Fuel tax and carbon levy – Information for sellers: marked fuel

Overview

Marked or dyed fuel is diesel or gasoline fuel coloured to a concentration of 14 parts per million of red dye. This fuel is partially tax exempt to eligible consumers.

The fuel tax rate on marked fuel is 4 cents per litre, which is 9 cents per litre lower than the 13 cents per litre on clear fuel.

Carbon levy on marked fuel is charged at the same rate as clear fuel, unless the purchaser presents, at the time of purchase, a valid carbon levy exemption certificate. See carbon levy rates for the current rate for gasoline and diesel.

All fuel sellers, except full direct remitters, must purchase marked fuel including carbon levy and fuel tax.

Who can purchase marked fuel?

In Alberta, marked fuel may be purchased by:

• eligible farmers for farming operations in Alberta that have an active Alberta Farm Fuel Benefit (AFFB) exemption number
  • how to apply for an AFFB exemption
• commercial and government entities (other than the Government of Canada) that have a Tax Exempt Fuel User (TEFU) exemption certificate for use in unlicensed equipment or for heating purposes
  • how to apply for a TEFU exemption certificate or fuel tax rebate

Carbon levy exemptions

Eligible farmers are exempt from the carbon levy on marked fuel purchased for use by the farmer for farming operations in Alberta. The farmer must provide an active AFFB certificate at the time of purchase to qualify for the exemption.

Eligible consumers who have a carbon levy exemption certificate for marked fuel are exempt from carbon levy when used by the consumer in eligible operations and the consumer has a valid TEFU exemption certificate which allows them to purchase marked fuel.

For information on who can apply for a carbon levy exemption, registering and remitting the carbon levy, see Carbon levy - Exemptions.

Form instructions

How to apply to sell marked fuel

Entities must apply and be approved by TRA to sell marked fuel in Alberta.

Step 1: Fill out the registration

Complete the following forms:

• Complete the Fuel Tax Registration (AT4905) (PDF, 770 KB).

Step 2: Submit your registration

• Submit your completed Fuel Tax Registration form to TRA.

Step 3: Receive decision letter

• If approved, you will receive a letter advising of your Alberta Business Identification Number (BIN) and Bulk Fuel Location (BFLO) numbers to be referenced on any correspondence or documents.

Step 4: Register for TRACS (TRA Client Self-service)

• Complete the TRACS Enrolment Request to enrol in TRACS or contact TRA.
• Visit the TRACS page for more information.

How to report marked fuel transactions

If approved, an entity is required to electronically file all consumer sales transactions and all marked fuel movements (inventory, imports, acquisitions, dispositions and exports) on a monthly basis.

Step 1: Submit your consumer sales transactions

• Online: login to your TRACS account and select “Create AFFB/TEFU Sales” from the menu. Enter the sale details and select “Submit” when all of the transactions have been entered.
• SFTP: contact TRA to set up electronic filing using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), a method of transferring files between two remote systems. This method of filing is beneficial if you have large volumes of sales records to report each month and data entry is not feasible.

Step 2:  Submit all marked fuel movements

• Online: login to your TRACS account and select either “Create Acquisitions and Imports” or “Create Dispositions and Exports” from the menu. Enter fuel movement transaction details of the fuel movement and select “Submit’ when done.
• SFTP: if you have been set up for SFTP for consumer sales transactions, then you can also submit files for inventory, import, acquisition, disposition and transactions. Contact TRA if you are interested in finding out more information about filing using SFTP.

How to get a refund

Marked fuel sold to farmers

Fuel sellers will automatically receive a refund of carbon levy for marked fuel sold to eligible farmers when they have successfully submitted their consumer sales transactions in TRACS or by SFTP. A refund will be issued every 2 weeks by either direct deposit or cheque for the sales transactions entered and processed during that claim period.

To view the claim details, login to TRACS and select “Sales Summary”. Select the period from the “Claim Amount: Period End:” menu and select either “Generate Excel” or “Submit”.

Marked fuel sold to other exempt entities

A fuel seller can apply for a refund of carbon levy when marked fuel is sold exempt from carbon levy to eligible carbon levy exemption certificate holders.

Step 1: Fill out the carbon levy claimant registration

• Complete the Carbon Levy Claimant Registration – Fuel Vendor (AT5135) form (PDF, 1.5 MB).

Step 2: Submit the registration form

• Submit your completed Carbon Levy Claimant – Fuel Vendor form to TRA.

Step 3: Receive decision letter

• If approved, you will receive a letter advising of your Alberta Business Identification Number (BIN) to be referenced on any correspondence or documents.

Step 4: Add the carbon levy claimant program to your TRACS account

• Request a TRACS PIN using the TRACS Enrolment Request form.
• Receive the TRACS Enrolment PIN letter in the mail containing your PIN.
• Select “Account Enrolment”.
• Enter your BIN and PIN in the corresponding fields and select “Submit”.

Step 5: Submit your claim

• In TRACS, select “Submit a Claim”, enter the required information and submit.
• Print a copy of the confirmation page for your records.

Step 6: Receive your refund

Receive your refund by direct deposit or cheque. If there were changes made to your claim, a letter of assessment will be mailed.

How to set up direct deposit

Online (registered carbon levy claimants only)

• Log in to your TRACS account and select “Manage Direct Deposit”.
• Enter your banking and contact information and submit.
• For an instructional video, see TRACS videos.

Paper

• Complete an Application for Direct Deposit (AT4812) (PDF, 174 KB).
• Submit the form to TRA along with a copy of a “VOID” blank cheque.
• Funds will only be deposited into one bank account.

Eligibility to dye fuel

TRA will consider registering a business to dye clear fuel for the purpose of resale if all of the following criteria are satisfied:

• The business is in full compliance with all tax filings at the time the application(s) is made (if applicable).
• Each location where fuel dyeing will occur must be a site:
  • with a permanent storage capacity of at least 500,000 litres (diesel and gas total)
  • that has appropriate security features that prevent or inhibit general public access
  • that is supplied by rail, truck or pipeline
  • where fuel is to be rebranded for further distribution or sold to bulk consumers
• The dye injector mechanism at each site has appropriate security features.
• The business agrees to meet monthly reporting requirements, including the reporting of dye concentrate volumes using the Dye Stock Report (AT4984) (PDF, 259 KB) for each site.

How to apply to dye fuel

Step 1: Complete the registration form

• Complete the Fuel Tax Registration (AT4905) (PDF, 860 KB) and in a separate document, provide details for each eligibility consideration above.

Step 2: Submit the registration form

• Submit your completed Fuel Tax Registration form and additional information to TRA.

Step 3: Receive decision letter

• If approved, you will receive a letter advising of your Alberta Business Identification Number (BIN) and Bulk Fuel Location (BFLO) numbers to be referenced on any correspondence or documents.

Maintain your account in TRACS

TRA Client Self-Service (TRACS) is a secure online system for authorized Tax and Revenue Administration (TRA) clients to conveniently conduct business with TRA. You can do the following tasks in TRACS:

• confirm receipt and completion of submitted claims
• view monthly inventory summary and sales summary reports
• report marked fuel transactions
• check AFFB/TEFU eligibility
• view status of prior assessments, financial details and notices of assessment and reassessment
• access financial information and view account period balances
• update address and contact information
• delegate account access to other employees or authorized individuals

For more details, instructional videos and to log in to your TRACS account, see TRACS information.

Publications, forms and video

Information circulars

These documents discuss procedural matters and administrative policies and practices for programs administered by TRA. They are updated as necessary and a revision number assigned.

Cross-program information circulars

• TRA-1R1 – An Introduction to Tax and Revenue Administration (March 2018)
• TRA-2 – TRA Fairness and Service Pledge (July 2018)
• TRA-3 – Alberta Commodity Tax Acts – Voluntary Disclosures (November 2018)

Carbon levy information circulars

• CL-1 - Overview of Carbon Levy on Fuel (December 2016)
• CL-T-1 - Transportation Fuels - Registration (November 2016)
• CL-T-2R1 - Transportation Fuels – Payable, Filing and Remittance (November 2016)
• CL-T-4 – Transportation Fuels – Refunds and Rebates (December 2016)

Fuel tax information circulars

• FT-1R1 – Overview of Fuel Tax (February 2017)
• FT-3R2 – Fuel Tax Exemption Certificates (February 2017)
• FT-4R1 – Sale of Tax-exempt Fuel (February 2017)
• FT-5 – Marking Fuel (March 2007)
• FT-6R1 – Tax Refunds (February 2017)
• FT-7R1 – Assessments (February 2017)
• FT-9 – Audits, Objections, and Waivers of Penalties and Interest (March 2007)
• FT-10R1 – Offences and Related Penalties (July 2007)
• FT-11R2 – Direct Remitters (August 2019)
• FT-12R3 – Fuel Sellers (February 2019)
• FT-13R1 – Exempt Sale Vendors (February 2017)
• See the Open Government Portal for the complete set of Fuel Tax information circulars.

Special notices

These documents are used to announce changes to the legislation administered by TRA, or changes to administrative policies and practices carried out by TRA. These notices are time-specific, and meant to be transitory in nature. The information may eventually be incorporated into other publications, such as information circulars or web content.

Carbon levy special notices

• Vol. 11 No. 14 – Repeal of the Carbon Levy (May 2019)

Fuel tax special notices

• Vol. 1 No. 42 – Tax Exempt Fuel User (TEFU) Certificates (February 2020)
• Vol. 1 No. 23 – Marked Fuel Acquired or Supplied (August 2007)
• Vol. 1 No. 16 – Alberta Fuel Dye Specifications and the Process to Become an Approved Dye Provider in Alberta (June 2003)
• See the Open Government Portal for the complete set of Fuel Tax special notices.

Forms

If you have trouble opening fillable PDF forms, see the form instructions.

• AT4905 – Fuel Tax Registration Form (PDF, 770 KB) (February 2019)
• AT4984 – Dye Stock Report (PDF, 259 KB) (July 2014)
• AT366 – Litres Dyed during the Month (PDF, 237 KB) (July 2012)
• AT5135 – Carbon Levy Claimant Registration – Fuel Vendor (PDF, 1.5 MB) (February 2017)
• AT4762 – Notice of Objection (PDF, 115 KB) (July 2017)
• AT4812 – Application for Direct Deposit (PDF, 174 KB) (April 2017)

Video

• Tax Exempt Fuel User (TEFU) - Non-expiring Certificates video (February 2020)

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Contact

To submit forms

Complete your forms and email or fax them to:

Email: tra.revenue@gov.ab.ca
Fax: 780-427-0348

To connect with Tax and Revenue Administration

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-427-3044
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: tra.revenue@gov.ab.ca