RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina drivers who think their neighborhood gas station is pocketing the state’s gas tax break have not been shy about saying so. The state Department of Justice has logged more than 470 complaints through its N.C. Fuel Check system since the tool went live last week.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office said it has started reaching out to individual stations that may not be passing the savings on, and that every complaint is being reviewed. Jackson thanked people who filed reports and asked consumers to keep acting as the office’s eyes and ears at the pump.
The break comes from Session Law 2026-62, which the General Assembly passed in early October and Gov. Josh Stein signed on Oct. 9. From Oct. 10 through Nov. 30, it lifts the 41-cent state tax on every gallon of gasoline and diesel.
At the statewide level, the savings appear to be showing up. AAA figures on Tuesday put North Carolina’s average for regular at $3.59 a gallon, the lowest of any state, down from roughly $4.03 two weeks earlier while lawmakers were debating the pause.
The scrutiny is aimed at the stragglers: stations whose prices have not moved since the suspension began and those charging well above nearby competitors. A higher price is not automatically illegal. Retailers had to sell through fuel they bought with the tax already paid before tax-free shipments arrived, so the drop was expected to come in gradually.
The suspension law itself does not order stations to cut prices, and the state price-gouging statute only kicks in during a declared emergency or market disruption, neither of which applies here. North Carolina’s unfair and deceptive trade practices law does apply, and a station found breaking it can be fined as much as $5,000 for each violation. No penalties against specific stations have been announced.
Drivers who spot a station that seems out of line can file a report, including photos, through the Fuel Check page on the Department of Justice website.
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