Section 32E3/4 Rental agreements; separately stated surcharges, fees or charges; vehicle license cost recovery fee - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 32E3/4. A rental company may include separately stated surcharges, fees or charges in a rental agreement, which may include, but shall not be limited to, vehicle license cost recovery fees, airport access fees, airport concession fees, convention center surcharges and all applicable taxes; provided, however, that: (i) these surcharges, fees or charges shall not be included in the base cost of the vehicle rental; (ii) these surcharges, fees or charges shall be disclosed in a manner that is readily noticable in the rental agreement; and (iii) the rental company shall include a statement in any price advertisement it makes in the commonwealth about the existence of these surcharges, fees or charges that a consumer must pay and which may be separately stated on a rental transaction.

If a rental company includes a vehicle license cost recovery fee as a separately stated charge in a rental transaction, the amount of the fee shall represent the rental company’s good faith estimate of the daily charge necessary for the rental company to recover its actual total annual costs to license, title, register, plate, inspect or pay excise tax costs on its rental fleet in the commonwealth. If the total amount of the vehicle license cost recovery fees collected by a rental company pursuant to this section in a calendar year exceeds the rental company’s actual costs to license, title, register, plate, inspect or pay excise tax costs on its rental fleet in the commonwealth for that calendar year, the rental company shall: (i) retain the excess amount; and (ii) adjust the estimated average per vehicle charge to recover the costs to license, title, register, plate, inspect or pay excise tax for the following calendar year by a corresponding amount.

This section shall not prohibit a rental company from adjusting the vehicle license cost recovery fee during a calendar year as it determines to be necessary.