(a) None of the laws relating to the inspection of petroleum products as set forth in §§ 60-3-103 – 60-3-114, or the taxes and fees imposed by this chapter upon petroleum products, shall be applicable or collectible in the following cases:
Export: means to obtain petroleum products in this state for sale, use, or distribution in another state. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Fuel alcohol: means any alcohol used or intended for use as fuel in a combustion engine or heating oil system. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Gasoline: means all products commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline that are suitable for use as a motor fuel, but does not include any product that is sold as a product other than gasoline and has an ASTM octane number of less than seventy-five (75) as determined by the "motor method". See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
In this state: means the area inside the boundaries of Tennessee, but does not include the midstream of waterways that border the state. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
Petroleum products: means all benzol, gasoline, burning oil, distillate, fuel oil, gas oil, kerosene, naphtha, or any other volatile substance, excluding propane, reflecting a gravity of sixteen degrees (16°. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Rack: means a mechanism for delivering motor fuel from a refinery, terminal, or bulk plant into a railroad tank car, a transport truck or another means of bulk transfer outside of the bulk transfer/terminal system. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Refinery: means a facility used to produce motor fuel from crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids, or other hydrocarbons, and from which motor fuel may be removed by pipeline, by marine vessel, or at a rack. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Retailer: means a person that engages in the business of selling or distributing petroleum products to the end user within this state through a retail station. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Terminal: means a storage and distribution facility for taxable motor fuel, supplied by pipeline or marine vessel, that is registered as a qualified terminal by the internal revenue service. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
Vessel: means a barge or other marine conveyance used to transport petroleum products in bulk. See Tennessee Code 67-3-103
(1) Upon any of the products while being transported from, inside or outside the state to a petroleum refinery inside the state, for the purpose of there being refined, further refined or processed;(2) Upon any of the products while being refined, further refined, processed or stored at a petroleum refinery inside this state. Refinery exemptions are applicable to all petroleum activities, exchanges and transactions that are customarily performed by or engaged in by a refinery, but specifically excluded are exemptions applicable to the storage of petroleum or petroleum products for others, whether by lease or otherwise;(3) Upon any of the products while being transported from a refinery inside this state to another petroleum refinery inside this state; and(4) Upon any of the products while being transported from a petroleum refinery inside this state to a place outside this state, excluding commercial marine vessels, even though delivery is made in midstream of waterways constituting geographical boundaries of this state. For any product transported from refinery storage via marine vessel as an export, but in fact coming to rest at a nonexempt destination in this state, for which the taxes and fees are not reported and paid by a bonded importer, the refinery shall bear responsibility to this state for the payment of taxes, fees, and applicable interest and penalty.(b) All refinery exemptions granted to petroleum refineries shall apply to refiners or manufacturers of fuel alcohol who have a refinery or a manufacturing facility in Tennessee.(c) Where gasoline is exchanged or sold within the bulk transfer/terminal system between refiners who hold a bonded importer’s license, the first transferee, after the gasoline is imported into this state, shall be primarily liable for the taxes and fees that have accrued pursuant to §§ 67-3-201, 67-3-203 and 67-3-204. With respect to a refinery, gasoline may be exchanged or sold tax free by a refinery within refinery-held storage; however, the transferee shall be liable for taxes and fees on gasoline that crosses the terminalrack; provided, that the refinery is responsible for the taxes and fees on gasoline that crosses the terminal rack that is not otherwise exchanged or sold within the refinery.(d) For the purposes of the exemptions provided by this section, an entity, other than a retailer, affiliated with an entity which owns a refinery located in this state, shall be treated as the refinery and shall not be considered as the transferee. As used in this subsection (d), entities are affiliated with one another, if either, directly or indirectly wholly owns the other, or if the entities are directly or indirectly, wholly owned by a common parent.
