452A.8 Tax reports — computation and payment of tax — credits.

1. For the purpose of determining the amount of the supplier’s, restrictive supplier’s, or importer’s tax liability, a supplier or restrictive supplier shall file a return not later than the last day of each calendar month and an importer shall file a return semimonthly with the department, signed under penalty for false certification. For an importer for the reporting period from the first day of the month through the fifteenth of the month, the return is due on the last day of the month. For an importer for the reporting period from the sixteenth of the month through the last day of the month, the return is due on the fifteenth day of the following month. The returns shall include the following:

a. A statement of the number of invoiced gallons of motor fuel and undyed special fuel withdrawn from the terminal by the licensee within this state during the preceding calendar month in such detail as determined by the department. This includes on-site blending reports at the terminal.

b. For information purposes only, a supplier, restrictive supplier, or importer shall show the number of invoiced gallons of dyed special fuel withdrawn from the terminal.

c. A statement showing the deductions authorized in this subchapter in such detail and with such supporting evidence as required by the department.

d. Any other information the department may require for the enforcement of this chapter.

2. At the time of filing a return, a supplier or restrictive supplier shall pay to the department the full amount of the fuel tax due for the preceding calendar month. An importer shall pay to the department the full amount of fuel tax due for the preceding semimonthly period. The tax shall be computed as follows:

a. From the total number of invoiced gallons of motor fuel or undyed special fuel withdrawn from the terminal by the licensee during the preceding calendar month or semimonthly period the following deductions shall be made:

(1) The gallonage of motor fuel or undyed special fuel withdrawn from a terminal by a licensee and exported outside Iowa.

(2) For suppliers only, the one and six-tenths percent of the number of gallons of motor fuel or seven-tenths percent of the number of gallons of undyed special fuel of the invoiced gallons of motor fuel or undyed special fuel withdrawn from a terminal within this state during the preceding calendar month.

b. The number of invoiced gallons remaining after the deductions in paragraph “a” shall be multiplied by the per gallon fuel tax rate.

c. The tax due under paragraph “b” shall be the amount of fuel tax due from the supplier, restrictive supplier, or importer for the preceding reporting period. The director may require by rule that the payment of taxes by suppliers, restrictive suppliers, and importers be made by electronic funds transfer. The director may allow a tax float by rule where the eligible purchaser is not required to pay the tax to the supplier until one business day prior to the date the tax is due. A licensed supplier who is unable to recover the tax from an eligible purchaser is not liable for the tax, upon proper documentation, and may credit the amount of unpaid tax against a later remittance of tax. Under this provision, a supplier does not qualify for a credit if the purchaser did not elect to use the eligible purchaser status, or otherwise does not qualify to be an eligible purchaser. To qualify for the credit, the supplier must notify the department of the uncollectible account no later than ten calendar days after the due date for payment of the tax. If a supplier sells additional motor fuel or undyed special fuel to a delinquent eligible purchaser after notifying the department that the supplier has an uncollectible debt with that eligible purchaser, the limited liability provision does not apply to the additional fuel. The supplier is liable for tax collected from the purchaser.

d. The director may require by rule that reports and returns be filed by electronic transmission.

e. (1) For purposes of this paragraph “e”, “dealer” or “user” means a licensed compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas dealer or user and “fuel” means compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas.

(2) The tax for compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas delivered by a licensed dealer for use in this state shall attach at the time of the delivery and shall be collected by the dealer from the purchaser and paid to the department as provided in this chapter. The tax, with respect to compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas acquired by a purchaser in any manner other than by delivery by a licensed dealer into a fuel supply tank of a motor vehicle, attaches at the time of the use of the fuel and shall be paid over to the department by the purchaser as provided in this chapter.

(3) The department shall adopt rules governing the dispensing of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas by licensed dealers and licensed users. The director may require by rule that reports and returns be filed by electronic transmission. The department shall require that all pumps located at dealer locations and user locations through which liquefied petroleum gas can be dispensed shall be metered, inspected, tested for accuracy, and sealed and licensed by the department of agriculture and land stewardship, and that fuel delivered into the fuel supply tank of any motor vehicle shall be dispensed only through tested metered pumps and may be sold without temperature correction or corrected to a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If the metered gallonage is to be temperature-corrected, only a temperature-compensated meter shall be used. Natural gas used as fuel shall be delivered into compressing equipment through sealed meters certified for accuracy by the department of agriculture and land stewardship.

(4) (a) All gallonage which is not for highway use, dispensed through metered pumps as licensed under this section on which fuel tax is not collected, must be substantiated by exemption certificates as provided by the department or by valid exemption certificates provided by the dealers, signed by the purchaser, and retained by the dealer. A “valid exemption certificate provided by a dealer” is an exemption certificate which is in the form prescribed by the director to assist a dealer to properly account for fuel dispensed for which tax is not collected and which is complete and correct according to the requirements of the director.

(b) For the privilege of purchasing liquefied petroleum gas, dispensed through licensed metered pumps, on a basis exempt from the tax, the purchaser shall sign exemption certificates for the gallonage claimed which is not for highway use.

(c) The department shall disallow all sales of gallonage which is not for highway use unless proof is established by the certificate. Exemption certificates shall be retained by the dealer for a period of three years.

(5) (a) For the purpose of determining the amount of liability for fuel tax, each dealer and each user shall file with the department not later than the last day of each calendar month a monthly tax return certified under penalties for false certification. The return shall show, with reference to each location at which fuel is delivered or placed by the dealer or user into a fuel supply tank of any motor vehicle during the next preceding calendar month, information as required by the department.

(b) The amount of tax due shall be computed by multiplying the appropriate tax rate per gallon by the number of gallons of fuel delivered or placed by the dealer or user into supply tanks of motor vehicles.

(c) The return shall be accompanied by remittance in the amount of the tax due for the month in which the fuel was placed into the supply tanks of motor vehicles.

3. For the purpose of determining the amount of the tax liability on alcohol blended to produce ethanol blended gasoline or a blend of special fuel products, each licensed blender shall, not later than the last day of each month following the month in which the blending is done, file with the department a monthly return, signed under penalty for false certificate, containing information required by rules adopted by the director. The director may require by rule that reports and returns be filed by electronic transmission.

4. A person who possesses fuel or uses fuel in a motor vehicle upon which no tax has been paid by a licensee in this state is subject to reporting and paying the applicable tax. The director may require by rule that reports and returns be filed by electronic transmission.

[C27, 31, §5093-a5, -b1; C35, §5093-f9; C39, §5093.09; C46, 50, 54, §324.13 – 324.15, 324.17, 324.29; C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §324.8; 81 Acts, 2nd Ex, ch 2, §10, 11]

91 Acts, ch 87, §5, 6

C93, §452A.8

94 Acts, ch 1165, §36; 95 Acts, ch 155, §19, 44; 96 Acts, ch 1066, §4 – 7, 21; 99 Acts, ch 151, §53 – 56, 89; 2002 Acts, ch 1151, §22; 2005 Acts, ch 140, §62, 63; 2012 Acts, ch 1023, §53; 2014 Acts, ch 1032, §6; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §125 – 128; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §127

Referred to in §452A.5, 452A.21, 452A.54

Code editor directive applied