Section R17-8-605. Idle Time

A.       Under the provisions of this Article, the Division shall refund the Arizona motor fuel tax imposed on the motor fuel con- sumed by a Claimant’s vehicle while in idle status.

B.       In addition to the application under R17-8-601, a Claimant shall provide the following documentation to the Division to verify the quantity of motor fuel consumed by a vehicle while in idle status:

1.        Documentation that proves the total quantity of motor fuel purchased by the Claimant in Arizona during refund period;

a.         An invoice that contains the following information:

i.         Date of purchase,

ii.        Seller’s name,

iii.      Physical address where motor fuel was pur- chased,

iv.       Number of gallons of motor fuel purchased,

v.        Type of motor fuel purchased,

vi.       Price per gallon of motor fuel.

b.        A fuel log shall be maintained that contains the fol- lowing information:

i.         The date that the motor fuel was placed in the fuel tank of a motor vehicle;

ii.        The vehicle make, model, year, and VIN in which the motor fuel was placed; and

iii.      The number of gallons of motor fuel placed in a fuel tank.

c.         In lieu of subsections (B)(1)(a) and (b), a licensee may submit a summary of the fuel purchases made by the Claimant for the vehicle during the refund period. The summary shall contain the same infor- mation required to be on a fuel invoice under sub- section (B)(1)(a).

2.        Documentation that proves that the Claimant’s vehicle was located in Arizona, off-highway, at the time it was in idle status, and the length of time the vehicle was in idle status, using one or more of the following methods:

a.         Nonscheduled route:

i.         A logbook, approved by the Division, main- tained for each vehicle that identifies the date and time when the idle status started, the date and time  when the  idle  status  ended, and a physical description of the location of the vehi- cle during the idle status that establishes that the vehicle was in Arizona, but located off- highway.

ii.        The driver shall make an affirmative statement in the driver’s daily log that the engine was operating during the idle status and shall pre- pare the logbook entries simultaneously with the idle status.

iii.      The Claimant shall retain trip schedules or bills of lading to support the logbook entries.

b.        Scheduled route:

i.         Published schedule which includes arrival at and departure from fixed locations at pre- scribed times, or

ii.        A record of average wait times recorded in a daily log consisting of arrival at and departure from fixed locations at prescribed times, approved by the Division.

iii.      The Claimant shall document that the engine remained running during the scheduled stops.

c.         Global Positioning System:

i.         A report from a GPS, approved pursuant to subsection (C).

ii.        The Claimant shall maintain trip schedules or bills of lading to support GPS reports.

3.        Documentation that proves the quantity of motor fuel consumed by the Claimant’s vehicle while in idle status;

a.         The Claimant shall document the number of the gal- lons of motor fuel consumed per hour to maintain idle status by one or more of the following methods:

i.         Engine manufacturer’s standard specifications that establish the quantity of motor fuel con- sumed per hour while the vehicle is in idle sta- tus.

ii.        Computerized system that computes the quan- tity of motor fuel consumed per hour while in idle status.

iii.      A study or test that determines motor fuel con- sumption per hour while in idle status, prior to the period covered by the refund claim.

b.        A study under this Section shall meet the following specifications:

i.         The study shall be conducted at the Claimant’s expense,

ii.        The methodology shall be approved by the Division prior to conducting the study under subsection (C),

iii.      The fuel consumption characteristics of the vehicles and their operation during the period of the refund shall not vary significantly from the conditions that existed during the study, and

iv.       The results of the study shall be approved by the Division prior to the time period covered under the refund claim.

C.       The Division shall review and approve the method used and the data captured by a GPS or manual report prior to the initial claim for refund and the report shall include the following components:

1.        A description of the methodology used to determine the percentage of exempt use fuel consumption;

2.        A list of all equipment consuming use fuel;

3.        A description of all of the vehicle operations where use fuel is consumed;

4.        Whether vehicles are traveling scheduled routes, and whether seasonal or cyclical events affect use fuel;

5.        Testing and study components shall be a true representa- tion of operation of business as follows:

a.         Vehicles shall be  grouped into similar categories based on similar units and similar gross vehicle weight.

b.        Each vehicle category must be tested individually to determine the idle time fuel consumption.

c.         Vehicles selected for testing shall be representative of the category as to age, make, model, and engine size.

6.        Study components under R17-8-604(C)(2)(d)(iv);

7.        Explanation of the measuring method used to determine fuel consumption by vehicles, equipment, and machinery, which shall include manufacturer specifications;

8.        Study results under this subsection shall include a period covering cyclical or seasonal impacts which includes low and high points of fuel usage for exempt or non-exempt purposes;

9.        Results from a test or study shall be of duration of at least two weeks;

10.      The approved idle time study may then be used for three years or shall be updated as requested by the Division.

D.       A Claimant shall submit technical documentation that details the operating system of any system or manual study used including, but not limited to, the following:

1.        Identification of the computer system, including the name of the manufacturer, name of the software, and software version number;

2.        Identification of vehicle engines on which the software will be used by the Claimant, including makes, models, years, and fuel types;

3.        Description of the methodology used by computer system to determine idle status;

4.        Description of the methodology used to determine fuel consumption while in idle status;

5.        Description of the methodology used to determine the location of the vehicle during idle status; and

6.        Operating policies and procedures for the systems that are used in the Claimant’s business operations.

E.       The Claimant shall provide additional supporting documenta- tion if there is any update to the system study for which docu- mentation was initially submitted and approved.

1.        A Claimant shall submit to the Division an updated study under this Section three years from the date of Division approval or at the Division’s request.

2.        A study under this Section shall be conducted at the Claimant’s expense.

3.        The methodology used in support of a study under these rules shall be approved by the Division prior to conduct- ing the study under subsection (C).

4.        If the Division rejects the results of a study, a Claimant may request a hearing under A.R.S. § 28-5924.

Historical Note

New Section made by final rulemaking at 14 A.A.R. 399, effective March 8, 2008 (Supp. 08-1).