§818.40.  Bond requirements; amounts

A.  Upon approval of the application by the secretary, the applicant shall file with the secretary a surety bond executed in favor of the secretary in the amount as follows:

(1)  For a supplier or permissive supplier, the amount of the bond shall be a minimum of fifty thousand dollars or an amount equal to three months tax liability, whichever is greater, and only one surety bond shall be required for a supplier that is also a terminal operator.

(2)  For a distributor, importer, exporter, blender, or interstate motor fuel user license, the amount of the bond shall be a minimum of twenty thousand dollars or an amount equal to three months tax liability, whichever is greater.  In computing the amount of the bond, the amount of tax liability shall be reduced by the amount paid to the supplier or permissive supplier.

(3)  For any person requiring multiple licenses, the minimum bond shall be equal to the highest bond level required.

(4)  For a motor fuel transporter or aviation fuel dealer license, no bond shall be required.

(5)  For a terminal operator license, the amount of the bond shall be a minimum of one million dollars or an amount equal to three months tax liability, whichever is greater, and only one surety bond shall be required for a terminal operator that is also a supplier.

B.  The secretary may require an additional bond amount from the licensee when:

(1)  Liability upon the previous bond is discharged or reduced by a judgment rendered, payment made, or is otherwise disposed of.

(2)  In the opinion of the secretary, any surety on the previous bond becomes unsatisfactory.

(3)  The licensee no longer meets the conditions for waiver of bond as set forth in Subsection F of this Section.

C.  The licensee must file the additional bond amount within thirty days from the date such notice is mailed by the secretary.  The secretary may immediately revoke the licensee's license upon the expiration of the thirty-day period if the licensee fails to provide the additional bond amount requested.

D.  The surety must be authorized to engage in business within this state.  The surety bond shall be conditioned upon faithful compliance with the provisions of this Part, including the filing of the returns and payment of all tax prescribed by this Subpart.  The surety bond shall be approved by the secretary as to sufficiency and form and shall indemnify the state against any loss arising from the failure of the licensee to pay for any cause whatever the tax levied by this Subpart.

E.  Any surety on an existing bond furnished by a person required to be licensed may notify the secretary in writing of its intent to cancel the bond.  The secretary shall immediately notify the licensee of the intent of the surety to cancel, and the licensee shall have thirty days from the date of receipt of such notice to provide a sufficient replacement bond.  The secretary may immediately cancel the licensee's license upon expiration of the thirty-day period set out above if the licensee fails to provide a new replacement bond.  The surety requesting cancellation shall remain liable for any liability already accrued or which shall accrue during the thirty-day period set out above, but shall not be responsible for any liability which accrues after said thirty-day period.

F.(1)  The secretary is authorized to waive the furnishing of this surety bond by any licensee who meets all the following:

(a)  Has and agrees to maintain assets in Louisiana of a net value of not less than one and one-fourth times the amount of the bond which would otherwise be required.

(b)  Has had a bond on file with the secretary for a period of not less than three years.

(c)  Has not been delinquent in remitting taxes accrued or accruing under this Subpart during the three-year period immediately preceding the filing of an application for waiver of the bond.

(2)  The secretary is authorized to waive the furnishing of a surety bond by a terminal operator if no less than seventy-five percent of the direct owners and seventy-five percent of the ownership interest of the terminal are direct owners of a business formerly licensed as a distributor that was granted a bond waiver and is currently licensed as a supplier, and such business has and agrees to maintain assets in Louisiana of a net value of not less than one and one-fourth times the amount of the bond which would otherwise be required.

G.  Any licensee whose bond was waived prior to July 1, 2006, as either a gasoline dealer, gasoline jobber, or special fuel supplier and who meets the requirements provided in Subsection F of this Section will not be required to provide a new bond.

H.  If any licensee whose bond has been waived by the secretary becomes delinquent in remitting taxes due under this Subpart, the secretary may require that such licensee furnish a bond in the amount required in this Section, and such licensee shall not be eligible for a waiver of the bond for a period of three years from the date the bond is furnished.

Acts 2005, No. 252, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 303, §2, eff. July 9, 2007; Acts 2010, No. 523, §1.