Did ordinary intravenous administration sets qualify as programmable drug infusion devices?

Plain-English summary

California taxed the company's general, automatic piggyback, filter, anesthesia or surgical, soluset, extension, pediatric or neonatal, and specialty IV administration sets. They delivered fluid or medicine through traditional tubing using a drip method and an on/off switch.

The new exemption covered a programmable device worn on or implanted in the body that automatically infused measured quantities of medicine. The listed sets were neither fully worn or implanted nor capable of automatically programming measured delivery.

Common questions

Did administering medicine through tubing make a set programmable?

No. Traditional drip delivery and an on/off switch did not satisfy the automatic measured-infusion standard.

Did the equipment meet the body-worn requirement?

No. The letter said the listed sets were not fully worn on or implanted in the patient's body.

Were the listed IV sets taxable?

Yes.

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code section 6369 — programmable drug-infusion-device amendment applied in the letter
• Historical California Sales and Use Tax Regulation 1591(b)(7) — definition identified by CDTFA's annotation summary

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/425-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/425-1130.pdf

Original ruling text

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

425.1130

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
Your letter of March 1, 1983 to Mr. Monte Williams has been referred to the legal staff for reply. Your inquiry concerns the correct application of tax to I.V. Administration Equipment sold by your company. As Mr. Williams informed you in his letter of February 18, 1983, effective January 1, 1983, section 6369 of the Revenue and Taxation Code has been amended to include "programmable drug infusion devices to be worn on or implanted in the human body," within the definition of the term "medicines." As a result of this legislative change the Board is in the process of revising Sales and Use Tax regulation 1591, "Prescription Medicines." The proposed amendment to regulation 1591 provides: “Effective January 1, 1983, the term (medicines) includes programmable drug infusion devices to be worn in or implanted in the human body which automatically cause the infusion of measured quantities of a medicine into the body of the wearer of the device.” In your letter of March 1, 1983 you enclosed a catalog which describes the various I.V. Administration Sets sold by your company. Included are general sets, automatic piggyback sets, filter sets, anesthesia/surgical sots, solusets, extension sets, pediatric/neonatal sets and specialty sets. All of the sets listed in your catalog are in the nature of traditional I.V. administration equipment whereby fluid or medicine is administered to a patient through tubing. There is no mechanism available with the administration sets which automatically programs the delivery of the medicine to the patient other than through a traditional drip method and an on/off switch. We are of the opinion that none of the I.V. administration sets listed in your catalog qualify as programmable drug infusion devices under Revenue and Taxation Code section 6369. The various I.V. administration sets described in your catalog are not fully worn on, or implanted in the human body of the patient nor are they programmable in the sense that they do not automatically cause the infusion of measured quantities of a medicine into the body of the wearer. As such, tax will apply to all of the I.V. administration sets listed in your letter. If you have further questions concerning this matter, please write this office. Very truly yours, Mary C. Armstrong Staff Counsel MCA:ba