(a) Any person deemed liable for a violation of a prohibition under §80.1662(a)(3) through (10), will not be deemed in violation if the person demonstrates all the following:

(1) The violation was not caused by the person or the person's employee or agent.

(2) In cases where product transfer document requirements under this subpart apply, the product transfer documents account for the fuel found to be in violation and indicate that the violating product was in compliance with the applicable requirements while in that person's control; and

(3) The person conducted a quality assurance sampling and testing program, as described in paragraph (d) of this section. A carrier may rely on the quality assurance program carried out by another party, including the party who owns the gasoline in question, provided that the quality assurance program is carried out properly. Retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers are not required to conduct sampling and testing of gasoline as part of their quality assurance programs.

(b) In the case of a violation found at a facility operating under the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner or importer, or a refiner's or importer's marketing subsidiary, the refiner or importer must show, in addition to the defense elements required under paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section, that the violation was caused by any of the following:

(1) An act in violation of law (other than the Clean Air Act or this part 80), or an act of sabotage or vandalism.

(2) The action of any refiner, gasoline importer, retailer, distributor, reseller, oxygenate blender, carrier, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer in violation of a contractual agreement between the branded refiner or importer and the person designed to prevent such action, and despite periodic sampling and testing by the branded refiner or importer to ensure compliance with such contractual obligation.

(3) The action of any carrier or other distributor not subject to a contract with the refiner or importer, but engaged for transportation of gasoline, oxygenate, or ethanol denaturant despite specifications or inspections of procedures and equipment which are reasonably calculated to prevent such action.

(c) Under paragraph (a) of this section, for any person to show that a violation was not caused by that person, or under paragraph (b) of this section to show that a violation was caused by any of the specified actions, the person must demonstrate by reasonably specific showings, by direct or circumstantial evidence, that the violation was caused or must have been caused by another person and that the person asserting the defense did not contribute to that other person's causation.

(d) To demonstrate an acceptable quality assurance and testing program under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a person must present evidence of all the following:

(1) A periodic sampling and testing program to ensure the gasoline the person sold, dispensed, supplied, stored, or transported, meets the applicable sulfur standard.

(2) On each occasion when gasoline is found not in compliance with the applicable sulfur standard—

(i) The person immediately ceases selling, offering for sale, dispensing, supplying, offering for supply, storing or transporting the non-complying product; and

(ii) The person promptly remedies the violation and the factors that caused the violation (for example, by removing the non-complying product from the distribution system until the applicable standard is achieved and taking steps to prevent future violations of a similar nature from occurring).

(3) For any carrier who transports gasoline in a tank truck, the quality assurance program required under this paragraph (d) need not include periodic sampling and testing of gasoline in the tank truck, but in lieu of such tank truck sampling and testing, the carrier shall demonstrate evidence of an oversight program for monitoring compliance with the requirements of this subpart relating to the transport or storage of gasoline by tank truck, such as appropriate guidance to drivers regarding compliance with the applicable sulfur standard and product transfer document requirements, and the periodic review of records received in the ordinary course of business concerning gasoline quality and delivery.