Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Did the statutory concept of exempt 'related supplies' extend beyond ostomy devices to drainage catheters?

Short answer No. California's long-standing interpretation limited 'related supplies' to ostomy devices; changing that interpretation would require a regulation amendment.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 425.0163.450
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1997-07-02
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
Board refund staff requesting drainage-catheter guidance
Topics
related supplies medicine exemption
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1997. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1997
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 July 2, 1997 internal memorandum addressed confusion about drainage catheters and acknowledged the issue was not free from doubt. It applied a long-standing interpretation of then-current ostomy provisions. CDTFA says statutory law controls if it conflicts with an annotation. Product identity, surgical opening, statutory category, regulatory amendments, and current law can change the result.
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

California said the statutory concept of exempt “related supplies” applied only to ostomy devices, not medical devices generally. Although the wording created ambiguity, the interpretation was long-standing enough that a regulation amendment would be needed to change it.

Common questions

Did “related supplies” broadly cover drainage-catheter supplies?

No under this interpretation.

Citations and references

  • Revenue and Taxation Code § 6369(g); historical 18 Cal. Code Regs. § 1591(j) — ostomy devices and related supplies

Source

Original ruling text

State of California

Board of Equalization
Legal Division-MIC: 82

Memorandum

425.0163.450

To:

Mr. Donald Herrmann
Senior Tax Auditor
Refunds Section (MIC:39)

Date:

From :

John L. Waid
Senior Tax Counsel

Telephone: (916) 324-3828
CalNet 454-3828

Subject:

[No Permit Number]
Drainage Catheters- Related Supplies

July 2, 1997

I am responding to your memorandum dated April 18, 1997, following up on my memorandum to you, dated March 31, 1997, regarding the apparent confusion in the concept of related supplies as applied to urinary incontinence catheters. We agree that this issue is not free from doubt. As I noted in my previous memorandum, we also agree that the concept of “related supplies” applies only to ostomy devices under section 6369(g), (See Regulation 1591(j)). It is sometimes blurred due to the wording of the section which is to create a separate statutory basis for exemption. When the statute was enacted, it could have been interpreted to merely implement Subsection (c)(4); but, our current interpretation is of such long standing as to require a regulation amendment to change it.

JLW:rz

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