Loading...
Subchapter 5: Sales of Petroleum Products
a. Except as provided in subdivision five of section one hundred ninety-two of the agriculture and markets law, it shall be unlawful for any person, in connection with the sale or offer for sale at retail of any petroleum products for use in motor vehicles or motor boats, to post or maintain at such place of sale any sign, placard or other display that states the price at which such petroleum products are sold or offered for sale, except as follows:
1. The price on such sign, placard or other display shall be stated by the unit of the measure at which such petroleum products are customarily sold at retail and shall include all applicable taxes;
2. The name, trade name, brand, mark or symbol, and grade or quality classification, if any, and method of processing of such petroleum products shall be clearly stated on such sign, placard or other display, and, if such petroleum products are sold without identification by name, trade name, brand, mark or symbol, such sign, placard or other display shall refer clearly to such petroleum products as unbranded;
3. In relation to the sale of gasoline for use in motor vehicles or motor boats, the price for the lowest grade of gasoline offered for sale shall be stated; and
4. Where the price for purchases made with cash or other specified form of payment is less than the price for purchases made with any other form of payment, such sign, poster, or placard shall state the price for each type of accepted payment.
b. A retail dealer shall only sell petroleum products at the price stated on any sign, placard or other display subject to subdivision a of this section. It shall be unlawful to raise the price stated on any sign, placard or other display subject to subdivision a of this section for at least 24 hours.
c. All numbers referring to price shall be the same height, width and thickness. Identification of the petroleum products offered for sale, and any non-numerical language distinguishing the prices charged for different forms of payment shall be in letters and numbers not less than one-half of the height, width and thickness of the numbers referring to price. Letters and numbers shall be black on a white background or displayed on an illuminated light-emitting diode sign.
d. Price per gallon indicator. Except as otherwise provided in article sixteen of the agriculture and markets law or in any rule or regulations promulgated thereunder, every gasoline or diesel motor fuel dispensing device shall be equipped with a price per gallon indicator that shall correspond with the price per gallon stated on any sign, placard or other display subject to subdivision a of this section.
e. Price indicator. Every gasoline or diesel motor fuel dispensing device shall be equipped with a total delivery indicator that shall record the correct price computed on the basis of the stated price per gallon and number of gallons delivered.
f. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subdivisions a, b and c of this section shall not apply to the posting of information and labeling of dispensing devices with respect to the lead content of gasoline for motor vehicles, which shall be governed by the provisions of subdivision d and e of section 20-673.1 of this subchapter and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, and subdivisions a, b and c of this section shall not apply to the posting of information and labeling of dispensing devices with respect to the octane rating of gasoline for motor vehicles, which shall be governed by the provisions of subdivision d of section 20-673.2 of this subchapter and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.
g. Every gasoline or diesel motor fuel dispensing device that is not in proper working order shall be marked with a sign, placard or other display according to specifications that the commissioner shall set by rule.
(Am. L.L. 2015/079, 9/2/2015, eff. 2/29/2016; Am. L.L. 2015/080, 9/2/2015, eff. 2/29/2016; Am. L.L. 2021/080, 7/18/2021, eff. 11/15/2021)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/080.
a. Every retail dealer of petroleum products shall maintain a daily sales record of all petroleum products for which prices are required to be posted as provided in section 20-672. Such records shall document the total volume of each such type of product sold each day, the unit price and the total daily amount of sales for each such type of product, and the date and time when a change to the price posting specified in section 20-672 was made.
b. All records required to be maintained shall be preserved in a manner that ensures their security and accessibility for inspection by the department for a period of one year.
c. All records required to be maintained shall be kept in chronological order, either in writing or electronically, and shall be available for inspection by the department as follows:
1. Records maintained in writing shall be retained at the premises where sales are made for each of the immediately preceding thirty days. Such records shall be made available on demand to the department at such premises. The records required to be kept for the period beyond the immediately preceding thirty days shall be presented at the offices of the department within five business days after demand to produce them has been served on a retail dealer.
2. Records maintained electronically shall be retained on the premises in a manner that displays the data for the entire period for which the electronic data system retains such data to permit an inspector to view it on demand on the device, and if such period is for less than the immediately preceding thirty days, then the data must be provided on demand in a chronologically ordered print-out for the full thirty days. A complete and accurate print out of the electronically maintained records that are required to be kept for the period beyond the immediately preceding thirty days shall be presented at the offices of the department within five business days after demand to produce them has been served on a retail dealer.
It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale gasoline or other petroleum products for use in motor vehicles or motor boats in any manner so as to deceive or tend to deceive the purchaser as to the price, nature, quality or identity thereof; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to the prohibition of deceptive practices involving the representation of gasoline for motor vehicles as unleaded, which shall be governed by the provisions of section 20-673.1 of this subchapter and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, and provided, further, that this section shall not apply to the prohibition of deceptive practices involving the certification, display or representation of the octane rating of gasoline for motor vehicles, which shall be governed by the provisions of section 20-673.2 of this subchapter and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale from any pump, dispensing devices or container any gasoline or other petroleum products other than gasoline or other petroleum products manufactured or distributed by the manufacturer or distributor marketing such gasoline or other petroleum products under the name, trade name, brand, symbol or mark affixed to or contained on such pump, dispensing device or container, or to substitute, mix or adulterate gasoline or other petroleum products sold or offered for sale under a name, trade name, brand, symbol or mark.
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Distributor" shall mean any person who transports or stores or causes the transportation or storage of gasoline at any point between any plant at which gasoline is produced and any retail outlet or facility of a wholesale purchaser-consumer.
2. "Gasoline" shall mean any fuel sold for use in motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines, and commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline.
3. "Lead additive" shall mean any substance containing lead or lead compounds.
4. "Leaded gasoline" shall mean gasoline which is produced with the use of any lead additive or which contains more than five one hundredths of a gram of lead per gallon or more than five one thousandths of a gram of phosphorus per gallon.
5. "Refiner" shall mean any person who owns, leases, operates, controls or supervises a plant at which gasoline is produced.
6. "Reseller" shall mean any person who purchases gasoline identified by the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner from such refiner or a distributor and resells or transfers it to retailers or wholesale purchaser-consumers displaying the refiner's brand, and whose assets or facilities are not substantially owned, leased or controlled by such refiner.
7. "Retail outlet" shall mean any establishment at which gasoline is sold or offered for sale for use in motor vehicles.
8. "Retailer" shall mean any person who owns, leases, operates, controls, or supervises a retail outlet.
9. "Unleaded gasoline" shall mean gasoline which is produced without the use of any lead additive and which contains not more than five one hundredths of a gram of lead per gallon and not more than five one thousandths of a gram of phosphorus per gallon.
10. "Wholesale purchaser-consumer" shall mean any organization that is an ultimate consumer of gasoline and which purchases or obtains gasoline from a supplier for use in motor vehicles and receives delivery of that product into a storage tank of at least five hundred fifty gallon capacity substantially under the control of that organization.
b. No distributor shall sell or transfer to any other distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer any gasoline which is represented to be unleaded unless such gasoline meets the defined requirements for unleaded gasoline set forth in subdivision a of this section.
c. No retailer or employee or agent of a retailer, and no wholesale purchaser-consumer or employee or agent of a wholesale purchaser-consumer, shall sell, dispense or offer for sale gasoline represented to be unleaded unless such gasoline meets the defined requirements for unleaded gasoline set forth in subdivision a of this section.
d. Every retailer and wholesale purchaser-consumer shall affix to each gasoline pump stand in a location so as to be readily visible to the employees of such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer and to persons operating motor vehicles into which gasoline is to be dispensed a permanent legible label as follows: (i) for gasoline pump stands containing pumps for introduction of unleaded gasoline into motor vehicles, the label shall state: "Unleaded gasoline"; and (ii) for gasoline pump stands containing pumps for introduction of leaded gasoline into motor vehicles, the label shall state: "Contains lead anti-knock compounds"; provided, however, that where more than one grade of unleaded gasoline is offered for sale at a retail outlet, compliance with this subdivision is required for only one grade.
e. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, in any proceeding to adjudicate a violation of subdivision d of this section, a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may be found not to be liable for violation thereof where it is shown that more than one grade of gasoline is dispensed from a gasoline pump or pump stand and it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that an alternative system of labeling furthers the objectives of such subdivision.
f. Any violation of subdivision c of this section by a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer shall also be deemed a violation by:
(1) the reseller, if any, and the refiner, where the corporate, trade or brand name of such refiner or any of its marketing subsidiaries appears on the pump stand or is displayed at the retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale. Except as provided in subdivision g of this section, the refiner shall be deemed in violation of subdivision c of this section irrespective of whether any other refiner, distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may have caused or permitted the violation; or
(2) the distributor who sold such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer gasoline contained in the storage tank which supplied the pump from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale which gave rise to the violation, where the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner or any of its marketing subsidiaries does not appear on the pump stand and is not displayed at the retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale.
g. (1) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer and any refiner or distributor would be in violation or be deemed in violation of subdivision c of this section, the retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer shall not be liable if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer or his or her employee or agent.
(2) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and a reseller, if any, and any refiner would be deemed in violation under paragraph one of subdivision f of this section, the refiner shall not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate:
(a) that the violation was not caused by such refiner or his or her employee or agent, and
(b) that the violation was caused by an act in violation of any law, other than the provisions of this section, or an act of sabotage, vandalism, or deliberate commingling of leaded and unleaded gasoline, whether or not such acts are violations of law in the jurisdiction where the violation of the requirements of this section occurred, or
(c) that the violation was caused by the action of a reseller or a retailer supplied by such reseller, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such reseller designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(d) that the violation was caused by the action of a retailer who is supplied directly by the refiner and not by a reseller, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such retailer designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(e) that the violation was caused by the action of a distributor subject to a contract with the refiner for transportation of gasoline from a terminal to a distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such distributor designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(f) that the violation was caused by a distributor (such as a common carrier) not subject to a contract with the refiner but engaged by him or her for transportation of gasoline from a terminal to a distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer, despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to prevent such action, such as specification or inspection of equipment, or
(g) that the violation occurred at a wholesale purchaser-consumer facility; provided, however, that if such wholesale purchaser-consumer was supplied by a reseller, the refiner must demonstrate that the violation could not have been prevented by such reseller's compliance with a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such reseller as provided in subparagraph c of this paragraph.
(h) For purposes of subparagraphs (b) through (f) of this paragraph, the term "was caused" means that the refiner must demonstrate by reasonably specific showings by direct or circumstantial evidence that the violation was caused or must have been caused by another.
(3) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and a reseller and any refiner would be deemed in violation under paragraph one of subdivision f of this section, the reseller shall not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such reseller or his or her employee or agent.
(4) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and any distributor would be deemed in violation under paragraph two of subdivision f of this section, the distributor will not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such distributor or his or her employee or agent.
Loading...