Ezel / Tax Rulings / CA

Could a seller treat whipped-cream charger cartridges as sales for resale?

Short answer Yes. The source states that the released gas entered the cream and formed bubbles like hand whipping, so the charger contents became part of the sold product.
State
CA
Ruling
Annotation 440.2260
Tax type
Sales and Use Tax
Issued
1955-12-16
Issued by
California State Board of Equalization
Requested by
A seller asking about gas cartridges used to whip fresh cream at ice cream fountains
Topics
ingredient component parts resale exemption
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1955. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1955
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 is a California State Board of Equalization associate-tax-counsel letter dated December 16, 1955, published by CDTFA as support for a sales and use tax annotation. It identifies the cartridge gas verbatim as nitrous dioxide (NO2) and bases its result on that gas entering the cream and forming bubbles. Another taxpayer should not treat it as binding and should check current food, charger, gas, ingredient, component-part, resale, and sales-and-use-tax rules. 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

A seller supplied small cartridges for whipping fresh cream at ice cream fountains. The source identifies the cartridge contents as nitrous dioxide (NO2) and states that the released gas entered the cream and made bubbles like those produced by hand whipping.

Because the gas became incorporated into the whipped cream, sales of the chargers qualified as sales for resale.

Source

Original ruling text

440.2260

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

December 16, 1955

Your letter of October 19
--- --- ---, Ltd.
--- --- XX, California
Attention:

Mr. --- --- --Tax Department

Gentlemen:
You inquire concerning the taxability of your sales of Whipping Cream Chargers. You state that these are small cartridges containing nitrous dioxide (NO2). A cartridge is inserted in a whipped cream container for the purpose of whipping fresh cream at ice cream fountains. The nitrous dioxide, on being released from the cartridge, enters into the cream, furnishing the same action as ordinary whipping by hand. As we understand the facts, the nitrous dioxide makes the bubbles which are made by air in ordinary whipping. It is our opinion that the nitrous dioxide is incorporated into the whipped cream. Accordingly, your sales of Whipped Cream Chargers are exempt sales for resale. Very truly yours,

Bill Holden
Associate Tax Counsel

BH:tl
cc:

--- --- – Auditing
Unit 2 - Headquarters

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