WEST virginia legislature

2019 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2703

By Delegate Pack, Steele, Cooper, Graves, Criss, Westfall, Queen, Azinger, Higginbotham, Barrett and Bates

[Introduced January 28, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §11-14-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to refunds of excise taxes collected from dealers of petroleum products under certain circumstances; and eliminating a cap on the amount of tax that may be refunded for fuels lost through evaporation.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 14. GASOLINE AND SPECIAL FUEL EXCISE TAX.

§11-14-10. Refund of taxes illegally collected, etc.; refund for gallonage exported or lost through casualty or evaporation; change of rate; petition for refund.

The commissioner is hereby authorized to refund from the funds collected under the provisions of this article any tax, interest, additions to tax or penalties which have been erroneously or illegally collected from any person.

If any distributor or producer, retail dealer or importer, while he or she shall be the owner thereof, loses any gallons of gasoline or special fuel through fire, lightning, breakage, flood or other casualty, which gallons have been previously included in the tax by or for such person, he or she shall be refunded a sum equal to the amount of the tax paid upon such gallons so lost.

Any distributor or producer, retail dealer or importer or other person who purchases or receives gasoline or special fuel in this state upon which the tax imposed by this article has been paid, and who subsequently exports the same from this state (except in a supply tank), shall be entitled to a refund for the amount of tax paid.

Any dealer as defined in §47-11C-2 of this code, who purchases or receives gasoline or special fuel in this state upon which the tax imposed by this article has been paid, shall be entitled to an annual refund for gallons lost through evaporation. Such refund shall be computed at the rate of tax imposed per gallon under this article on all gallons of gasoline or special fuel actually lost due to evaporation. not exceeding one half of one percent of the adjusted total accountable gallons, computed as determined by the commissioner

 Every distributor or producer, retail dealer or importer shall be entitled to a refund from this state of the amount resulting from a change of rate decreasing the tax under the provisions of this article on gasoline and special fuel on hand and in inventory on the effective date of such rate change, which gasoline and special fuel shall have been included in any previous computation by which the tax imposed by this article has been paid by him or her.

No refund shall be made under this section unless a written petition therefor sets forth the circumstances upon which said refund is claimed. A claim for refund shall be subject to the provisions of §11-10-14 of the code. The petition shall be in such form and with such supporting records as required by the commissioner and shall be made under the penalty of perjury. Petitions for refunds other than for evaporation loss shall be filed with the commissioner within three years from the end of the month in which the tax was erroneously or illegally paid or the gallons were exported or lost by casualty, or in which a change of rate took effect, as provided in this section. Petitions for refund for evaporation loss shall be filed within three years from the end of the year in which such evaporation occurred, but no such refund shall be allowed for any period prior to the year 1978.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the cap on the amount of tax that may be refunded to a dealer of petroleum products for gallons lost due to evaporation.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.