Were fencing, watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders exempt for commercially raised poultry and livestock under RR 95-11?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina Revenue Ruling 95-11 applied the sales-and-use-tax exemption for materials and equipment used in a self-contained enclosure or structure for commercially raised poultry or livestock.

Fencing and fencing supplies—including posts, gates, nails, cement, and barbed wire—were exempt when they surrounded an area on all sides to protect poultry or livestock raised or maintained for commercial purposes. The enclosure could be inside a barn or chicken house or around a field dedicated to the animals.

The exemption did not cover fencing around a field used to grow crops. The statutory focus was commercial housing of poultry or livestock, not general agricultural fencing.

Watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders inside the qualifying enclosure were also exempt. The Department treated them as equipment improving the self-contained enclosure, provided the animals were raised or maintained commercially.

The Department's 2025 farmer-exemption guide cites RR 95-11 for this fencing rule, while placing it within current agricultural-business and SCATE-card guidance.

Common questions

Q: Was fencing around a livestock pasture exempt? Yes, if it enclosed the area on all sides for poultry or livestock raised or maintained commercially.

Q: Did the enclosure have to be a building? No. A dedicated field enclosed by fencing could qualify, as could an enclosure within a barn or chicken house.

Q: Was fencing around crops exempt under this ruling? No.

Q: Were feed and water fixtures inside the enclosure exempt? Yes. The ruling included watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders.

Q: Did hobby or personal animals qualify? No. RR 95-11 required the poultry or livestock to be raised or maintained for commercial purposes.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-2120(45) (commercial poultry and livestock housing exemption)
• SC Revenue Ruling 25-6 (2025 farmer-exemption guide citing RR 95-11; described in prose without an invented link)
• Owen Industrial Products, Inc. v. Sharpe, 274 S.C. 193, 262 S.E.2d 33 (1980)
• York County Fair Association v. S.C. Tax Commission, 249 S.C. 337, 154 S.E.2d 361 (1967)

Subject

Commercial Housing of Poultry and Livestock

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/RR95-11.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

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

SC REVENUE RULING #95-11 (TAX)
SUBJECT:

Commercial Housing Of Poultry and Livestock
(Sales and Use Tax)

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Applies to all periods open under the statute.

REFERENCE:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-2120(45) (Supp. 1994)

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (Supp. 1994)
SC Revenue Procedure #94-1

SCOPE:

A Revenue Ruling is the Department of Revenue's official advisory
opinion of how laws administered by the Department are to be applied to
a specific issue or a specific set of facts, and is provided as guidance to
all persons or a particular group. It is valid and remains in effect until
superseded or modified by a change in the statute or regulations or a
subsequent court decision, Revenue Ruling or Revenue Procedure.

Questions:

1. Are fencing and fencing supplies exempt from the sales and use tax under Code Section 12-362120(45) when used for agricultural purposes?
2. If fencing and fencing supplies are exempt from the sales and use tax under Code Section 1236-2120(45) when used for agricultural purposes, then are watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay
   feeders placed within the fenced in area also exempt from the sales and use tax under Code
   Section 12-36-2120(45)?
   Conclusions:
3. Fencing and fencing supplies are exempt from the sales and use tax under Code Section 12-362120(45) when used to surround an area on all sides in order to protect livestock or poultry
   raised or maintained for commercial purposes.
   The exemption is applicable when the fencing and fencing supplies are used within a building such
   as a barn or a chicken house or used to surround a field that is specifically set aside and used for
   livestock or poultry that is raised or maintained for commercial purposes.
   Note: Fencing and fencing supplies used to surround a field where crops are grown do not
   qualify for exemption from the sales and use tax.
4. Watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders placed within a fenced in area specifically set
   aside and used for livestock or poultry are exempt from the sales and use tax under Code
   Section 12-36-2120(45), provided the livestock and poultry within the enclosure are being
   raised or maintained for commercial purposes.
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Facts:
Farmers use fencing and fencing supplies (e.g. posts, gates, nails, cement, barbed wire) to protect
crops, poultry, and livestock. When used to fence in poultry and livestock, a farmer may also place
within the protected area such items as watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders so that the
animals may have water and food.
Questions have arisen as to whether sales of these items to farmers are exempt from the sales and
use tax.
Discussion:
Code Section 12-36-2120(45) exempts from the sales and use tax the:
gross proceeds from the sale of building materials, supplies, fixtures, and equipment for the
construction, repair, or improvement of or that become a part of a self-contained enclosure
or structure specifically designed, constructed, and used for the commercial housing of
poultry or livestock.
It is an accepted practice in South Carolina to resort to the dictionary to determine the literal
meaning of words used in statutes. For cases where this has been done, see Hay v. South Carolina
Tax Commission, 273 SC 269, 255 S.E.2d 837 (1979); Fennell v. South Carolina Tax Commission,
233 S.C. 43, 103 S.E.2d 424 (1958); Etiwan Fertilizer Co. v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 217
SC 484, 60 S.E.2d 682 (1950).
The Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defines the following words:
self-contained

1. Possessing within oneself or itself all that is necessary; selfsufficient.

enclosure

1. The act of enclosing. 2. The state of being enclosed. 3. Something that is enclosed. 4. Something that encloses.

enclose

1. To surround on all sides; close-in. 2.a. To place within a
   container. b. To insert in the same envelope or package. 3. To fence
   in or place an enclosure around so as to prevent common use.
   (Emphasis added.)

structure

1. Something made up of a number of parts that are held or put
   together in a particular way. 2. The way in which parts are arranged
   or put together to form a whole. 5. Something constructed, esp. a
   building or part. (Emphasis added.)

housing

1.a. Residences or dwelling places for people. b. A place to live;
dwelling. 2.a. Something that covers, protects, or supports.
(Emphasis added.)

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Therefore, fencing and fencing supplies used to surround an area on all sides are exempt from the
sales and use tax, provided that such fencing is used to protect livestock or poultry raised or
maintained for commercial purposes. The exemption is applicable when the fencing and fencing
supplies are used within a building such as a barn or a chicken house or used to surround a field
occupied by livestock or poultry.
Fencing and fencing supplies used to surround a field where crops are grown do not qualify for
exemption from the sales and use tax.
Now we must address the taxability of watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders.
As a general rule, tax exemption statutes are strictly construed against the taxpayer. Owen
Industrial Products, Inc. v. Sharpe, 274 S.C. 193, 262 S.E.2d 33 (1980). Hollingsworth on Wheels,
Inc. v. Greenville County Treasurer, 276 S.C. 314, 278 S.E. 2d 340 (1981). This rule of strict
construction simply means that constitutional and statutory language will not be strained or
liberally construed in the taxpayer's favor. York County Fair Association v. S.C. Tax Commission,
249 S.C. 337, 154 S.E.2d 361 (1967).
However, the following quote from 73 Am.Jur.2d Statutes, Section 275 provides some further
guidance in interpreting exemption statutes:
Although a strict construction is a narrow construction and the statute may not be extended
by implication or inference, the construction should not be unduly technical, arbitrary,
severe, artificial, or narrow. The words used need not be given any meaning other than
their full meaning, where such construction is in harmony with the context. A strict
construction permits the words to be read naturally. A statute which is subject to the rule of
strict construction is nevertheless entitled to a reasonable, sensible, and fair construction.
The courts should take a common sense view of the statute as a whole and should not
render a statute nugatory, inoperative, or ineffectual, but should interpret it as to give it an
efficient operation.
Therefore, in reading the exemption statute in a manner that is "not ... unduly technical, arbitrary,
severe, artificial, or narrow", the watering tubs, feed troughs, and hay feeders do come within the
exemption as "equipment for the ... improvement of ... a self-contained enclosure." However, in
order for the exemption to apply, the livestock and poultry within the enclosure must be raised or
maintained for commercial purposes.
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

s/Burnet R. Maybank III
Burnet R. Maybank, III, Director
Columbia, South Carolina
, 1995
July 11
For questions concerning this matter, contact Gary Heuer at (803) 737-4744 or John P. McCormack at
(803) 737-4438.
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