Minimum stockholding obligations Ministerial exemptions

Ministerial exemptions

The Minister for Energy may grant an exemption from the minimum stockholding obligation if exceptional circumstances beyond your control prevent, or will prevent, fuel companies from meeting their obligation.

Examples of exceptional circumstances include:

• a natural disaster that has affected fuel storage facilities
• a crisis that has affected international shipping routes.

The criteria for exemption are set out in section 59 of the Fuel Industry Act 2020.

Fuel Industry Act 2020 section 59 Exemptions from stockholding obligation(external link) — New Zealand Legislation

If approved, exemptions will be published:

• on this page
• in the New Zealand Gazette Te Kāhiti o Aotearoa
• in the House of Representatives.

Exemptions can be granted to both specific fuel companies or to classes of fuel company.

How to apply for an exemption

Before you start

Before you apply for an exemption, make sure you understand all the information you’ll need to provide. You’ll need to provide detailed information on all required questions. You should also review part 4 of the Fuel Industry Act 2020 and part 5 of the Fuel Industry Regulations 2021.

Fuel Industry Act 2020(external link) — New Zealand Legislation

Fuel Industry Regulations 2021(external link) — New Zealand Legislation

You may also seek independent advice before submitting your application.

What information to include in an application

Your exemption application must include:

Applicant

The details of the obliged person seeking the exemption. Include your:

• full name
• address
• corporate status
• NZBN.

Circumstances

Include information on:

• the exceptional circumstances and why they are beyond your reasonable control
• the expected duration of the circumstances
• the level of control you have over the circumstances.

Impact

Include information on:

• the impact of the exceptional circumstances on fuel imports and storage capacity in relation to your obligations
• details of the obligations you are not able to comply with and to what extent i.e. actual or estimated/projected days of cover and by volume
• how much time you require to achieve compliance and how you determined this timeframe
• the impact this has on fuel resilience in all regions in New Zealand.

Rationale

Also include:

• why granting the exemption is justified and outweighs the interests of the public.
• an explanation of why you believe the proposed exemption is not broader than necessary.

Supporting documents

Include relevant supporting evidence to support your statements and conclusions.

A declaration

The declaration confirms all information provided in the application is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and that you are authorised to sign the application. Where applicant is a company, partnership, society, trust or other legal entity, the application must be signed in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements, constitution, or rules by a person or agent with the requisite authority.

How to submit your application

Apply for a Ministerial exemption by sending an email containing the above information to oilsecurity@mbie.govt.nz

How long applications take

Timeframes for processing, assessing and making decisions about applications depend on a number of factors such as the number of applications we receive, how complex the issues they raise are, and the quality of the information provided.

Once an application has been received, we will contact applicants to discuss next steps.

Applicants must continue to comply with minimum stockholding obligation until an exemption is granted.

Exemptions

Exemptions are secondary legislation for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2019 and may be disallowed by the House of Representatives.

Ministerial exemptions by notice, if approved, will be published in the New Zealand Gazette Te Kāhiti o Aotearoa and in the House of Representatives.

Current exemptions

Ministerial exemptions will be published here. There are no current exemptions.