Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
Tax Law, § 509(5), 528(a), (b)
(a) Significant changes in the circumstances
surrounding the original issuance of a New York State fuel use tax license and
decal or an IFTA license and decals may result in the need to surrender the
license to the department for cancellation and/or destroy any reproductions of
such license and all applicable decals. Generally, the surrender of licenses
and/or the destruction of all reproductions of such license and of decals shall
be at the direction of the department, as in the case of the issuance of
corrected licenses or the suspension or revocation of licenses and decals.
However, where any change in circumstances significantly alters the nature of
the qualified motor vehicle for which a New York State fuel use tax decal or
IFTA decals were issued, such decal(s) must be immediately destroyed without a
specific request by the department to do so. Additionally, where any change in
circumstances significantly alters the nature of the carrier to whom the
license and decal(s) were issued, such license must be immediately surrendered
and all reproductions of such license and the decal(s) destroyed or, in the
case of unused IFTA decals, returned to the department, without a specific
request by the department to do so. Any transfers of licenses and decals that
are not specifically authorized by this Article are invalid and immediately
result in the revocation of the New York State fuel use tax license and decal
or IFTA license and decals issued to the carrier, or carriers that are parties
to such transfer.
(b) A New York
State fuel use tax decal or IFTA decals must be destroyed within five days
after:
(1) any change in ownership of the
qualified motor vehicle or if the qualified motor vehicle is in any manner
retired from service;
(2) the
qualified motor vehicle for which they were issued becomes no longer subject to
the provisions of article 21-A of the Tax Law; or
(3) the activities of the qualified motor
vehicle for which they were issued change in such a manner as to render the
decal(s) unnecessary. Thus, for example, decal(s) must be destroyed when a
qualified motor vehicle is sold, retired from service, no longer operated on
the public highways of this State (or, in the case of IFTA decals, any other
IFTA jurisdiction), modified so that such vehicle no longer meets the
definition of a qualified motor vehicle, or will now be used in all operating
jurisdictions exclusively for exempt purposes.
(c)
(1) The
New York State fuel use tax license and decal or IFTA license and decals are
personal to the carrier to whom they are issued and are not transferable among
carriers. Thus, except as provided herein, within five days after the carrier
ceases to operate qualified motor vehicles, or reorganizes its business in a
different form (other than a mere change of identity), the New York State fuel
use tax license or IFTA license issued to the carrier must be surrendered for
cancellation and all reproductions of such license and the decal(s) must be
destroyed (or in the case of unused IFTA decals, returned to the department).
In addition to any other meaning, a New York State fuel use tax license and
decal or an IFTA license and decals will be deemed transferred, if any change
in partnership interest occurs, or if shares of stock in a corporate carrier
are acquired by any person such that the person owns, directly or indirectly,
more than 10 percent (25 percent or more in the case of a carrier having four
or fewer shareholders) of the number of shares of voting stock of such
carrier.
(2) The bequest or
inheritance of a New York State fuel use tax license and decal or an IFTA
license and decals from a deceased carrier directly to:
(i) an ancestor of the decedent;
(ii) the spouse of the decedent;
(iii) a lineal descendant of the decedent, of
the decedent's spouse, or of a parent of the decedent; or
(iv) the spouse of any lineal descendant
described in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, will not, of itself, be
considered a transfer of such a license and decal(s) that will operate as
grounds to immediately revoke such license and decal(s), provided the
department is promptly notified. However, such bequest or inheritance will
cause such revocation 90 days after the death of the carrier. At such time, the
New York State fuel use tax license or IFTA license must be immediately
surrendered to the department and the decal(s) issued in conjunction with such
license must be immediately destroyed or, in the case of unused IFTA decals,
returned to the department.
(d)
(1) A
carrier operating a qualified motor vehicle pursuant to a lease or other
agreement may, or must, depending upon the provisions of the leasing agreement
and the terms of that agreement (as set forth in detail in section
491.2[a]
of this Part), operate such qualified motor vehicle under the New York State
fuel use tax license and decal or IFTA license and decals issued to the owner
of the qualified motor vehicle. This activity will not be considered a transfer
of licenses and decals or grounds for revocation. In a case where a carrier
other than the owner obtains a New York State fuel use tax license and decal or
an IFTA license and decals for the qualified motor vehicle, that carrier must
destroy its decal(s) within five days after the termination of the lease or
other agreement that authorizes the use or control of the qualified motor
vehicle. In the event that the lease or other agreement is immediately renewed
or extended and the same carrier continues to operate the qualified motor
vehicle at issue, the decal(s) need not be destroyed until five days after the
end of the renewal or extension. Further, in the case of an IFTA licensee,
where such carrier is operating other qualified motor vehicles pursuant to such
license, the carrier must retain such license. If such carrier is not operating
any qualified motor vehicles pursuant to such license, the carrier may
surrender the license to the department or retain the license until such
license expires or is suspended or revoked. However, if the carrier retains
such license, the carrier is responsible for filing fuel use tax returns even
where the carrier has no activity during a return period.
(2)
(i)
Where the owner of a qualified motor vehicle has obtained a New York State fuel
use tax license and decal or an IFTA license and decals for the qualified motor
vehicle and the use or control of the qualified motor vehicle is subsequently
conveyed to another carrier who also obtains a New York State fuel use tax
license and decal or an IFTA license and decals, as the case may be, for the
qualified motor vehicle, the owner is not required to surrender its license to
the department or to destroy its decal(s). In such a case, the owner's license
must be held in abeyance by the owner and the decal(s) must remain affixed to
the qualified motor vehicle even though the decal(s) that have been issued to
the carrier operating the qualified motor vehicle will also be affixed to such
qualified motor vehicle.
(ii) In
the alternative, where the owner has no qualified motor vehicles on which the
owner must report and pay the fuel use tax, the New York State fuel use tax
license or IFTA license issued to the owner of the qualified motor vehicle may
be surrendered to the department and all reproductions of such license and any
decals issued to the owner may be destroyed or, in the case of unused IFTA
decals, returned to the department in order to relieve the owner from having to
file fuel use tax returns.
(3) Pursuant to the joint administration
provisions of section 528(a) of article 21-A of the Tax Law, where a carrier
operating qualified motor vehicles exclusively in New York State or a carrier
engaged in interstate commerce not required to obtain an IFTA license must
obtain a New York State fuel use tax license in accordance with the provisions
of section
491.3(c)
of this Part (combined highway use tax permit/fuel use tax license), the
highway use tax provisions with respect to surrender of permits and stickers
and requisite destruction of stickers for carriers operating under a lease or
other agreement (see section
474.6
of this Title) shall be applicable to such carrier.
(e) A New York-based IFTA carrier, in good
standing with the department, whose base jurisdiction changes during the
calendar year, is allowed to maintain such carrier's New York IFTA license and
decals for the remainder of the calendar period, but shall not be eligible to
renew such carrier's New York IFTA license in the succeeding calendar
year.
(f) The Department of
Taxation and Finance may take possession, and a carrier shall surrender such
carrier's New York State fuel use tax license and decal or IFTA license and
decals that have been suspended or revoked and any license and decal(s) that
are being fraudulently carried in or displayed on, as the case may be, a
qualified motor vehicle. The department may also take possession, and a carrier
shall surrender any New York State fuel use tax license and decal or IFTA
license and decals unlawfully carried or displayed by a carrier other than the
carrier to whom the license and decal(s) were issued. The department may direct
any peace officer, acting pursuant to the officer's special duties, any police
officer, any employee of the Department of Taxation and Finance or of the
Department of Transportation, or any person designated by any other
jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the IFTA to take possession of such
license and decal(s).
