§ 47-3-3.1 - Delivery of fuel oil – Fraud – Penalty.
SECTION 47-3-3.1
§ 47-3-3.1 Delivery of fuel oil –Fraud – Penalty. – (a) Whoever sells or delivers fuel oil in quantities of twenty (20) gallons orover shall cause a delivery ticket, which shall consist of an original and atleast one carbon copy thereof, to be issued. The ticket shall be seriallynumbered for the purpose of identification and shall have:
(i) Delivery date;
(ii) Name and address of the seller; and
(iii) Name of purchaser legibly recorded on the ticket priorto delivery of the fuel oil.
(2) Upon completion of delivery, the ticket should include:
(i) Statement of quantity of fuel delivered by sealed meterdevice in gallons and fractions thereof, if any;
(ii) Price per gallon unless purchaser has requested thatprice not be shown;
(iii) Grade of fuel oil; and
(iv) Identity of person making the delivery.
(3) One copy of the ticket shall be delivered to thepurchaser or his or her agent at the time of delivery of the oil, unless thepurchaser has requested or initiates a request that the vendor deliver theticket to another person or location, or that the delivery of the ticket bemade at another time. Another copy of the ticket shall be retained by theseller for a period of three (3) years to be in compliance with division oftaxation regulations of the state.
(b) The director of the department of labor and trainingshall be authorized to enter and go into or upon, at the time of delivery offuel oil, without warrant, any vehicle to inspect or examine the meteringsystem, vehicle tank compartments, and delivery tickets then in the actualpossession or under the control of the person making the delivery and mayseize, without warrant, any delivery tickets suspected of constituting adeceptive or fraudulent practice. No copy of the retained delivery ticket shallbe destroyed, but may be voided and kept on file.
(c) On deliveries of fuel oils made through a meter, thequantity determinations of the oil delivered shall be mechanically printed onthe ticket at the time of delivery. A sales sequence number shall also bemechanically printed on the ticket by the ticket printing mechanism of themetering system unless the printing mechanism is of the cumulative type. Thesales sequence number shall not be returnable to zero until it has reached itshighest attainable number.
(2) Only one delivery ticket may be inserted into the ticketprinting mechanism, and in the case of vehicle tank meters, the ticket shallnot be inserted until immediately before a delivery is begun, and in no caseshall a ticket be left in the printing mechanism when the vehicle is in motionwhile on a public street, highway, or thoroughfare. The possession of apreprinted ticket imprinted with a gallon amount in advance of delivery shallbe prima facie evidence of intent to use the ticket in violation of thissection.
(3) Deliveries of fuel oil made from vehicle tankcompartments, not measured at the time of sale by a sealed metering system,shall be made only from calibrated compartments which are filled to anindicator that has been sealed by a sealer or inspector of weights andmeasures. The preceding sentence shall not apply to the transfer, exchange, orsale of fuel oil which is being transported between bulk storage facilities, orto a purchaser who initiates a request in writing that he or she wishes toaccept a carbon copy of the bulk storage metered loading ticket.
(1) Whoever violates any provision of this section shall bepunished for the first offense, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars($1,000); for the second offense, by a fine of two thousand dollars ($2,000);and for each subsequent offense, by a fine of four thousand dollars ($4,000)and/or imprisonment for not more than six (6) months.
(2) Whoever alters or substitutes a delivery ticket forfraudulent or deceptive purposes shall be punished by a fine of not less thanone thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000), orby imprisonment for not more than three (3) years, or both.
(3) In addition to the foregoing penalties, anyone foundguilty of violating the provisions of this section shall also be liable civillyto the person defrauded for an amount equal to three (3) times the dollaramount of the cost of the fuel oil of which the party was defrauded.
(e) Definitions. Whenever in this section, unlessotherwise defined, the words "fuel oil" or "petroleum products" are used, theyshall be construed to be home heating fuels.