Subdivision 1.General rule.

No person shall produce, manufacture, or refine petroleum products in this state, or receive, distribute, sell, or use in this state petroleum products which have not been received in this state by a licensed distributor, or in any manner act as a distributor as defined in section 296A.01 without having been licensed by the commissioner as a distributor.

Subd. 2.Qualifications.

Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 296A.03

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of revenue. See Minnesota Statutes 296A.01
  • Distributor: means any person who (1) receives petroleum products in this state for storage and subsequent distribution by tank car or tank truck or both, (2) produces, manufactures, or refines petroleum products in this state, or (3) imports petroleum products into this state via boat, barge, or pipeline for storage and subsequent delivery at or further transportation from boat, barge, or pipe line terminals in this state. See Minnesota Statutes 296A.01
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Motor fuel: means a liquid or gaseous form of fuel, regardless of its composition or properties, used to propel a motor vehicle. See Minnesota Statutes 296A.01
  • Person: means any individual, firm, trust, estate, partnership, association, cooperative association, joint stock company or corporation, public or private, or any representative appointed by order of any court; or an officer or employee of a corporation, or a member or employee of a partnership, who as such officer, employee, or member is under a duty to perform any act prescribed by this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 296A.01
  • Petroleum products: means all of the products defined in subdivisions 2, 7, 8, 8a, 8b, 10, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22 to 26, 28, 32, and 35. See Minnesota Statutes 296A.01
  • state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
  • Tax: means any fee, charge, exaction, or assessment imposed by a governmental entity on an individual, person, entity, transaction, good, service, or other thing. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44

(a) A distributor’s license shall be issued to any responsible person who applies and qualifies as a distributor.

(b) Upon application to the commissioner, the commissioner must issue a distributor’s license to any person who:

(1) receives petroleum products in this state for bulk storage and subsequent distribution by tank truck;

(2) produces, manufactures, or refines petroleum products in this state;

(3) imports petroleum products into this state via boat, barge, or pipeline for storage and subsequent delivery at or further transportation from boat, barge, or pipeline terminals in this state; or

(4) holds a license and performs a function under the motor fuel tax law of an adjoining state equivalent to that of a distributor under this chapter, who desires to ship or deliver petroleum products from that state to persons in this state not licensed as distributors in this state and who agrees to assume with respect to all petroleum products so shipped or delivered the liabilities of a distributor receiving petroleum products in this state; provided, however, that any such license shall be issued only for the purpose of permitting such person to receive in this state the petroleum products so shipped or delivered. Except as herein provided, all persons licensed as distributors under this clause shall have the same rights and privileges and be subject to the same duties, requirements, and penalties as other licensed distributors.

(c) The commissioner shall not issue or renew a license to a person otherwise eligible under this subdivision if the person:

(1) has unpaid tax due under this chapter;

(2) has unfiled tax returns or reports due under this chapter;

(3) has had a license issued pursuant to this chapter revoked within the last five years; or

(4) has had an equivalent license issued by another state or Canadian province revoked within the last five years for failure to pay a tax or file a tax return or report.

Subd. 3.License fee.

An application for a distributor’s license must be accompanied by an initial fee of $25. Once licensed, a distributor must remit a $25 fee annually to maintain the license.

Subd. 4.Licensing period; expiration.

Each license period shall be for one year ending each June 30.

Subd. 5.

MS 2018 [Repealed, 1Sp2019 c 6 art 11 s 20]

Subd. 6.Surrender of license.

When the licensee shall voluntarily or involuntarily sell, dispose of, or discontinue business during the term of a license, the licensee shall immediately notify the commissioner in writing and shall within ten days surrender the license at the commissioner’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota.