common questions

Were part-time employees eligible? Yes, if they were salaried and met the other conditions.

What other conditions applied? The employee needed power of attorney and U.S. Customs approval.

Were commission workers eligible? No.

Source

Original ruling text

January 6, 1989

The Honorable Enrique Cuellar
House of Representatives

Dear Representative Cuellar:

I just want to take a minute to thank you for your suggestion regarding
employees of licensed U.S. Customshouse Brokers who witness and certify exports
to the Republic of Mexico. As a result of your recommendation, we have
reconsidered this policy.

As a licensed U.S. Customshouse Broker, you may use either full or part-time
salaried employees to witness goods being transported into Mexico and certify
their export. The employee must have been given a power of attorney for that
purpose and have been approved by U.S. Customs. As we discussed, an individual
working for a broker on commission will still not be able to certify exports
for sales tax purposes.

I hope this information proves helpful.

If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to call me
toll free at 800-531-5441. My direct line number is 512-463-4680.

Sincerely,

Al Van Allen
Taxability Section
Legal Services Division

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