Did four equipment bills of sale count as two exempt occasional-sale series under Florida's 1993 rule?

Subject

Occasional Sale

Plain-English summary

The four bills of sale represented two sale series that could qualify for the occasional-sale exemption under the 1993 rule. Three sales occurring on October 27 counted together as one series, and the November 13 sale counted as the second.

The exemption applied only if those were the seller's only two sales or series during a 12-month period, the seller did not hold itself out as engaged in that business, and the property was not a titled or registered vehicle. The official source notes that the rule was amended in 1994.

What this means for you

The ruling grouped sales by the day they occurred rather than treating the entire multi-week solicitation as one series. A third sale or series within 12 months would have made the seller a dealer under the quoted historical rule.

Common questions

Q: Why did three bills count as one sale series? They all occurred on October 27, 1992.

Q: Did later delivery of one October 27 item create another series? No. The ruling used the sale date, not its November delivery date.

Q: Is the quoted two-series rule current? This page does not say so; the official source flags a 1994 amendment.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.02(2) — business and occasional sales
• Fla. Admin. Code r. 12A-1.037(1) — historical occasional-sale rule
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 — Technical Assistance Advisements

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 93A-011

Original ruling text

Title:

Occasional Sale

Status: Rule 12A-1.037 amended 8/15/94. See subsection (3)(b).

Feb 17, 1993

RE: TAA 93A-011
Occasional or Isolated Sales of Tangible Personal Property
Section 212.02(2), F.S.
Rule 12A-1.037(1)(a) and (b), F.A.C.

Dear :

This is in response to your letter of January 4, 1993, in
which you requested the issuance of a technical assistance
advisement regarding the taxable or exempt status of certain
equipment sold under the occasional or isolated sales provision
of Chapter 212, F.S., and rules of the Florida Administrative
Code by your client XXX [hereinafter "Taxpayer"].

You wrote the Department on November 4, 1992, and received
an informal response from XXX of our division dated December 10,
1992, which stated that the first two sales were exempt as
occasional or isolated sales but the other would be subject to
tax as the term "series of sales" means sales made in one day.

After receiving XXX response you called the Department on
the same subject and were told by XXX that all the sales under
the same facts as outlined in your letter of November 4, 1992,
would be exempt under the occasional or isolated sales provision
as one "series of sales" under Rule 12A-1.037, F.A.C.

You furnished this office a copy of all prior
correspondence and the bills of sales in question.

The bills of sale include:

"(a) XXX Bill of Sale, dated October 27, 1992;
"(b) XXX Bill of Sale, dated October 27, 1992;

"(c) XXX Bill of Sale, dated October 27, 1992 and delivered
November 23, 1992;
"(d) XXX Bill of Sale, dated November 13, 1992."

Your letter provides in pertinent part:

"As stated in our enclosed Determination Request, it is
[Taxpayer's] position that sales of the type described in
that request are exempt under Section 12A-1.037 of the
Florida Administrative Code as a single series of sales' constituting anoccasional or isolated sale'.

"... In any case, the solicitation of all of the subject
sales began at the same time, indicating one `series' by
XXX definition, although they were consummated on different
dates. The single series of four sales took place during
the period beginning October 27, 1992, and ending November
23, 1992. To characterize this as more than one series of
sales, especially in the context in which the sales took
place, is not consistent with the purposes underlying the
available exemptions."

APPLICABLE AUTHORITY

Section 212.02(2), F.S., provides in part:

"(2) Business' means any activity engaged in by any person, or caused to be engaged in by him, with the object of private or public gain, benefit, or advantage, either direct or indirect. Except for the sales of any aircraft, boat, mobile home, or motor vehicle, the termbusiness'
shall not be construed in this chapter to include
occasional or isolated sales or transactions involving
tangible personal property or services by a person who does
not hold himself out as engaged in business...."

Rule 12A-1.037(1)(a) and (b), F.A.C., provides in part:

"(1)(a) Occasional or isolated sales of tangible personal
property made by a person who does not hold himself out as
engaged in business are exempt. However, this exemption

never applies to occasional or isolated sales of aircraft,
boats, mobile homes, motor vehicles, or other vehicles in
this state of a class or type required to be registered,
licensed, titled, or documented in this state or by the
United States Government (see Rule 12A-1.007, F.A.C.), or
to sales made by those persons who hold themselves out as
engaged in a business, notwithstanding the fact that their
sales may be few and infrequent.
"(b) An exempt occasional or isolated sale occurs when the
sale is made by the owner of tangible personal property
under the following circumstances:
"1. The seller does not hold himself out as engaged in
business and such sales or series of sales occur no more
frequently than 2 times during any 12 month period. The
third sale or series of sales of tangible items during any
12 month period makes that person engaged in that business,
and that person is required to register as a dealer and to
collect and remit tax on the third sale or series of sales
and on all subsequent sales.
"2. Such sales or series of sales are not made on the same
commercial premises or from a location in competition with
other persons required to collect tax.
"3. Such sale does not involve an aircraft, boat, mobile
home, motor vehicle, or any other vehicle of a class or
type required to be registered, licensed, titled, or
documented in this state or by the United Stated
Government...."

DEPARTMENT RESPONSE

In our telephone conversation of January 13, 1993, you
clarified that the sales were made at the "Taxpayer's" plant and
did not involve the sale of any vehicle of a class or type
required to be licensed, titled, or documented in this state or
by the United States Government.

We have reviewed the bills of sale you furnished us in
conjunction with the above quoted sections of Chapter 212, F.S.,
and rules of the Florida Administrative Code and have determined
that since the sales which are referenced in your letter as (a),
(b) and (c), occurred on the same day, October 27, 1992, they

would be considered as a series of sales which constitute one
sale, and together with sale (d), which occurred on November 13,
1992, would represent two sales or series of sales of tangible
personal property. If these were the only two sales or series
of sales made by "Taxpayer" during any 12 month period they
would be exempt under the occasional or isolated sale provisions
of Rule 12A-1.037, F.A.C.

This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement
under s. 213.22, F.S., which is binding on the department only
under the facts and circumstances described in the request for
this advice as specified in s. 213.22, F.S. Our response is
predicated on those facts and the specific situation summarized
above. You are advised that subsequent statutory or
administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the
statutes or rules upon which this advice is based may subject
similar future transactions to a different treatment than
expressed in this response.

You are further advised that this response and your request
are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., which are subject to
disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S.
Your name, address, and any other details which might lead to
identification of the taxpayer must be deleted by the Department
before disclosure. In an effort to protect the confidentiality
of such information, we request you notify the undersigned in
writing within 15 days of any deletions you wish made to the
request or the response.

Sincerely,

Richard S. Harrod
Technical Assistant

RSH/pb
Con. #6357