Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Did The Delcon Detector, issued at least quarterly with articles on ultrasonic leak-detection technology, qualify as an exempt periodical?

Short answer Yes. California treated the at-least-quarterly technical publication as an exempt periodical under former section 6362 and Ruling 50.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 385.1520
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1965-08-31
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
Redacted submitter of copies of The Delcon Detector
Topics
george a trigueros associate tax counsel quarterly publications periodicals newspaper exemption former section 6362 former ruling 50 later 2002 periodical exemption warning
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1965. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1965
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This August 31, 1965 California Board of Equalization Associate Tax Counsel opinion answers an unpublished August 18 request. Documents it refers to, such as the request or supporting records, are not published with it. It applies former section 6362 and Ruling 50 and repeatedly prints the title as “De1con”; CDTFA's current entry supplies “Delcon.” Later guidance warns that periodical status alone stopped establishing exemption. Another publisher should not rely on it as binding and should check current publication-frequency, editorial-content, subscription, delivery, sales-tax, and use-tax law. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Associate Tax Counsel answered a redacted submitter's absent August 18 letter after reviewing submitted copies of The Delcon Detector.

The publication appeared at least once each quarter and was devoted to articles about ultrasonic leak-detection technology. Counsel concluded that it qualified as an exempt periodical under former section 6362 and Ruling 50.

Later authority and source limits

A February 5, 2002 official staff email published with Annotation 385.0920 warns that, under then-current section 6362.7 and Regulation 1590, periodicals were no longer exempt unless sold by subscription and delivered by mail or common carrier, or covered by another exemption such as nonprofit distribution. The 1965 opinion does not establish current exemption treatment.

The official 385.1520 PDF does not include the August 18 request, submitted publication copies, any issue or article, publication or delivery schedule, submitter, publisher, author, reader, subscriber or customer identity, subscription terms, price or invoice, sale or use, returns, exemption documentation, tax calculations or payments, audit, assessment, claim, appeal, or later outcome. The parties, readers, transactions, and amounts are redacted or unidentified.

The source repeatedly prints the title as De1con Detector with the digit one. The live annotation supplies “Delcon Detector” and preserves the quarterly frequency, ultrasonic leak-detection subject, section 6362, date, and exempt-periodical result. It omits the August 18 request, submitted copies, Ruling 50, title-form conflict, later 2002 warning, missing records, redactions, and absent outcome. The original-text section preserves the source's De1con form.

What this means for you

Technical publishers and tax professionals

Preserve every issue and article, publication and delivery schedule, subscriptions, contracts, invoices and sales, returns, exemption documents, tax calculations, and payments. The short historical result does not replace a current-law analysis.

Common questions

Q: How often was The Delcon Detector issued?

A: At least once each quarter.

Q: What content did it contain?

A: Articles concerning ultrasonic leak-detection technology.

Q: What result did California reach?

A: It qualified as an exempt periodical under the cited historical provisions.

Q: Did the opinion identify the publisher or requester?

A: No.

Q: Why does the source say “De1con”?

A: That is the title form printed in the PDF; the live annotation uses “Delcon Detector.”

Citations and references

  • Former California Revenue and Taxation Code § 6362
  • Former California Sales Tax Ruling 50
  • California Revenue and Taxation Code § 6362.7 and Regulation 1590 — discussed in the February 5, 2002 staff email published with Annotation 385.0920
  • August 18 request, publication copies and issues, sales, tax records, and outcome — described or implicated but not documented

Verbatim support

From the official Associate Tax Counsel opinion:

We have reviewed the copies of The De1con Detector which you submitted for our examination.

This publication is issued at least once each quarter. It is devoted to articles concerning ultrasonic leak detection technology.

It is our opinion The De1con Detector qualifies as an exempt periodical under Section 6362 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and Ruling 50.

Source

Original ruling text

385.1520

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

August 31, 1965

Gentlemen:
This is in reply to your letter of August 18.
We have reviewed the copies of The De1con Detector which you submitted for
our examination. This publication is issued at least once each quarter. It is devoted to articles concerning ultrasonic leak detection technology.
It is our opinion The De1con Detector qualifies as an exempt periodical under
Section 6362 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and Ruling 50.

Very truly yours,

George A. Trigueros
Associate Tax Counsel

GAT:1ar [lb]

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