Ariz. Admin. Code § 17-8-605

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Section R17-8-605 - Idle Time

A. Under the provisions of this Article, the Department shall refund the Arizona motor fuel tax imposed on the motor fuel consumed by a claimant's vehicle while in idle status.

B. A complete application for refund, as prescribed under R17-8-601, shall include the following documentation to verify the quantity of motor fuel consumed by a vehicle while in idle status:

1. Documentation that proves the total quantity of motor fuel purchased by the claimant in Arizona during refund period:

a. An invoice that contains the following information:

i. Date of purchase,

ii. Seller's name,

iii. Physical address where motor fuel was purchased,

iv. Number of gallons of motor fuel purchased,

v. Type of motor fuel purchased, and

vi. Price per gallon of motor fuel.

b. A fuel log shall be maintained that contains the following information:

i. The date that the motor fuel was placed in the fuel tank of a motor vehicle,

ii. The identification number of the equipment or vehicle in which the motor fuel was placed, and

iii. The number of gallons of motor fuel placed in the fuel tank.

c. In lieu of subsections (B)(1)(a) and (b), a licensee may submit a summary of the fuel purchases made by the claimant for the vehicle during the refund period. The summary shall contain the same information required to be on a fuel invoice under subsection (B)(1)(a).

2. Documentation that proves that the claimant's vehicle was located in Arizona, off-highway, at the time it was in idle status, and the length of time the vehicle was in idle status, using one or more of the following methods:

a. Nonscheduled route:

i. A logbook, approved by the Department, maintained for each vehicle that identifies the date and time when the idle status started, the date and time when the idle status ended, and a physical description of the location of the vehicle during the idle status that establishes that the vehicle was in Arizona, but located off-highway.

ii. The driver shall make an affirmative statement in the driver's daily log that the engine was operating during the idle status and shall prepare the logbook entries simultaneously with the idle status.

iii. The claimant shall retain trip schedules or bills of lading to support the logbook entries.

b. Scheduled route:

i. Published schedule which includes arrival at and departure from fixed locations at prescribed times; or

ii. A record of average wait times recorded in a daily log consisting of arrival at and departure from fixed locations at prescribed times, approved by the Department; and

iii. The claimant shall document that the engine remained running during the scheduled stops.

c. Global Positioning System:

i. A report from a GPS, approved pursuant to subsection (C).

ii. The claimant shall maintain trip schedules or bills of lading to support GPS reports.

3. Documentation that proves the quantity of motor fuel consumed by the claimant's vehicle while in idle status:

a. The claimant shall document the number of the gallons of motor fuel consumed per hour to maintain idle status by one or more of the following methods:

i. Engine manufacturer's standard specifications that establish the quantity of motor fuel consumed per hour while the vehicle is in idle status.

ii. Computerized system that computes the quantity of motor fuel consumed per hour while in idle status.

iii. A study or test that determines motor fuel consumption per hour while in idle status, prior to the period covered by the refund claim.

b. A study under this Section shall meet the following specifications:

i. The study shall be conducted at the claimant's expense,

ii. The methodology shall be approved by the Department prior to conducting the study under subsection (C),

iii. The fuel consumption characteristics of the vehicles and their operation during the period of the refund shall not vary significantly from the conditions that existed during the study, and

iv. The results of the study shall be approved by the Department prior to the time period covered under the refund claim.

C. The Department shall review and approve the method used and the data captured by a GPS or manual report prior to the initial claim for refund and the report shall include the following components:

1. A description of the methodology used to determine the percentage of exempt use fuel consumption;

2. A list of all equipment consuming use fuel;

3. A description of all of the vehicle operations where use fuel is consumed;

4. Whether vehicles are traveling scheduled routes, and whether seasonal or cyclical events affect use fuel;

5. Testing and study components shall be a true representation of operation of business as follows:

a. Vehicles shall be grouped into similar categories based on similar units and similar gross vehicle weight.

b. Each vehicle category must be tested individually to determine the idle time fuel consumption.

c. Vehicles selected for testing shall be representative of the category as to age, make, model, and engine size.

6. Study components under R17-8-604(C)(2)(d)(iv);

7. Explanation of the measuring method used to determine fuel consumption by vehicles, equipment, and machinery, which shall include manufacturer specifications;

8. Study results under this subsection shall include periods covering cyclical or seasonal impacts which captures low and high points of fuel usage for exempt or non-exempt purposes;

9. Results from a test or study shall be of duration of at least two weeks; and

10. The approved idle time study may then be used for three years or shall be updated as requested by the Department.

D. A claimant shall submit technical documentation that details the operating system of any system or manual study used including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Identification of the computer system, including the name of the manufacturer, name of the software, and software version number;

2. Identification of vehicle engines on which the software will be used by the claimant, including makes, models, years, and fuel types;

3. Description of the methodology used by computer system to determine idle status;

4. Description of the methodology used to determine fuel consumption while in idle status;

5. Description of the methodology used to determine the location of the vehicle during idle status; and

6. Operating policies and procedures for the systems that are used in the claimant's business operations.

E. The claimant shall provide additional supporting documentation if there is any update to the system study for which documentation was initially submitted and approved.

1. A claimant shall submit to the Department an updated study under this Section three years from the date of Department approval or at the Department's request.

2. A study under this Section shall be conducted at the claimant's expense.

3. The methodology used in support of a study under these rules shall be approved by the Department prior to conducting the study under subsection (C).

4. If the Department rejects the results of a study, a claimant may request a hearing under A.R.S. § 28-5924.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R17-8-605

New Section made by final rulemaking at 14 A.A.R. 399, effective March 8, 2008 (Supp. 08-1). Amended by final expedited rulemaking at 24 A.A.R. 3501, effective 12/4/2018.