366.203 - Addition of dye to certain exempt special fuel; operation or maintenance on highway of vehicle containing dyed special fuel.

366.203  Addition of dye to certain exempt special fuel; operation or maintenance on highway of vehicle containing dyed special fuel.

      1.  Special fuel, other than compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or kerosene, which is exempt from the tax pursuant to subsection 3 or 4 of NRS 366.200 must be dyed before it is removed for distribution from a rack. The dye added to the exempt special fuel must be of the color and concentration required by the regulations adopted by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 4082.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, a person shall not operate or maintain on any highway in this State a motor vehicle which contains dyed special fuel in the fuel tank of that vehicle. A person who operates or maintains a motor vehicle in violation of this subsection and the registered owner of the motor vehicle are jointly and severally liable for any taxes, penalties and interest payable to the Department.

      3.  A person who, pursuant to subsection 2, 3 or 4 of NRS 366.200, is exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter may operate or maintain a motor vehicle on a highway in this State which contains dyed special fuel in the fuel tank of that vehicle.

      4.  A person may operate or maintain on a highway in this State any special mobile equipment that is incidentally operated or moved upon a highway or farm equipment which contains dyed special fuel in the fuel tank of the special mobile equipment or farm equipment. As used in this subsection:

      (a) “Farm equipment” means any self-propelled machinery or motor vehicle that is designed solely for tilling soil or for cultivating, harvesting or transporting crops or other agricultural products and which is not required to be registered with the Department. The term includes a tractor, baler or swather, any implement used to retrieve hay, or any special mobile equipment that is used for farming purposes. The term does not include a truck-tractor or any other vehicle primarily used for hauling loads long distances over a public highway.

      (b) “Highway” does not include a controlled-access highway as defined in NRS 484A.060.

      (c) “Truck-tractor” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 482.130.

      (d) “Vehicle” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 482.135.

      5.  There is a rebuttable presumption that all special fuel which is not dyed special fuel and which is sold or distributed in this State is for the purpose of propelling a motor vehicle.

      6.  The Department shall, by regulation, define “incidentally operated or moved upon a highway” for purposes of this section.

      (Added to NRS by 1995, 2367; A 1997, 2831, 3398; 1999, 679; 2001, 854; 2003, 514, 2913; 2005, 1152; 2007, 2518)