The U.S. Customs service has moved to shut down tax-free fuel sales at border duty-free shops, which is good news to competing truckstops.
Since August 2000, a millionaire who owns the busiest border crossing in the United States has sold diesel and gasoline without collecting federal taxes, forcing at least one nearby truckstop out of business and leaving other retailers fighting to survive.
The Ambassador Bridge duty-free shop, located on the United States side of the Detroit-Canada border, is undercutting its competitors by as much as 15 cents per gallon.
This month, the United States Customs Service announced it would revoke a Detroit Port Director letter sent to Ambassador Bridge Owner Ammex Inc. last year that allowed the firm to expand its duty-free operations to include gasoline and diesel fuel. (See Truckstop Owners Rally To Fight Duty-Free Fuel.")
"In issuing this decision, federal officials clearly recognize that motor fuels are different from other merchandise sold at duty-free shops," said W. Dewey Clower, president of the truckstop group NATSO. "Without this ruling, nothing prevents a duty-free customer from immediately returning to the U.S. to use our highways without paying their fair share."
NATSO still believes it is critical that Congress adopt a legislative fix to stop tax-free sales at border outlets. "Ammex has been embroiled in extensive litigation with the state of Michigan and the United States over fuel sales," Clower pointed out. So even though Customs has handed Ammex owner Manuel Moroun a defeat, there is no guarantee that the decision will survive judicial scrutiny.
A copy of the Customs ruling can be viewed at www.customs.gov/about/bulletin/docs/35genno47.pdf.
Since August 2000, a millionaire who owns the busiest border crossing in the United States has sold diesel and gasoline without collecting federal taxes, forcing at least one nearby truckstop out of business and leaving other retailers fighting to survive.
The Ambassador Bridge duty-free shop, located on the United States side of the Detroit-Canada border, is undercutting its competitors by as much as 15 cents per gallon.
This month, the United States Customs Service announced it would revoke a Detroit Port Director letter sent to Ambassador Bridge Owner Ammex Inc. last year that allowed the firm to expand its duty-free operations to include gasoline and diesel fuel. (See Truckstop Owners Rally To Fight Duty-Free Fuel.")
"In issuing this decision, federal officials clearly recognize that motor fuels are different from other merchandise sold at duty-free shops," said W. Dewey Clower, president of the truckstop group NATSO. "Without this ruling, nothing prevents a duty-free customer from immediately returning to the U.S. to use our highways without paying their fair share."
NATSO still believes it is critical that Congress adopt a legislative fix to stop tax-free sales at border outlets. "Ammex has been embroiled in extensive litigation with the state of Michigan and the United States over fuel sales," Clower pointed out. So even though Customs has handed Ammex owner Manuel Moroun a defeat, there is no guarantee that the decision will survive judicial scrutiny.
A copy of the Customs ruling can be viewed at www.customs.gov/about/bulletin/docs/35genno47.pdf.
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