I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5097 

To facilitate and expedite direct refunds to coal producers and exporters 

of the excise tax unconstitutionally imposed on coal exported from the 

United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2006 

Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. ENGLISH

of Pennsylvania, and Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To facilitate and expedite direct refunds to coal producers 

and exporters of the excise tax unconstitutionally imposed on coal exported from the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SPECIAL RULES FOR REFUND OF THE COAL EX4 CISE TAX TO CERTAIN COAL PRODUCERS 

5 AND EXPORTERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 

7 6416(a)(1) and (c) and 6511 of the Internal Revenue 

8 Code of 1986, if— 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
2 

HR 5097 IH 

1 (1) a coal producer establishes that such coal 

2 producer, or a party related to such coal producer, 

3 exported coal produced by such coal producer to a 

4 foreign country or shipped coal produced by such 

5 coal producer to a possession of the United States, 

6 the export or shipment of which was other than 

7 through an ‘‘exporter’’ as defined in this Act, or an 

8 exporter establishes that such exporter exported coal 

9 to a foreign country or shipped coal to a possession 

10 of the United States, or caused such coal to be so 

11 exported or shipped, 

12 (2) such coal producer or exporter filed a re13 turn on or after October 1, 1990, and on or before 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, and 

15 (3) such coal producer or exporter files a claim 

16 for refund not later than the close of the 30-day pe17 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act, 

19 then the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to such coal 

20 producer an amount equal to the tax paid under section 

21 4121 of such Code on such coal exported by the coal pro22 ducer or a party related to such coal producer, or to such 

23 exporter an amount equal to $0.825 per ton of such coal 

24 exported by the exporter or such coal that the exporter 

25 caused to be exported. This section applies only to claims 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
3 

HR 5097 IH 

1 on coal exported on or after October 1, 1990, through the 

2 date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) LIMITATIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 

4 with respect to exported coal if a credit or refund of tax 

5 imposed by section 4121 of such Code on such coal has 

6 been allowed or made to, or if a settlement with the Fed7 eral Government has been made with and accepted by, the 

8 coal producer, a party related to such coal producer or 

9 the exporter, of such coal, as of the date that the claim 

10 is filed under this section with respect to such exported 

11 coal. For purposes of this subsection, a ‘‘settlement with 

12 the Federal Government’’ shall not include any settlement 

13 or stipulation entered into as of the date of enactment of 

14 this Act, the terms of which contemplate a judgment con15 cerning which any party has reserved the right to file an 

16 appeal, or has filed an appeal. 

17 (c) SUBSEQUENT REFUND PROHIBITED.—No refund 

18 shall be made under this section to the extent that a credit 

19 or refund of such tax on such exported coal has been paid 

20 to any person. 

21 (d) ‘‘COAL PRODUCER’’ DEFINED.—For purposes of 

22 this section ‘‘coal producer’’ shall mean the person in 

23 whom is vested ownership of the coal immediately after 

24 the coal is severed from the ground, without regard to the 

25 existence of any contractual arrangement for the sale or 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
4 

HR 5097 IH 

1 other disposition of the coal or the payment of any royal2 ties between the producer and third parties. The term in3 cludes any person who extracts coal from coal waste refuse 

4 piles or from the silt waste product which results from 

5 the wet washing (or similar processing) of coal. 

6 (e) ‘‘EXPORTER’’ DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

7 section ‘‘exporter’’ shall mean a person, other than a ‘‘coal 

8 producer’’ as defined in this Act, who does not have a con9 tract, fee arrangement or any other agreement with a pro10 ducer or seller of such coal to sell or export such coal to 

11 a third party on behalf of the producer or seller of such 

12 coal and— 

13 (1) is indicated in the shipper’s export declara14 tion or other documentation as the exporter of 

15 record, or 

16 (2) actually exported such coal to a foreign 

17 country or shipped such coal to a possession of the 

18 United States, or caused such coal to be so exported 

19 or shipped. 

20 (f) RELATED PARTY DEFINED.—For purposes of 

21 this section, ‘‘a party related to such coal producer’’ shall 

22 mean a person who— 

23 (1) is related to such coal producer through any 

24 degree of common management, stock ownership, or 

25 voting control; 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
5 

HR 5097 IH 

1 (2) is related (within the meaning of section 

2 144(a)(3) of such Code) to such coal producer; or 

3 (3) has a contract, fee arrangement, or any 

4 other agreement with such coal producer to sell such 

5 coal to a third party on behalf of such coal producer. 

6 (g) TIMING OF REFUND.—With respect to any claim 

7 for refund filed pursuant to this section, the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury shall determine whether the requirements of 

9 this section are met not later than 180 days after such 

10 claim is filed. If the Secretary determines that the require11 ments of this section are met, the claim for refund shall 

12 be paid not later than 180 days after the Secretary makes 

13 such determination. 

14 (h) INTEREST.—Any refund paid pursuant to this 

15 section shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury with 

16 interest from the date of overpayment determined by using 

17 the overpayment rate and method under section 6621 of 

18 such Code. 

19 (i) STANDING NOT CONFERRED.— 

20 (1) With respect to exporters, this section shall 

21 not confer standing upon an exporter to commence, 

22 or intervene in, any judicial or administrative pro23 ceeding concerning a claim for refund by a coal pro24 ducer of any Federal or State tax, fee, or royalty 

25 paid by the coal producer. 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
6 

HR 5097 IH 

1 (2) With respect to coal producers, this section 

2 shall not confer standing upon a coal producer to 

3 commence, or intervene in, any judicial or adminis4 trative proceeding concerning a claim for refund by 

5 an exporter of any Federal or State tax, fee, or roy6 alty paid by the producer and alleged to have been 

7 passed on to an exporter. 

Æ 


cchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS