66-726. Refund; when allowed; procedures.

(1) The department may adjust all errors in payment, refund tax paid on motor fuel destroyed, refund tax overpaid on motor fuel, and refund an amount equal to the per-gallon tax imposed by this state on sales of motor fuel on which tax was paid in this state but which was sold in a state other than Nebraska.

(2)(a) Motor fuels shall be exempt from the taxes imposed by sections 66-489, 66-489.02, 66-4,105, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, and 66-4,146 when the fuels are used for agricultural, quarrying, industrial, or other nonhighway use.

(b) The department shall refund tax paid on motor fuels used for an exempt purpose. The purchaser of tax-paid motor fuels used for an exempt purpose shall file a claim for refund with the department on forms prescribed by the department and shall provide such documentation and maintain such records as the department reasonably requires to substantiate that the fuels were used for exempt purposes.

(c) The refund claim shall include: (i) The name of claimant; (ii) the make, horsepower, and other mechanical description of machinery in which the motor fuels were used; (iii) a statement as to the source or place of business where such motor fuels, used solely for agricultural, quarrying, industrial, or other nonhighway uses, were acquired; that no part of such motor fuels were used in propelling licensed motor vehicles; and that the motor fuels for which refund of the tax thereon is claimed were used solely for agricultural, quarrying, industrial, or other nonhighway uses; and (iv) any other information deemed necessary by the department.

(d) The department shall deduct (i) from each claim for refund of tax paid on purchases of motor vehicle fuels under this subsection two and one-quarter cents per gallon through December 31, 2004, and commencing January 1, 2010, and three and one-half cents per gallon commencing January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2009, of the tax paid and (ii) from each claim for refund of tax paid on purchases of diesel fuel under this subsection one cent per gallon of the tax paid.

(e) The department shall transmit monthly to the State Treasurer a report of the number of gallons of motor vehicle fuel for which refunds have been approved under this subsection. Through December 31, 2004, and commencing January 1, 2010, the State Treasurer shall thereupon transfer from the Highway Trust Fund to the Agricultural Alcohol Fuel Tax Fund one and one-quarter cents per gallon approved for refund, and commencing January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2009, the State Treasurer shall thereupon transfer from the Highway Trust Fund (a) to the Ethanol Production Incentive Cash Fund one and one-quarter cents per gallon approved for refund and (b) to the Agricultural Alcohol Fuel Tax Fund one and one-quarter cents per gallon approved for refund.

(3) No refund shall be allowed unless a claim is filed setting forth the circumstances by reason of which refund should be allowed. Such claim shall be filed with the department within three years from the date of the payment of the tax.

(4) In each calendar year, no claim for refund related to motor vehicle fuel, diesel fuel, aircraft fuel, or compressed fuel can be for an amount less than twenty-five dollars.

(5) The department shall administer and enforce this section. The department may call to its aid when necessary any member of the Nebraska State Patrol, any police officer, any county attorney, or the Attorney General. The employees of the department are empowered to stop and inspect motor vehicles, to inspect premises, and temporarily to impound motor vehicles or motor fuels when necessary to administer this section.

(6) The department may adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary for the prompt and effective enforcement of this section.

(7) Any claimant for refund of motor fuels tax under this section who is unable to produce the original copy of any invoice to substantiate the refund for the reason that the same has been lost, mutilated, or destroyed may make proof of his or her claim by affidavit and such other evidence as may be required by the department, and if such claim is verified by investigation, such claim may be allowed.

(8) The changes made to this section by Laws 2004, LB 983, apply to motor fuels purchased during any tax year ending or deemed to end on or after January 1, 2005, under the Internal Revenue Code.

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