Virginia Code 58.1-2274: Unlawful importing, transportation, delivery, storage, acquiring or sale of fuel; sale to enforce assessment.
A. Upon the discovery of any fuel illegally imported into, or illegally transported, delivered, stored, acquired, or sold in, the Commonwealth, the Commissioner may order the tank or other storage receptacle in which the fuel is located to be seized and locked or sealed until the tax, penalties and interest levied under this chapter are assessed and paid.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-2274
- Assessment: means a written determination by the Department of the amount of taxes owed by a taxpayer. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles, acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Fuel: includes motor fuel and alternative fuel. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Person: means any individual; firm; cooperative; association; corporation; limited liability company; trust; business trust; syndicate; partnership; limited liability partnership; joint venture; receiver; trustee in bankruptcy; club, society or other group or combination acting as a unit; or public body, including but not limited to the Commonwealth, any other state, and any agency, department, institution, political subdivision or instrumentality of the Commonwealth or any other state. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Use: means the actual consumption or receipt of motor fuel by any person into a highway vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
B. If the assessment for such tax is not paid within 30 days, the Commissioner is hereby authorized, in addition to the other remedies authorized in this chapter, to sell such fuel and use the proceeds of such sale to satisfy the assessment due, with any funds which exceed the assessment and costs of the sale being returned to the owner of the fuel.
C. All fuel and any property, tangible or intangible, which may be found upon the person or in any vehicle which such person is using, including the vehicle itself, to aid the person in the transportation or sale of illegally transported, delivered, stored, sold, imported or acquired fuel, and any property found in the immediate vicinity of any place where such illegally transported, delivered, stored, sold, imported or acquired fuel may be located, including motor vehicles, tanks, and other storage devices, used to aid in the illegal transportation or sale of such fuel, shall be deemed contraband and shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth.
D. Any efforts by the Department to effect the forfeiture allowed under the authority of this section shall be governed by Chapter 22.1 of Title 19.2, mutatis mutandis. However, such procedures shall not be applicable to the Department’s tax collection powers and the use of such powers to enforce a tax liability against the illegally transported, delivered, stored, sold, imported or acquired fuel.