The Texas Supreme Court rejected a taxpayer’s refund claim asserting that its sales of bunker fuel (fuel for large, ocean-going vessels) delivered to foreign-registered ships at Texas ports were not delivered or shipped to a buyer for ultimate use or consumption in Texas. The taxpayer argued that the comptroller’s administrative rules making the transfer point determinative were invalid because the phrase “buyer in this state” in Texas Tax Code § 171.103(a)(1) referred to the ultimate destination of the goods and not the place of transfer. Noting that the statutory text refers to delivery or shipment to a buyer “in this state” and contains no reference to use, consumption, or market location, the Court held that the statute unambiguously adopts a “place-of-delivery” or “place-of-transfer” rule, sinking the taxpayer’s claim.
NuStar Energy, L.P. v. Hancock, No. 24-0037 (Tex. Mar. 13, 2026).