What Is a Base Jurisdiction? How IFTA and IRP Decide Where a Carrier Files

A base jurisdiction, under both IFTA and IRP, is the single member jurisdiction where a carrier licenses, files and pays for IFTA and IRP, and it settles with every other member on the carrier's behalf. Both agreements are built so a carrier deals with one jurisdiction instead of many. Each agreement defines the base in nearly the same words: the member jurisdiction where the carrier has an established place of business, where its qualified vehicles are based for registration, where its operational records are kept or can be made available, and where some of its distance is accrued.

An established place of business is a physical location the carrier owns or leases, with a street address, open during business hours and staffed by the carrier's own employees, who conduct its trucking business there. It is also where the carrier's operational records are kept or can be produced. A mailbox, a registered agent, an accountant's office or a driver's home doesn't qualify. IRP's rules list the evidence a jurisdiction may ask for, such as tax filings, utility bills and payroll records, and jurisdictions do ask. A carrier that bases in a low-fee jurisdiction without being there is a carrier the other members are subsidizing.

A carrier with terminals in Quebec and Ontario picks one as its IFTA base, generally where the head office and records are, and files all its fuel tax there. For IRP, a carrier with an established place of business in more than one member jurisdiction may have a choice of base, so confirm with the jurisdictions involved before registering fleets in more than one. The base follows the established place of business, not the miles. A Montreal carrier with no US place of business bases in Quebec even if most of its miles are in New York, and it files its New York obligations, HUT for instance, directly with New York, separately from IFTA and IRP.

Your base jurisdiction is also your auditor. Its staff audit your IFTA and IRP records on behalf of all members, and they ask for distance by jurisdiction per vehicle, tied to trips and dates, plus fuel purchases by jurisdiction with receipts. The auditor works from the telematics jurisdiction report and the fuel records behind it, and a carrier that keeps both in one platform can answer the audit faster. High Point GPS sets up this reporting for carriers across Canada and the United States.

Below are the tests the two agreements apply and the evidence a jurisdiction may ask for. A carrier should be able to show each one before choosing where to file.