§ 80.1473 Affirmative defenses.
(a) Criteria. Any person who engages in actions that would be a violation of the provisions of either § 80.1460(b)(2) or (c)(1), other than the generator of an invalid RIN, will not be deemed in violation if the person demonstrates that the criteria under paragraphs (c), (d), or (e) of this section are met.
(b) Applicability of affirmative defenses. The following provisions apply to affirmative defenses asserted under paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) Affirmative defenses only apply to RINs that were invalidly generated and verified through a quality assurance audit using an EPA-approved QAP.
(2) Affirmative defenses only apply in situations where an invalidly generated verified RIN is either transferred to another person (violation of § 80.1460(b)(2)) or used for compliance for an obligated party's RVO (use violation of § 80.1460(c)(1)).
(3) Affirmative defenses do not apply to the generator of an invalid RIN.
(c) Asserting an affirmative defense for invalid A-RINs verified during the interim period. To establish an affirmative defense to a violation of § 80.1460(b)(2) or (c)(1) involving invalid A-RINs, the person must meet the notification requirements of paragraph (f) of this section and prove by a preponderance of evidence all of the following: