Was a slide-in camper exempt because its Canadian purchasers took it home after the California retailer installed it on their truck?

Plain-English summary

A partially redacted married couple in Calgary wrote to Board Executive Director E. L. Sorensen, Jr. on February 9, 1997. They asked for help resolving a claim for refund of sales-tax reimbursement paid on a slide-in camper. The request and refund papers are not published.

According to Chief Counsel Timothy W. Boyer's reply, the couple bought the camper from a California retailer, which installed it on their truck. They then returned with the camper to Canada. The source does not identify the retailer, camper or truck or provide the contract, invoice, tax amount or travel record.

The letter explains that California sales tax was imposed directly on the retailer at the applicable rate of gross receipts from the in-state retail sale. A retailer could collect reimbursement from the customer when the contract allowed it. Because the couple bought and took delivery of the camper in California, the retailer's sale was taxable unless an exemption applied.

Section 6396 did not apply. That exemption required the sales contract to make the retailer ship outside California and required the retailer actually to do so using its own facilities or a carrier. Here, the retailer did not ship the camper outside the state; the purchasers took it to Canada themselves.

Section 6366.2 also did not apply. The letter describes an exemption for a new motor vehicle sold to a foreign-country resident under several conditions, including advance arrangement through an authorized dealer in that country, a Vehicle Code section 6700.1 in-transit permit, and retailer shipment or driving outside the United States before the permit expired. The camper could not qualify because a slide-in camper was not a "new motor vehicle." The letter does not decide whether the couple met the other conditions.

Although the purchasers sought help with a reimbursement-refund claim, the reply supplies no claim amount, procedural ruling, refund order or later result. The live annotation reproduces the two exemption analyses but changes the married couple to singular "A Canadian" and omits the reimbursement and refund posture.

Common questions

Why did section 6396 not apply?

The retailer did not ship the camper outside California. The buyers' own trip back to Canada did not satisfy the stated retailer-shipment requirement.

Why did section 6366.2 not apply?

The slide-in camper was not a new motor vehicle. The letter therefore found that its sale could not qualify under that exemption.

Did the letter decide whether the couple had an in-transit permit?

No. It explains the permit condition but supplies no permit and does not decide whether any of the exemption's other conditions were met.

Who legally owed the sales tax described in the letter?

The letter says the tax was imposed directly on the retailer. The retailer could collect reimbursement from the customer if the contract provided for it.

Did Chief Counsel order a refund or deny a formal claim?

The letter finds no cited exemption for the stated sale, but it does not provide a formal refund order, claim amount, procedural disposition or later outcome.

Would intended use in Canada alone create an exemption?

No. The two exemptions discussed imposed additional requirements that this transaction did not satisfy as explained in the letter.

Citations and references

• California Sales and Use Tax Law — cited generally for direct retailer liability and contractual reimbursement
• Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 6396 — retailer-required outside-shipment exemption
• Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 6366.2 — conditional foreign-resident new-motor-vehicle exemption
• California Vehicle Code § 6700.1 — in-transit permit cited by section 6366.2 analysis
• February 9, 1997 purchaser request — identified but not reproduced
• Official Annotation 325.0782 — publishes both exemption analyses while omitting the reimbursement-refund posture

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: CDTFA Annotated Legal Opinions
• Annotation page: Annotation 325.0782
• Original supporting opinion: 325.0782 PDF

Original ruling text

325.0782

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

JOHAN KLEHS
First District, Hayward

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
Office of the Chief Counsel

DEAN F. ANDAL
Second District, Stockton

450 N STREET - SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
(PO BOX 942879, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 94279-0083)
TELEPHONE: (916) 445-4380
FAX: (916) 323-3387

ERNEST J. DRONENBURG, JR.
Third District, San Diego
KATHLEEN CONNELL
Controller, Sacramento
_______

February 27, 1997

JOHN CHIANG
Acting Member
Fourth District, Los Angeles
_______
E. L. SORENSEN, JR.
Executive Director

Mr. and Mrs. M--- W--XXX --- --- Cr SW
Calgary, Alberta T3H 1A8
CANADA
Dear Mr. and Mrs. W---:
Your February 9, 1997 letter to Executive Director E. L. Sorensen, Jr., has been referred to the legal staff for reply. You asked for assistance in resolving a claim for refund of sales tax reimbursement you paid on the purchase of a slide-in camper. We understand you purchased the camper from a retailer in this state which installed the camper on your truck, and you returned with your camper to Canada. The California Sales and Use Tax Law imposes the sales tax directly on retailers at the applicable rate of the gross receipts from the retail sale of tangible personal property in this state. The retailer may collect reimbursement from the customer when the contract so provides. When you purchased a camper and took delivery of it in this state, the retailer’s sale to you was subject to sales tax absent an applicable exemption. There are two notable exemptions from tax for sales of property to persons for use outside this state. Revenue and Taxation Code section 6396 provides an exemption from sales tax for the sale of tangible personal property when the contract for sale requires the retailer to ship the property to a point outside this state, and the retailer does ship the property to the out-ofstate point by the retailer’s facilities or by delivery to a carrier for that shipment. Since the retailer of the camper did not ship the property to an out-of-state point, the exemption does not apply to the sale to you. Revenue and Taxation Code section 6366.2 provides for an exemption from tax for the sale and use of a new motor vehicle sold to a purchaser who is a resident of a foreign country and who arranges for the purchase through an authorized vehicle dealer in the foreign country prior to arriving in the United States if the following conditions are met. First, the purchaser must obtain an in-transit permit pursuant to California Vehicle Code section 6700.1. Second,

Mr. and Mrs. M--- W---

-2-

February 27, 1997
325.0782

before the in-transit permit expires, the retailer must ship or drive the motor vehicle to a point outside the United States. The exemption provided by section 6366.2 enables the purchaser to operate the motor vehicle in California for the period of the in-transit permit without payment of sales tax reimbursement or use tax on the purchase. Since the slide-in camper is not a “new motor vehicle,” the sale could not qualify for exemption under section 6366.2. If you have any further questions regarding the application of the California Sales and Use Tax Law, feel free to write directly to this office. Sincerely,

Timothy W. Boyer
Chief Counsel
TWB:RLD:sr
cc:

Out-of-State District Administrator - OH