Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9001L0976G09 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-01-10

Could a nonpermitted importer treat the resale of one granite container as an exempt occasional sale?

Short answer: Yes, only if the seller had sold no more than one other taxable item during the prior 12 months and sold the entire granite container to one purchaser in one transaction, assuming it was not acting as a real-property contractor.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1990. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1990
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 an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
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) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The taxpayer imported and resold one container of granite, held no sales-tax permit, and had no other activity requiring one. The letter also assumed the taxpayer was not acting as a contractor improving or remodeling real property.

The resale could qualify as an exempt occasional sale only if the taxpayer had sold no more than one other taxable item during the previous 12 months. The entire container also had to be sold to one purchaser in one transaction.

Common questions

Was the granite resale automatically exempt? No.

What prior-sales limit applied? No more than one other taxable-item sale in the preceding 12 months.

Could the container be split among buyers? Not under the facts required by this letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

January 10, 1990

Dear ****:

Thank you for your letter concerning an occasional sale.

You indicated in your letter that you imported one container of granite
and resold that one container. I assume that you were not acting as a
contractor improving or remodeling real property. I also have the understanding
that you do not hold a sales tax permit nor have any activity where you would
need the permit.

Your resale of the container of granite appears to qualify for exemption
from sales tax as an occasional sale only if you sold no more than one other
taxable item in the previous twelve months. The container of granite must have
been sold to a single purchaser in a single transaction.

This opinion is based upon the facts you presented. If there are
additional or different facts, this opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call our
toll-free number
1-800-252-5555, ext. 3-4684. The regular number is 512/463-4684. You
may write me at the Tax Correspondence Division.

Sincerely,
Curt Swenson
Tax Correspondence Division

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