Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-62. Special fuel restrictions; violations; exemptions
(1) A supplier shall be exempt from this provision with respect to special fuel manufactured in Indiana or imported by pipeline or waterborne barge and stored within a terminal in Indiana.
Attorney's Note
Under the Indiana Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Level 6 felony | between 6 mos. and 2 1/2 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 1 year | up to $5,000 |
Terms Used In Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-62
- blender: means a person who engages in the process of blending. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-2
- blending: means the mixing of one (1) or more petroleum products, with or without another product, excluding biodiesel or blended biodiesel, if the product obtained by the blending is capable of use in the generation of power for the propulsion of a motor vehicle, an airplane, or a motorboat. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-3
- department: means the department of state revenue. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-7
- destination state: means the state for which a motor vehicle or barge is destined for off-loading into storage facilities for consumption or resale. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-8
- dyed fuel user: means a person that qualifies for the federal diesel fuel tax exemption under Section 4082 of the Internal Revenue Code to operate motor vehicles on the highways with dyed fuel in the fuel supply tank. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-8.5
- export: means :
Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-9
- exporter: means any person, other than a supplier, who purchases special fuel in Indiana for the purpose of transporting or delivering the fuel to another state or country. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-10
- Highway: includes county bridges and state and county roads, unless otherwise expressly provided. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- import: means :
Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-13
- import verification number: means the number assigned by the department, or the department's designee or appointee, with respect to a single transport truck delivery into Indiana from another state upon request for an assigned number by a licensed importer or transporter carrying undyed or unmarked special fuel, or both, into Indiana for the account of a licensed importer. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-13.1
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- motor vehicle: means a vehicle designed principally for road use and that is propelled by an internal combustion engine or motor. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-16
- permissive supplier: means any person who does not meet the geographic jurisdictional connections to Indiana required of a supplier (as defined in section 23 of this chapter), but who holds an inventory position in a federally qualified terminal located outside of Indiana and who is registered under Section 4101 of the Internal Revenue Code. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-16.1
- person: means a natural person, a partnership, a firm, an association, a corporation, a representative appointed by a court, the state, a political subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13), or any other entity, group, or syndicate. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-17
- public highway: means the entire width between boundary lines of each publicly maintained way in Indiana, including streets and alleys in cities and towns, when any part of the way is open to the public use for motor vehicle travel. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-18
- rack: means a dock, a platform, or an open bay with a series of metered pipes and hoses for delivering special fuel from a refinery or terminal into a motor vehicle, rail car, or marine vessel. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-19
- received: means the removal from any refinery or terminal in Indiana, or the entry into Indiana of any special fuel for consumption, use, sale, or warehousing, except for transfers in bulk into or within a terminal in Indiana between registered suppliers. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-20
- special fuel: means all combustible gases and liquids that are:
Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-22
- supplier: means a person that imports or acquires immediately upon import into Indiana special fuel by pipeline or marine vessel from within a state, territory, or possession of the United States into a terminal or that imports special fuel into Indiana from a foreign country, or that produces, manufactures, or refines special fuel within Indiana, or that owns special fuel in the pipeline and terminal distribution system in Indiana, and is subject to the general taxing or police jurisdiction of Indiana, and in any case is also registered under Section 4101 of the Internal Revenue Code for transactions in taxable motor fuels in the bulk distribution system. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-23
- terminal: means a fuel storage and distribution facility that is supplied by pipeline or marine vessel, and from which special fuel may be removed at a rack and that has been registered as a qualified terminal by the Internal Revenue Service for receipt of taxable motor fuels free of federal motor fuel taxes. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-24
- transport truck: means a vehicle designed to transport motor fuel in bulk from a terminal in lots greater than five thousand four hundred (5,400) gallons. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-26.1
- transporter: means the person and its agent, including the driver, that transports special fuel. See Indiana Code 6-6-2.5-25.9
(3) A licensed importer, and transporter operating on the importer’s behalf, that transports in vehicles with a capacity of more than five thousand four hundred (5,400) gallons shall be exempt from this prohibition if the importer or the transporter has met all of the following conditions:
(A) The importer or the transporter before entering onto the highways of Indiana has obtained an import verification number from the department not earlier than twenty-four (24) hours before entering Indiana.
(B) The import verification number must be set out prominently and indelibly on the face of each copy of the terminal-issued shipping paper carried on board the transport truck.
(C) The terminal origin and the importer’s name and address must be set out prominently on the face of each copy of the terminal-issued shipping paper.
(D) The terminal-issued shipping paper data otherwise required by this chapter is present.
(E) All tax imposed by this chapter with respect to previously requested import verification number activity on the account of the importer or the transporter has been timely remitted.
In every case, a transporter acting in good faith is entitled to rely upon representations made to the transporter by the fuel supplier or importer and when acting in good faith is not liable for the negligence or malfeasance of another person. A person who knowingly violates or knowingly aids and abets another person in violating this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(b) No person shall export special fuel from Indiana unless that person has obtained an exporter‘s license or a supplier’s license or has paid the destination state special fuel tax to the supplier and can demonstrate proof of export in the form of a destination state bill of lading. A person who knowingly violates or knowingly aids and abets another person in violating this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(c) No person shall operate or maintain a motor vehicle on any public highway in Indiana with special fuel contained in the fuel supply tank for the motor vehicle that contains dye or a marker, or both, as provided under section 31 of this chapter. This provision does not apply to persons operating motor vehicles that have received fuel into their fuel tanks outside of Indiana in a jurisdiction that permits introduction of dyed or marked, or both, special fuel of that color and type into the motor fuel tank of highway vehicles or to a person that qualifies for the federal fuel tax exemption under Section 4082 of the Internal Revenue Code and that is registered with the department as a dyed fuel user. A person who knowingly:
(1) violates; or
(2) aids and abets another person in violating;
this subsection commits a Class A infraction. However, the violation is a Class A misdemeanor if the person has committed one (1) prior unrelated violation of this subsection, and a Level 6 felony if the person has committed more than one (1) prior unrelated violation of this subsection.
(d) No person shall engage in any business activity in Indiana as to which a license is required by section 41 of this chapter unless the person shall have first obtained the license. A person who knowingly violates or knowingly aids and abets another person in violating this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(e) No person shall operate a motor vehicle with a capacity of more than five thousand four hundred (5,400) gallons that is engaged in the shipment of special fuel on the public highways of Indiana and that is destined for a delivery point in Indiana, as shown on the terminal-issued shipping papers, without having on board a terminal-issued shipping paper indicating with respect to any special fuel purchased:
(1) under claim of exempt use, a notation describing the load or the appropriate portion of the load as Indiana tax exempt special fuel;
(2) if not purchased under a claim of exempt use, a notation describing the load or the appropriate portion thereof as Indiana taxed or pretaxed special fuel; or
(3) if imported by or on behalf of a licensed importer instead of the pretaxed notation, a valid verification number provided before entry into Indiana by the department or the department’s designee or appointee, and the valid verification number may be handwritten on the shipping paper by the transporter or importer.
A person is in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) (whichever applies) if the person boards the vehicle with a shipping paper that does not meet the requirements described in the applicable subdivision (1) or (2). A person in violation of this subsection commits a Class A infraction (as defined in IC 34-28-5-4).
(f) A person may not sell or purchase any product for use in the supply tank of a motor vehicle for general highway use that does not meet ASTM standards as published in the annual Book of Standards and its supplements unless amended or modified by rules adopted by the department under IC 4-22-2. The transporter and the transporter’s agent and customer have the exclusive duty to dispose of any product in violation of this section in the manner provided by federal and state law. A person who knowingly:
(1) violates; or
(2) aids and abets another in violating;
this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(g) This subsection does not apply to the following:
(1) A person that:
(A) inadvertently manipulates the dye or marker concentration of special fuel or coloration of special fuel; and
(B) contacts the department within one (1) business day after the date on which the contamination occurs.
(2) A person that affects the dye or marker concentration of special fuel by engaging in the blending of the fuel, if the blender:
(A) collects or remits, or both, all tax due as provided in section 28(h) of this chapter;
(B) maintains adequate records as required by the department to account for the fuel that is blended and its status as a taxable or exempt sale or use; and
(C) is otherwise in compliance with this subsection.
A person may not manipulate the dye or marker concentration of a special fuel or the coloration of special fuel after the special fuel is removed from a terminal or refinery rack for sale or use in Indiana. A person who knowingly violates or aids and abets another person to violate this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(h) This subsection does not apply to a person that receives blended fuel from a person in compliance with subsection (g)(2). A person may not sell or consume special fuel if the special fuel dye or marker concentration or coloration has been manipulated, inadvertently or otherwise, after the special fuel has been removed from a terminal or refinery rack for sale or use in Indiana. A person who knowingly:
(1) violates; or
(2) aids and abets another to violate;
this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
(i) A person may not engage in blending fuel for taxable use in Indiana without collecting and remitting the tax due on the untaxed portion of the fuel that is blended. A person who knowingly:
(1) violates; or
(2) aids and abets another to violate;
this subsection commits a Level 6 felony.
As added by P.L.277-1993(ss), SEC.44. Amended by P.L.18-1994, SEC.33; P.L.85-1995, SEC.26; P.L.61-1996, SEC.4; P.L.1-1998, SEC.81; P.L.158-2013, SEC.98; P.L.218-2017, SEC.42.