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Prime Inc. Seeks $11 Million Fuel Tax Refund From IRS Over Reefer Diesel Costs

Prime Inc., a Springfield, Missouri-based refrigerated carrier operating roughly 9,000 trucks, filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service on June 16, 2026, seeking an $11 million refund of federal fuel excise taxes paid between 2018 and 2021. The carrier argues that diesel burned exclusively to power refrigeration units on trailers should not be subject to the 3-cents-per-gallon highway fuel tax, as that fuel never propels vehicles and therefore does not use road infrastructure. Prime contends the reefer diesel constitutes off-highway, nontaxable business use. The federal fuel excise tax funds highway infrastructure and functions as a user fee for roads. Fuel running refrigeration units keeps trailers cold whether trucks are stationary or moving, disconnected from highway usage. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Prime previously submitted refund claims covering 2018 through 2020, all denied by the IRS.