The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that the ExSTARS program is not subject to the moratorium on pending regulations that was announced by the Bush Administration. The program, which is directed at storage terminal operations, will start up as planned.
Speaking to representatives of the Independent Liquid Terminals Association, IRS officials said recently that their agency was directed explicitly by law--an act of Congress--to implement the ExSTARS program. Neither the White House nor the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has any jurisdiction over the ExSTARS content or timing.
The only review authority OMB has is over the terminal and carrier reporting forms and the electronic data interchange (EDI) guide the IRS is issuing, to ensure that the documents conform to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Since OMB’s approval of the forms and EDI guide ran late, the IRS anticipates that the revised compliance schedule now will begin as follows:
March--Record only End of Month inventory.
April--Record required receipts and disbursements for this month, the first full month of compliance.
May--April report (electronic or paper) is to be submitted to the IRS by May 31, 2001.
ExSTARS (Excise Summary Terminal Activity Reporting System) is a fuels reporting program that was developed by the IRS. Terminal operators (third-party, pipeline, and propriety marketing terminals, such as heating oil bulk plants) and bulk carriers (including pipeline companies and vessel or barge operators) are required to file monthly reports, called Fuel Transaction Reports. The IRS wants electronic filing of all reports, but that is not required at this time.
The stated objective of the ExSTARS program is to track all fuel products that move through storage terminals and capture destination state information when the fuel is disbursed through the terminal rack. Terminals holding IRS form 637 approval must file the reports, which contain the transaction details of deliveries, receipts, inventories, and disbursements.