NTEA The Association for the Work Truck Industry has submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about its proposed regulations governing the Federal Excise Tax (FET) on heavy trucks, tractors, and trailers. Along with American Truck Dealers & Engine Manufacturers Association, NTEA submitted 24 pages of comments to the Office of Management and Budget and the IRS. 

Some of the key points from the comments submitted include:

• Reinstating the option to use a single exemption certificate for all sales for resale to the same purchaser for up to 12 calendar quarters.

• Changing the classification for incomplete chassis cabs to be treated as a truck instead of a tractor for FET purposes.

• Presuming a body falls below the 'suitable for use' threshold if it is installed on vehicles below the taxable threshold at least 15% of the time.

• Eliminating the requirement for all sellers to retain gross combined weight rating (GCWR) for all tractors sold, since manufacturers are not legally required to provide such information to resellers.

The proposed regulations would also require additional information for exemption certificates, including vehicle or chassis identification numbers, body identification numbers, and place and date of sale. NTEA advised the IRS to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of requiring body identification numbers when there is no federal rule or industry standard in place for assigning body numbers. 

A summary of these comments is available on the NTEA website. Although there is no timetable for the IRS to respond to comments, NTEA members will be informed when final rules adopting FET regulations are published.