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Comptroller reveals improper payments of $1.5 million to the contractor for the online ticket sales of the Maritime Transport Authority

The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued an adverse opinion on the fiscal operations of the Maritime Transport Authority of Puerto Rico and the Islands Municipality (ATM). The tests performed and the evidence revealed that the operations regarding the services contracted for the online sale of tickets for maritime transport from Ceiba to Vieques and Culebra were not carried out, in all significant aspects, in accordance with the applicable law and regulations.

The Report reveals that the ATM did not formalize a written contract with the contractor for the online ticketing services from April 8 to September 29, 2019. The then director of the ATM did not comply with her administrative responsibilities by failing to establish the rights and obligations of the parties through a contract. This situation allowed the contractor to improperly collect $541,151.

The audit, with three findings, notes that it was not until September 30, 2019, that the ATM formalized a contract for the online sale of tickets with the contractor. However, it allowed the contractor to receive revenue of $878,912 in excess of the maximum amount established in the contracts of $9,990 annually and did not require $29,895 from the ticket sales of several months between 2020 and 2021.

In addition, in violation of the contractual clauses, the contractor subcontracted the ticket sales services, did not deposit the sales revenue within the established time, and deducted the reimbursements from the revenue himself.

The auditors detected that the then executive director did not protect the best interests of the ATM since, for the acquisition of the electronic ticket sales services, she did not request additional proposals, did not obtain the authorization of the secretary of Transportation and Public Works, nor did she inform the Board of Directors about the services received without a contract and after formalizing the contracts.

The OCPR identified other situations that were referred to the consideration of the secretary of the Treasury on April 7, 2025 regarding the failure to prepare informational returns, the withholdings on the revenue received by the contractor, and the collection of the sales and use tax.

The Report publishes that the ATM did not exercise adequate control over its fiscal transactions and led to incorrect balances in the accounting records. The auxiliary executive director of Administration and Finance submitted only one of the 107 ticket sales reports for $1,053,163 million to the ATM's managerial accountant. Therefore, the managerial accountant did not reconcile the ticket sales revenue, the service charges, or the accounts receivable.

On the other hand, the ATM was unable to determine the legality, accuracy, or correctness of the sales reports submitted by the contractor. The examination of the sales reports revealed that the ATM did not require from the contractor the certification required in the contract, the date the report was prepared, or the computation of the amount discounted for the cost of the credit and debit card processing service.

Another of the findings shows that none of the contracts included information about the ticket categories, nor about the customer refund process. The contract of September 30, 2019 also did not include the maximum amount of the contracted services.

From 2016 to 2022, the ATM had revenue of $322.9 million, a capital contribution of $9 million, and expenses of $297.2 million. As of fiscal year 2022, the ATM recorded a deficit of $41.7 million.

This report covers the period from July 1, 2015 to January 31, 2022
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The Audit Report OC-25-82 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.