Component Parts (Rescinded October 30, 2002)

AUTHORITY: section 144.270, RSMo 1994. This rule was previously filed as rule no. 77 Jan. 22, 1973, effective Feb. 1, 1973. S.T. regulation 030-24 was last filed Dec. 31, 1975, effective Jan. 10, 1976. Refiled March 30, 1976. Rescinded: Filed April 4, 2002, effective Oct. 30, 2002. The Blueside Companies, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-4625 (A.H.C. 10/5/84). The issue in this case was whether chemicals used by the taxpayer in its hide processing operation were partially or totally exempt from sales/use taxes under section 144.030.2(2), RSMo (Supp. 1983) as “materials. . . which when used. . . become a component part or ingredient of the new personal property resulting from such manufacturing, processing, compounding, producing or fabricating. . . .” The Administrative Hearing Commission ruled that section 144.030.2(2) did not just apply to manufacturers. The statute applied instead to materials used in manufacturing. It is the goods that are used, not the purchaser of the goods, which defines the extent of the exemption. Secondly, the commission found that the taxpayer was entitled to claim the exemption even though it actually performed the work in question on a contractual basis. It is not necessary that the taxpayer be manufacturing its own goods, and even if it were, as noted previously, the exemption in question is not limited to manufacturers but to manufacturing, etc. The fact that the taxpayer worked on a contract basis was irrelevant. The commission also found that the key to whether materials become a component part or ingredient of the new personal property was whether the taxpayer purchased them for its own use and consumption or for resale. Looking to legislative history the court found that section 144.030.2(2) was in fact simply a repetition of the exclusions already inherent in the definitional provisions of section 144.010.1(8) defining “sale at retail.” While acknowledging that on two previous occasions courts of the state of Missouri have ruled in the taxpayer’s favor in cases similar to this one, the commission noted that such rulings were not in accordance with either the well-established rule that exemption statutes must be strictly construed against the taxpayer or the historical purpose of the statute as it was explained in Southwestern Bell Telephone v. Morris, 345 SW2d 62 (Mo. banc 1961). The commission noted that courts in other states have consistently ruled that the component part exemption is akin to the sale-for-resale philosophy and that chemicals which are not detectable in the finished product do not constitute component parts. Numerous cases from other jurisdictions were cited. Moreover, the mere presence of traces of a chemical in a final product does not make the chemical a component part. The court cited as an example microscopic particles of water vapor and other gases which are left in mined coal by explosives. These trace chemicals do not make the explosives a component part. The court also cited the elimination of double taxation as the rationale for the component part exemption. Therefore, if the presence of a material in a finished product is merely incidental then the material was not purchased for resale and the purchase should be taxable. In the case at hand the court noted that various products that were purchased to form chrome-tan were totally retained in the product. These materials should be exempt because they were purchased with the intent that they would be resold as part of the product. The commission distinguished cases where part of the material was intended to become a component part. While some states have taken the position that the purchase of a material with the intention that part of it shall remain in the product at the time of resale will exempt all of the material, the commission took the position that only the part which was intended to become a component part should be exempt, noting that section 144.030.2(2) expressly provides that exemptions for various materials only apply to the extent they are incorporated into products which are intended for resale. Hardee’s of Springfield, Inc., et al. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-2181 (A.H.C. 6/11/85). The issue in this case was the imposition of use tax upon shortening used for deep frying goods at petitioner’s restaurants. Petitioner asserted that use tax was not due on any of the shortening because it became an ingredient or component part of new personal property and thus was exempt as provided by section 144.030.3(1), RSMo (1978). The director countered that petitioner had to be a manufacturer to qualify for this exemption and that no exemption was proper unless the ingredient was totally incorporated into the new product. The commission cited Blueside Company v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-4625 (A.H.C. 10/5/84) for the proposition that the exemption also applies to processing. However, again citing Blueside, the commission held that the ingredient of component part exemption is only applicable to the extent that the article is incorporated in new property. In addition, those articles whose presence in the final product is not necessary or essential are not exempt. The Administrative Hearing Commission found that 50% of the shortening in question was absorbed and therefore exempt. The bulk of the unabsorbed shortening was sold for salvage. Petitioner contended that this salvage sale constituted a retail sale and that its use of shortening was therefore exempt under section 144.615, RSMo (1978) as property held for resale in the regular course of business. However, the commission rejected petitioner’s argument by stating, “If the by-product is an inconsequential portion of the taxpayer’s business and the by-product is sold as salvage primarily to avoid the cost of refuse collection, the articles in the by-product would not be exempt from use tax because those articles would be held substantially for use and not for resale.” P.F.D. Supply Corporation v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS80-0055 (A.H.C. 6/6/85). The issue in this case was the imposition of sales tax on certain sales transactions of shortening and nonreusable plastic and paper products which petitioner sells to restaurants for use in the preparation and service of food products. Petitioner asserted that the sales in question were exempt as sales for resale because the purchasing restaurants were not the ultimate consumer of the goods in question. The Administrative Hearing Commission, relying on the exemption set forth in section 144.030.3(1), RSMo for materials purchased for use in “manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, producing or fabricating” found that the production of food by a restaurant constituted processing. Relying on its previous decision in Blueside Co. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-4625 (A.H.C. 10/5/84) the commission found that the petitioner’s sale of shortening was exempt from taxation to the extent that the purchaser intended for it to be absorbed into the fried foods. The sale of the portion which the purchaser did not expect to be so absorbed was not exempt as an ingredient or component part. However, petitioner asserted that the unabsorbed portion was exempt as a purchase for resale because it was sold by the purchaser for salvage after being used. Again referring to Blueside, the commission held that the salvage sale was only incidental to the primary transaction. Therefore, the purchasing restaurant was the user and the sale to that restaurant was a taxable retail sale. However, the commission also found that the petitioner accepted exemption certificates in good faith for all the shortening held. Acknowledging that the Missouri Supreme Court in Overland Steel, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, 647 SW2d 535 (Mo. banc 1983) held that the good faith acceptance of an exemption certificate does not absolve the seller from liability for sales tax, the Administrative Hearing Commission cited other authority for the proposition that the seller is exempt. The commission resorted to section 32.200, Art. V, section 2, RSMo (1978) of the Multistate Tax Compact which specifically provides such an exemption. The Supreme Court had not addressed this in the Overland Steel case. Not only did respondent have a regulation, 12 CSR 10-3.194, which recognizes the applicability of section 32.200 to Missouri sales and use tax, but it had another regulation, 12 CSR 10-3.536(2) in effect at the time of the audit which specifically relieved the seller of liability when an exemption certificate was accepted in good faith. Based upon this the commission found that the seller’s good faith exempted it from liability. Finally, the commission held that nonreusable paper and plastic products were purchased for resale, inasmuch as they were provided to restaurant patrons as part of the cost of the food and beverages. Therefore, the sale to the restaurants was not a taxable transaction and no tax was due from the petitioner on such items. Hardee’s of Springfield, Inc. et al. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-wr 42181 (A.H.C. 6/11/85). The Administrative Hearing Commission held that the ingredient or component part exemption is only applicable to the extent that the article is incorporated in new property. In addition, those articles whose presence in the final product is not necessary to essential are not exempt. The commission found that 50% of the shortening in question was absorbed and therefore exempt. Teepak, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, Case Nos. RS-86-0123 and RS-86-1430 (A.H.C. 5/13/88). In this case, the taxpayer argued that casings used in the manufacture of hot dogs were exempt from sales tax under the component part exemption. The Administrative Hearing Commission rejected the taxpayer’s argument, finding that there was no purposeful incorporation of the casing, or its parts, into the finished hot dog, therefore, the component part exemption did not apply. Pea Ridge Iron Ore Co., Inc. v. Director of Revenue, Case Nos. RS84-1398, RS-84-1468, RS-84-1469, RS-84-1470, RS-84-1728, RS-841729 and RS-86-0517 (A.H.C. 6/30/88). The primary substantive issue was whether the taxpayer’s purchases of grinding balls, grinding rods, bentonite and olivine were exempt under the steel products exemption in 144.030.2(2), RSMo which exempts “materials and manufactured goods which are ultimately consumed in the manufacturing process by becoming, in whole or in part, a component part or ingredient of steel products intended to be sold ultimately for final use or consumption.” The Administrative Hearing Commission held that the presence of the grinding media and bentonite in the final product, though a secondary purpose and not the primary intended purpose, was sufficient to qualify the materials for the steel products exemption. The materials were purchased with an intent and purpose of becoming an identifiable and detectable ingredient or component part of the iron ore pellets, and therefore were exempt. Marshall Scott Enterprises, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-87-0786, Kentucky Fried Chicken of Spanish Lake, Inc., Case No. RS-87-0787 and Al-Tom Investment, Inc. d/b/a Kentucky Fried Chicken, Case No. RS-87-0788 (A.H.C. 7/8/88). The taxpayers contended that the purchases of shortening were excluded from taxation under 144.010.1(8), RSMo, because the shortening was substantially incorporated in the food products and therefore was for resale as a portion of the food products. The Administrative Hearing Commission rejected this argument and reaffirmed its decision in Blueside Companies, Inc. v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-82-4625 (10/5/84). Snap Shot Photo v. Director of Revenue, Case No. RS-87-1056 (A.H.C. 8/29/88). The Administrative Hearing Commission found that all chemicals used in the photofinishing process as part of a closed vat system, and not washed away during the process, were exempt from taxation because “all such chemicals do become ingredients and component parts of all the products over time.” St. Joe Minerals Corporation v. Director of Revenue, Case Nos. RS-85-1812 and RS-85-2289 (A.H.C. 9/13/88). The Administrative Hearing Commission reaffirmed earlier decisions that held that before materials can be exempt as component parts or ingredients they must be shown to have been purchased for the purpose of becoming part of the final product. They must also be shown to have become a part of the product and must be detectable in the final product. They must also serve a purpose in the final product and not be just an impurity. It is not enough that the materials are necessary to the manufacturing process; it must be shown that the materials are purposefully incorporated into that final product.