La. Admin. Code tit. 73 § I-109

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-109 - Procedures for Enforcing Fuel Tax Laws

A. Authority of Weights and Standards Stationary Scale Police Force

1. Weights and Standards Station Scale Police Force of DOTD shall assist the Department of Revenue and Taxation in enforcing fuel tax laws. The Department of Revenue and Taxation is the final authority on fuel tax laws.

a. Office hours at the Department of Revenue and Taxation are, Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

b. In emergencies which occur when the Department of Revenue and Taxation is closed, call the after-hours number at the Weight Enforcement Office, (225) 343-2345.

c. The telephone number at the Department of Revenue and Taxation is (225) 342-6148. Questions dealing with which companies are on the bonding list should be directed to (225) 342-6020.

d. Any questions dealing with DOTD procedures for writing violation tickets, etc., should be directed to the Weight Enforcement Office.

2. Fuel Use. Weights and Standards Stationary Scale Police Force officers have the authority to enforce fuel tax laws only when the vehicle is not fully licensed in Louisiana and is domiciled outside Louisiana.

a. The state of domicile shall be determined by the name and address on the cab doors.

b. License plates from another state which are apportioned for Louisiana have not been fully licensed in Louisiana. Vehicles with these plates may be checked if the vehicle is domiciled outside Louisiana.

3. Bulk Transports. Weights and Standards Stationary Police Force officers have the authority to enforce fuel tax laws on all bulk transports of taxable fuels.

B. Bonding

1. A number of vehicles which operate on taxable fuels belong to companies which are bonded with the Department of Revenue and Taxation. These companies file monthly reports with the Department of Revenue and Taxation and pay any fuel tax due at that time.

2. Most bulk transports belong to companies which are required to be bonded with the Department of Revenue and Taxation.

3. Lists of bonded companies will be provided to each unit. Names on the lists will be updated weekly. The following lists will be provided:

a. list of "Gasoline Bonded Users;"

b. list of "Gasoline Bonded Jobbers;"

c. list of "Gasoline Bonded Dealers;"

d. list of "Bonded Special Fuels Users."

C. Motor Vehicles Using Gasoline for Fuel

1. Vehicles which are not fully licensed in Louisiana and are domiciled outside Louisiana shall be checked as they leave Louisiana to insure that the driver has purchased enough gasoline in Louisiana to cover the miles traveled in Louisiana.

a. Vehicles using gasoline shall not be checked at enforcement units which are not at points of exit from Louisiana.

b. Vehicles using gasoline shall not be checked at any enforcement unit if the company is on the list of "Gasoline Bonded Users."

2. The fuel tax assessment form shall be used to determine if any tax is due.

a. Examine bills of lading, manifests, or loading tickets to find the origin and destination of the vehicle and the route that it has traveled in Louisiana.

b. Find the miles traveled in Louisiana from point of entry into Louisiana to point of exit from Louisiana using official DOTD maps.

c. Ask the driver how many miles per gallon the vehicle gets. If the driver is unsure of the correct figure, use the following chart. (Types are the same as licensing types.)

Gasoline Type	Miles per Gallon
1	7
2	5
3	5
4	4
5	4
6	3.5
7	3.5
8	3.5
9	4
10	3.5
11	3.5
12	3
13	3
14	3
15	4
18	4
19	3
20	4

d. Divide the miles per gallon into the miles traveled in Louisiana to get the gallons needed to travel through Louisiana.

e. Use the purchase invoice to find the gallons of fuel purchased in Louisiana. Unbonded gasoline users are required to have a legitimate service station invoice, and an invoice which does not have the following information on it is considered an improper invoice:

i. the name and address of the seller (dealer), either printed or rubber-stamped on;

ii. the name and address of the purchaser (user);

iii. the number of gallons purchased;

iv. the total dollar amount of the purchase;

f. Subtract the gallons of fuel purchased in Louisiana from the gallons of fuel needed to travel through Louisiana to get the gallons of fuel brought into Louisiana (imported).

g. Gasoline tax is $0.08 per gallon. This tax is included in the cost of gasoline which the user purchased in Louisiana.

h. Multiply the gallons brought into Louisiana by $0.08 to get the tax due on the fuel imported into Louisiana.

D. Motor Vehicles Using Special Fuels

1. Special fuels are all fuels used by motor vehicles except gasoline. Special fuels include distillate fuels (e.g., diesel or kerosene) and also liquefied petroleum gases (e.g., butane or propane).

2. Vehicles using special fuels are required to have a working speedometer, odometer, or hub meter. Compare the speedometer, odometer, or hub meter reading with the reading on the special fuels invoice to determine if the mileage indicator is working properly.

3. Vehicles using special fuels are also required to have the name and address of the company on both cab doors in letters at least 2 inches high. The name and address must be legible for 25 feet.

4. Vehicles which are not fully licensed in Louisiana and are domiciled outside Louisiana shall be checked as they leave Louisiana to insure that the driver has purchased enough fuel in Louisiana to cover the miles traveled in Louisiana.

a. At enforcement units which are not at points of exit from Louisiana, vehicles using special fuels shall not be checked for special fuels invoices or for working speedometers, odometers, or hub meters. Fuel tax assessment forms shall not be filled out. These vehicles shall be checked for the company's name and address on the cab doors.

b. If the company is on the list of "Bonded Special Fuels Users," vehicles shall not be checked for special fuels invoices or for working speedometers, odometers, or hub meters at any enforcement unit. Fuel tax assessment forms shall not be filled out. These vehicles may be checked for the company's name and address on the cab doors.

c. Vehicles which are exempt from licensing (such as farm equipment and off-road equipment) shall not be checked at any enforcement unit for special fuels invoices; working speedometers, odometers, or hub meters; or for the company's name and address on the cab doors. No fuel tax assessment form shall be filled out. These vehicles are exempt from the tax on special fuels.

5. The fuel tax assessment form shall be used to determine if any special fuels tax is due.

a. Examine bills of lading, manifests, or loading tickets to find the origin and destination of the vehicle and the route that it has traveled in Louisiana.

b. Find the miles traveled in Louisiana from point of entry into Louisiana to point of exit from Louisiana using official DOTD maps.

c. Ask the drivers how many miles per gallon the vehicle gets. If the driver is unsure of the correct figure, use the following chart (types are the same as licensing types).

Distillate Fuel (Diesel/Kerosene)
Type	Miles per Gallon
1	8
2	6
3	6
4	5
5	5
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	5
10	4
11	4
12	4
13	4
14	3.5
15	5
18	5
19	4
20	4

	Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Butane/Propane)
Type		Miles per Gallon
1		6
2		5
3		5
4		3
5		3
6		2.5
7		2.5
8		2.5
9		3
10		2.5
11		2.5
12		2.5
13		2.5
14		2
15		2.5
18		3.5
19		2.5
20		2.5

d. Divide the miles per gallon into the miles traveled in Louisiana to get the gallons needed to travel through Louisiana.

e. Use the special fuels invoice to find the gallons of fuel purchased in Louisiana. Unbonded special fuels users are required to have a special fuels invoice. Credit card invoices are only acceptable when they are from truck stops which provide spaces for all the required information on their credit card invoices. Special fuels invoices which do not have the following information on them are considered improper invoices:

i. a serial number;

ii. the name and address of the seller (supplier), either printed or rubber-stamped on;

iii. the name and address of the purchaser (user);

iv. the date of delivery into the vehicle;

v. the license plate number of the motor vehicle;

vi. the speedometer, odometer, or hub meter reading;

vii. the kind of special fuel purchased;

viii. the number of gallons purchased;

ix. the total dollar amount of the purchase.

f. When there is doubt whether a special fuels invoice is the invoice covering the fuel in the fuel supply tank, ask the driver for the gallon capacity of the fuel tank. Multiply this by five miles per gallon. Add this figure to the mileage reading on the invoice. If the final figure is less than the reading on the speedometer, odometer, or hub meter; then the invoice does not cover the last fuel purchase.

g. Subtract the gallons of fuel purchased in Louisiana from the gallons of fuel needed to travel through Louisiana to get the gallons of fuel brought into Louisiana (imported).

h. Special fuels tax is $0.08 per gallon. This tax is included in the cost of all taxable special fuels purchased by the user in Louisiana.

i. Multiply the gallons brought into Louisiana by $0.08 to get the tax due on the fuel imported into Louisiana.

E. Bulk Gasoline Transports

1. The drivers of all bulk gasoline transports are required to have a currently dated invoice, bill of lading, or manifest showing the following information:

a. the seller's and purchaser's names and addresses;

b. the origin and destination of the gasoline;

c. the authorized routes to be followed (this applies only to gasoline going to or coming from Texas);

d. the quantity of gasoline.

2.

a. Vehicles transporting bulk gasoline to or from Texas must have an authorization card issued by the Department of Revenue and Taxation. This card may not be transferred from one company to another.

b. The name on the card shall agree with the name on the vehicle. The vehicle must be on a route specified on the authorization card. (Check especially bulk vehicles with Texas apportioned plates for these cards and routes.)

3. Bulk fuel transports shall be checked at all enforcement units by Weights and Standards Stationary Scale Police Force officers.

a. Vehicles operated by common or contract carriers licensed by the Interstate Commerce Commission or the Louisiana Public Service Commission shall not be checked. (They may be checked, however, for the fuel they use to operate.)

b. Vehicles operated by companies on the list of "Bonded Gasoline Jobbers" or "Bonded Gasoline Dealers" shall be checked for the required information on the invoice, bill of lading, or manifest. If the gasoline is going to or coming from Texas, the vehicle shall be checked for the proper authorization card and proper route. (These vehicles shall also be checked for the fuel they use to operate.)

F. Bulk Special Fuels Transports. All vehicles transporting bulk special fuels shall be allowed to proceed. (These vehicles shall, however, be checked for the fuel they use to operate.)

G. Fuel Tax Violations

1. Users of Gasoline and Special Fuels

a. If an unbonded gasoline or special fuels user has a proper fuel invoice, but has not purchased enough fuel to cover all the miles traveled in Louisiana, then the officer shall assess the fuel tax, but no violation ticket shall be written.

b. If an unbonded gasoline or special fuels user has an improper fuel invoice or no fuel invoice, then the officer shall issue a violation ticket and assess a fine of $25. Fuel tax shall be assessed in addition to the fine.

c. If a user of special fuels does not have a working speedometer, odometer, or hub meter, the officer shall issue a violation ticket and assess a fine of $25.

d. If a user of special fuels does not have the name and address of the company on both cab doors, the officer shall issue a violation ticket and assess a fine of $25. If the company's name and address is on only one door, the driver should be warned not to return to Louisiana with the same violation. No ticket shall be issued. However, if corrections have not been made within five days, a violation ticket for $25 shall be issued.

e. No ticket shall be issued on any new transient vehicles or any new vehicle with less than 2,000 miles on the mileage indicator.

f. Fuel tax violations are cumulative. For example, a special fuels user may be fined for not having a working speedometer, not having the company's name and address on the cab doors, and not having a special fuels invoice. In addition, the user may also be assessed fuel tax.

g. Special Instructions for Officers at the East Bound Slidell Unit

i. When a fuel user has not purchased enough fuel in Louisiana to cover the miles traveled or has purchased no fuel at all, a fuel tax assessment form shall be filled out and a copy given to the driver. The fuel tax assessment form shall be noted "Fuel Tax Not Collected." No violation ticket shall be issued. The driver shall be warned that fuel must be purchased at service stations between the unit and the Louisiana state line. The driver must give the fuel tax assessment form to the service station. (The station mails the form directly to the Weight Enforcement Office along with the fuel invoice for the purchase.)

ii. Violation tickets shall be issued for not having the company's name and address on the cab doors or not having a working speedometer, odometer, or hub meter. Violation tickets shall also be issued if fuel was purchased, but the fuel invoice does not have all the required information.

2. Bulk Gasoline Transports

a. All vehicles importing bulk gasoline that are not common or contract carriers or are not on the lists of "Bonded Gasoline Jobbers" or "Bonded Gasoline Dealers" shall be impounded.

b. All vehicles transporting bulk gasoline to or from Texas which do not have an authorization card from the Department of Revenue and Taxation or which are not on the specified route shall be impounded.

c. All vehicles transporting bulk gasoline whose invoice, bill of lading, or manifest does not have all the required information shall be impounded.

d. The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall be contacted for the disposition of all impounded bulk gasoline transports.

La. Admin. Code tit. 73, § I-109

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Highways, LR 5:31 (February 1979), Amended LR 481729

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 32:2 et seq.