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 Below
is information about the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (Stamping
Office) process for stamping fee invoice/statement and stamping fee payment
requirements. The statutory authority is set forth following the
requirements.
 Invoicing:
The Stamping Office creates a combination
invoice/statement each month for stamping fees due from agents based on
surplus lines policies processed. Processing closes for the month at 6:30
p.m. on the last day of the month. The following business day the
combination invoice/statements are printed and then mailed to agents. The
invoice/statement segregates current month activity from prior month’s
unpaid invoices.
Electronic
Filing System (EFS) users:
Active registered EFS users that have completed testing have
invoice/statement and policy detail available to them on the first day of
each month for the month prior.
Payment
terms:
1. Payments are due by the end of the month following the “processing
month” and should not be more than 90 days past due. Example: Invoices
based on January’s processing are due by the end of February.
2. Payments should be accompanied by a remittance advice or at a minimum
the agent name and license number. We require payments based on our
invoices; checks received in advance of an invoice or that are unidentified
are returned to the surplus lines agent.
3. Payments submitted must be for the full amount of an invoice for a
month. Payments for less than the amount of an individual month’s billing
(short-paid invoices) are not accepted.
We recognize that there can be errors made during processing, either by the
Stamping Office or by the surplus lines agent submitting policies for
processing. These errors may result in an invoice being more than the
expected amount. Please understand that we “close the books” for processing
on the last day of the month and cannot go back and modify any posted
amounts. Errors discovered after a processing month has been closed are
corrected in a subsequent month. The Stamping Office corrects errors we make
and errors made by agents are corrected by processing information submitted
by the agent. If an agent short-pays an invoice because it is an
over-billing due to errors, then correcting information is processed in a
subsequent month and the agent pays the full amount of that subsequent
invoice, there is a possibility of a double credit.
It is not our practice to report delinquent payments to
the Texas Department of Insurance until they are 90 days past due. We
recommend that if agents desire, they may withhold payment for some period
of time (less than 90 days) to assure themselves that a proper correction is
made on a subsequent billing. When the agents are sure they have received
the proper credit, then the full amount of the outstanding invoice should be
paid. We stress that agents reconcile their batch edit reports in a timely
manner so that errors can be discovered and corrected in the same month.
Payment
Mailing Address:
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas
Attn: Accounting
P.O. Box 160170
Austin, Texas 78716-0170
Surplus
Lines Premium Tax:
The Stamping Office has no responsibility regarding the
surplus lines tax. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts regulates the
collection of this tax. The contact for questions related to the surplus
lines premium tax is: Karen Snyder at (800) 531-5441 ext. 3-4074 or
karen.snyder@cpa.state.tx.us.
Controlling
Statutes and Rules:
The Surplus Lines
Stamping Office of Texas was created by the 70th Legislature in
1987 to assist the Texas Department of Insurance and perform functions
authorized in the Texas Insurance Code (TIC) and Texas Administrative Code (TAC).
The Stamping Office was given certain powers and duties, one of which is
collection of a stamping fee for the costs of operations of the office.
[TIC, Title 6, Chapter 981, Subchapter D, Section 981.154(b)(5)]
Texas licensed surplus lines agents must comply with the Stamping Office’s
plan of operation. [TIC, Title 6,
Chapter 981, Subchapter E, Section 981.214]
Surplus lines agents
are subject to sanctions if they fail to properly collect and pay required
taxes and stamping fees …[TAC Title 28, Chapter 15, Section 15.5(a)(4)]
The Stamping Office
plan of operation requires surplus lines agents to pay the fees as permitted
by law and as required by the Stamping Office. [TAC Title 28, Chapter 15,
Section 15.101(e)(4)]
Any surplus lines agent
who is delinquent in the payment of stamping fees may be reported to the
commissioner; provided, however, that any delinquency of more than 90 days
shall be reported to the commissioner. [TAC Title 28, Chapter 15, Section
15.101(e)(5)]
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