N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 20 § 415.3

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 415.3 - Reimbursements

Tax Law, § 289-c(3), (7)

(a)Motor fuel consumed other than upon the highways and waterways of New York State.

(1) Any purchaser of motor fuel on which the motor fuel tax imposed by article 12-A of the Tax Law has been paid who consumes such fuel in any manner other than:

(i) in the operation of a motor vehicle (as defined in section 410.2[d] of this Title) on the highways (as defined in subdivision [l] of such section) of New York State; or

(ii) in the operation of a pleasure or recreational motorboat on the waterways of New York State, including waterways bordering on the State, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the amount of such tax paid. Provided, however, there is no reimbursement pursuant to article 12-A of the Tax Law of tax paid on motor fuel taken out of this State in the fuel tank connected with the engine of a motor vehicle and consumed in the operation thereof outside of New York State. Persons subject to the additional tax on highway use imposed by section 503-a of the Tax Law may be entitled to certain refunds and credits. (See Article 3 of Subchapter H of this Title.)

(2) A person claiming a reimbursement under this subdivision must explain the manner in which the motor fuel was consumed other than as described in subparagraphs (1) (i) and (ii) of this subdivision.

(b)Motor fuel consumed by omnibus carriers and taxicab licensees.

Any omnibus carrier or taxicab licensee (as defined in subdivisions [m] and [n], respectively, of section 410.2 of this Title) which purchases motor fuel on which the aggregate tax imposed by section 284 (four cents per gallon) and section 284-a (three cents per gallon) of the Tax Law has been paid, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the amount paid pursuant to such sections in excess of four cents per gallon. Accordingly, such reimbursements are limited to three cents per each gallon of motor fuel. Provided further, such reimbursements are allowable only with respect to motor fuel consumed by the carrier in the operation of an omnibus in New York State or motor fuel consumed by the licensee in the operation of taxicabs in New York State.

(c)Motor fuel consumed in local transit service by omnibus carriers.

(1) In lieu of the partial reimbursement described in subdivision (b) of this section, any omnibus carrier which purchases motor fuel on which the aggregate tax imposed by section 284 (four cents per gallon), section 284-a (three cents per gallon) and section 284-c (one cent per gallon) of the Tax Law has been paid, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the full amount paid pursuant to such sections in respect of such motor fuel consumed by the carrier in the operation of an omnibus in local transit services in New York State. Such services must be pursuant to (i) a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the Commissioner of Transportation of New York State or by the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States; or (ii) a contract, franchise or consent between the omnibus carrier and a city having a population of more than one million inhabitants, or any agency of such city. The reimbursement provided in this subdivision is limited to the amount of the aggregate State tax of eight cents per each gallon of motor fuel. No reimbursement is allowable for any local tax on leaded motor fuel imposed pursuant to the authority of section 284-b of the Tax Law nor is any reimbursement allowable in respect to charter or other contract operations, such as operations under a contract with any party other than a city described in this subdivision.

(2) An omnibus in local transit service is an omnibus providing a mass transit service (as distinguished from a charter, contract, school bus, sightseeing or other such service) by carrying passengers from one point in this State to another point in this State and which either:

(i) regularly picks up or discharges such passengers at their convenience or at bus stops on the street or highway, as distinguished from buildings or facilities used for bus terminals or stations; or

(ii) picks up and discharges passengers at bus terminals or stations, the distance between which is not more than 75 miles, measured along the route traveled by the bus.

Example 1:

Buses of the X Company operate, pursuant to a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Commissioner of Transportation, from a terminal in the city of A to a station in the city of B and continue to a station in the city of C. The distance from A to B is 80 miles and from B to C is 80 miles. Between A and B these buses pick up and discharge passengers at stops along the highway, but they do not do this between B and C. Between A and B these buses are operated in local transit service, pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, but not between B and C. The X company may claim a reimbursement of tax on one half of the fuel used in the operation of its buses on this route, since one half of the mileage represents local transit service.

Example 2:

The facts are the same except that the buses continue beyond the city of C to a terminal in the city of D, 75 miles away. On this portion of the route they do not pick up or discharge passengers en route. Here the buses are being operated in local transit service between A and B pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, and also between C and D pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. The X Company may claim a reimbursement of tax on 66 percent of the fuel used in operation of this route, since the portions of the route in local transit service are 155/235ths of the total mileage.

Example 3:

Buses of the Y Company operate, pursuant to a certificate of the Interstate Commerce Commission, from a terminal in A, a city within the State of New York, to a station in B, a city outside the State of New York. Between the terminal in A and the State boundary the buses do not pick up or discharge any passengers. Here the buses are not being operated in local transit service for they are not carrying passengers from one point in this State to another point in this State. Had the buses picked up and discharged passengers en route within the State, the buses would be considered as operating in local transit service, even though the distance from city A to city B may exceed 75 miles, including some mileage outside of the State. However, the reimbursement would be limited to the motor fuel consumed in local transit service within the State of New York only.

Example 4:

Buses of the Z Company operate pursuant to a certificate of the Interstate Commerce Commission, from a terminal in A to a station in B and proceed to a terminal in C. Cities A and C are in New York State and city B is outside of New York State. The distance between each of the cities along the route traveled is 20 miles. The company carries passengers from city A to cities B and C. The buses will be considered as operating in local transit service, since the total distance between points A and C along the route traveled by the bus, is not more than 75 miles, even though the distance from A to C includes some mileage outside of the State. However, the reimbursement is limited to the motor fuel consumed in local transit service within the State of New York only.

(3) An omnibus carrier claiming a reimbursement of tax paid, pursuant to subparagraph (2)(i) of this subdivision, must keep a daily record of its operations in the form of a vehicular trip record for each bus, including the vehicle number, the daily gallons of motor fuel purchased in and consumed in New York State in local transit services as defined in such subparagraph (i) and the monthly totals of such gallonage. An omnibus carrier claiming a reimbursement of tax paid, pursuant to subparagraph (2)(ii) of this subdivision, must keep a daily record of its operations in the form of a vehicular trip record, including the following information:

(i) vehicle number;

(ii) date of each trip;

(iii) origin and destination of each trip;

(iv) points between which the reimbursement is claimed;

(v) total daily miles traveled;

(vi) total daily miles attributed to local transit services (as defined in subparagraph [2][ii] of this paragraph);

(vii) total daily gallons of motor fuel consumed; and

(viii) daily gallons of motor fuel purchased in and consumed in New York State in local transit services (as defined in subparagraph [2][ii] of this paragraph);

Subparagraphs (v) through (viii) of this paragraph must each be totaled at the end of every month for each bus. Records which do not include the items mentioned above will not be accepted as sufficient basis to prove entitlement to a reimbursement unless otherwise approved by the Department of Taxation and Finance. Any application for such approval should be addressed to:

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Miscellaneous Tax - Refund Unit

W.A. Harriman Campus

Albany, NY 12227

(d)Motor fuel consumed by nonpublic school operators.

(1) Any nonpublic school operator (as defined in section 410.2[o] of this Title) which purchases motor fuel on which the aggregate State tax (eight cents per gallon) imposed by section 284 (four cents per gallon), section 284-a (three cents per gallon) and section 284-c (one cent per gallon) of the Tax Law has been paid, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the amount paid pursuant to such sections in respect of such motor fuel consumed by the nonpublic school operator exclusively in educational related activities. No reimbursement is allowable for any local tax on leaded motor fuel imposed pursuant to the authority of section 284-b of the Tax Law.

(2) Nonpublic school operators claiming reimbursement as described in this subdivision must explain the manner in which the motor fuel was consumed in activities related to a nonpublic elementary or secondary school education.

(e)Motor fuel consumed by voluntary ambulance services.

(1) Any voluntary ambulance service which purchases motor fuel on which the tax imposed by article 12-A of the Tax Law has been paid, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the amount of such tax in respect of such motor fuel consumed by a volunteer ambulance service vehicle in the course of operating within New York State.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision a voluntary ambulance service, as defined in section 3001 of the Public Health Law, means an ambulance service operating pursuant to a valid voluntary ambulance service statement of registration, not for pecuniary profit or financial gain and no part of the assets or income of such ambulance service is distributable to, or inures to the benefit of, its members, directors or officers except as provided for by the Public Health Law. In general and as used in this paragraph, an ambulance service is any individual or entity engaged in providing emergency medical services and the transportation of sick, disabled or injured persons by motor vehicle or other form of transportation to or from facilities providing hospital services.

(f)Motor fuel consumed by exempt purchasers.

(1) Although individuals and entities described in section 414.1 of this Title are not required to pay the motor fuel tax on their purchases of motor fuel as described in that section, if the tax has been paid by or passed through to the individual or entity on such purchases they are entitled to a reimbursement of the motor fuel tax imposed by article 12-A of the Tax Law in the amount paid or included in the price paid for such motor fuel, unless precluded by section 414.4(d) of this Title.

(2) An individual or entity claiming reimbursement under this subdivision must establish that:

(i) it is in fact an exempt individual or entity;

(ii) the motor fuel was acquired under circumstances qualifying for exemption;

(iii) the individual or entity was the purchaser of record and paid for the motor fuel from the funds of such individual or entity; and

(iv) that the motor fuel was used or consumed by the individual or entity exclusively for its purposes.

(g)

(1)Motor fuel consumed by fire companies and volunteer rescue squads.

(i) Any fire company or fire department (as defined in section 3 of the Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Law) with active volunteer members, if not otherwise qualifying for reimbursement as a government entity pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed as provided herein the amount of motor fuel tax paid pursuant to article 12-A of the Tax Law in respect of motor fuel used or consumed by such volunteer fire company or department exclusively for its purposes.

(ii) For purposes of this subdivision a fire company means any fire company of a county, city, town, village or fire district and any fire corporation recognized as such by the governing board of a city, town, village, fire district or Indian reservation. A fire department may be composed of one or more fire companies.

(2) Any volunteer rescue squad supported in whole or in part by tax money, may, upon timely application, be reimbursed the amount of motor fuel tax paid pursuant to article 12-A of the Tax Law in respect of motor fuel used or consumed by such volunteer rescue squad exclusively for its purposes.

(h) Where a distributor and the Department of Taxation and Finance have consented in writing pursuant to section 419.1 of this Title to extending the period of time in which a determination of tax may be made and such agreement is made within three years from the date of the purchase of motor fuel subject to reimbursement, the period of time in which the distributor may file a claim for reimbursement under this section will not expire prior to six months after the expiration of the extended period within which a determination of tax may be made.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 20 § 415.3