Congress Reinstates Oil Spill Liability Tax on Prospective (Not Retroactive) Basis

The budget deal that Congress passed on Feb. 8 restores the 9-cent-per-barrel tax on oil to pay for spill cleanups.  The tax will not take effect until March 1, 2018, however, and will not be applied to transactions taking place between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28.

Many fuel marketers had been concerned that the legislation would apply the tax to 2018 transactions that have already been processed, creating significant transactional concerns and potential legal implications within the entire fuel supply chain.  The market had already experienced confusion over the prospect of the tax being retroactively applied.

NATSO members are advised that if any supplier has charged them for the tax as part of their supply contracts for transactions between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2018, they are entitled to a refund for that line item.  

NATSO's understanding is that different refining companies have taken different approaches to the issue this year; Valero, for example, reportedly charged the fee for the month of January (in which case it owes those customers a refund for those line items); Citgo, on the other hand, did not charge any fee for the month of January but began charging the fee in February (in which case its customers are likewise entitled to a refund for those line items in February).  

Other suppliers reportedly have not charged the fee at all, and were planning to bill customers in the event the fee was retroactively reinstated.  This is now not happening.