Were blood glucose meters exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax under PLR 95-6?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina Private Letter Ruling 95-6 concluded that blood glucose meters were exempt from sales and use tax when sold to diabetics under a physician's authorization and direction.

The meter used a chemically treated blood strip and displayed a numeric blood-sugar reading. The historical statute expressly exempted specified diabetic supplies, including blood-sugar testing strips, under physician authorization.

The Department also relied on Commission Decision 90-39, which had extended the exemption to monolet lancets and dextrometer supplies as newer technologies used by diabetics for the same purposes. It applied that reasoning to the glucose meter itself.

The ruling noted that meters were sold by drug stores and medical-equipment suppliers and could be purchased with or without a prescription. Its conclusion nevertheless required physician authorization and direction for the exemption.

Common questions

Q: Did PLR 95-6 exempt every glucose-meter sale? No. Its conclusion required sale to a diabetic under a physician's authorization and direction.

Q: Why did the meter qualify even though the statute listed testing strips? The Department treated it as a newer technology used for the same diabetic blood-sugar-testing purpose.

Q: Did the ruling require a prescription specifically? It used the broader phrase "authorization and direction of a physician" and noted that meters could be purchased with or without a prescription.

Q: Can another seller rely on PLR 95-6? No. The ruling states it has no precedential value and only the addressee may rely on it.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-2120(28) (historical diabetic-supply exemption)
• S.C. Code Ann. §§ 12-36-910(A) and 12-36-1310(A) (sales and use taxes)
• Commission Decision #90-39 (new diabetic-testing technologies discussed)

Subject

Blood Glucose Meters

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/PLR95-6.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
301 Gervais Street, P. O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214

SC PRIVATE LETTER RULING #95-6 (TAX)

TO:

XYZ

SUBJECT:

Blood Glucose Meters
(Sales and Use Taxes)

DATE:

June 27, 1995

REFERENCE:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-2120 (Supp. 1993)
Commission Decision #90-39

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (Supp. 1993)
SC Revenue Procedure #94-1

SCOPE:

A Private Letter Ruling is an official advisory opinion issued by the Department
of Revenue to a specific person.

NOTE:

A Private Letter Ruling may only be relied upon by the person to whom it is
issued and only for the transaction or transactions to which it relates. A Private
Letter Ruling has no precedential value.

Question:
Are blood glucose meters (glucometers) exempt from sales and use taxes under Code Section 12-362120(28)?
Conclusion:
Blood glucose meters (glucometers) are exempt from sales and use taxes under Code Section 12-362120(28) when sold to diabetics under the authorization and direction of a physician.
Facts:
Diabetics must routinely monitor their blood sugar levels. This can be done in several ways. Two
of the oldest ways of testing blood sugar involve placing either a drop of urine or blood on a testing
strip and comparing the strip color to a color coded chart.
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Another testing method involves placing a drop of blood on a chemically treated strip. The strip is
put into a machine, known as a glucometer, and a numeric blood sugar reading is displayed.
Advice has been requested on whether the glucometers are exempt from sales and use tax. The
glucometers are commonly sold at drug stores and medical equipment suppliers. The meters may be
purchased with or without a physician's prescription.
Discussion:
In accordance with Code Section 12-36-910(A):
A sales tax, equal to five percent of the gross proceeds of sales, is imposed upon every
person engaged or continuing within this State in the business of selling tangible personal
property at retail.
In accordance with Code Section 12-36-1310(A):
A use tax is imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this State of tangible
personal property purchased at retail for storage, use, or other consumption in this State, at
the rate of five percent of the sales price of the property, regardless of whether the retailer is
or is not engaged in business in this State.
An exemption from sales and use taxes is provided in Code Section 12-36-2120(28) for certain items
sold to a diabetic. This section exempts from the sales and use taxes:
medicine and prosthetic devices sold by prescription; hypodermic needles, insulin, alcohol
swabs, and blood sugar testing strips sold to diabetics under the authorization and
direction of a physician; and dental prosthetic devices. (Emphasis added.)
The applicability of this exemption was reviewed in Commission Decision #90-39 wherein the
taxation of monolet lancets and dextrometer supplies used by diabetics to draw blood and check the
sugar was reviewed. This decision concluded that "[i]n this instance, the legislative intent is to
exempt those items used by diabetics for various purposes. Since monolet lancets and dextrometer
supplies are new technological developments used for such purposes, we believe they should be
included in Section [12-36-2120(28)'s] exemption".
Based upon the above analysis, blood glucose meters sold under the authorization and direction of a
physician qualify for the sales and use tax exemption provided under Code Section 12-36-2120(28).

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