Cal. Code Regs., tit. 18, § 1699.6 — Use Tax Direct Payment Permits

Reference: Sections 6007, 6070, and 7051.3, Revenue and Taxation Code.

# (a)

Foreword. "Use tax direct payment permit" means a permit issued by the board that allows a use tax direct payment permit holder to self-assess and pay state, local, and district use taxes under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001), Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200), and, if applicable, Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251) directly to the board. The provisions of this regulation apply only to transactions subject to use tax.

# (b)

Application for Permit.
(1) Persons seeking to pay use taxes directly to the board shall file an application for a use tax direct payment permit. An application for a use tax direct payment permit shall be made on Board of Equalization Form BOE-400-DP (no revision date). The application shall be signed by the owner, if a natural person; in the case of an association or partnership, by a member or partner; and in the case of a corporation, by an executive officer or some person specifically authorized by the corporation to sign the application.
(2) Within 30 days of receipt of an application for a direct payment permit the board shall inform the applicant in writing either that the application is complete and has been accepted or that the application is deficient and what additional specific information is required to make the application complete. Within 60 days of acceptance of a complete application the board shall approve or deny the issuance of a direct payment permit and notify the applicant in writing of its decision.

# (c)

Requirements for Permit. Pursuant to an application, a use tax direct payment permit shall be issued to any person who meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The applicant agrees to self-assess and pay directly to the board any use tax liability incurred under this regulation.
(2) The applicant certifies to the board either of the following:
(A) The applicant is the purchaser for its own use or is the lessee of tangible personal property subject to the use tax at a cost of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or more in the aggregate, during the calendar year immediately preceding the application for the permit. Tangible personal property purchased for own use includes both property subject to use tax and property exempt from use tax except that it does not include property purchased for resale; or
(B) The applicant is a county, city, city and county, or redevelopment agency.

# (d)

Reporting of Local Use Tax. Any person who holds a valid use tax direct payment permit shall self-assess and pay directly to the board with each return the use taxes due under Division 2, Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001), Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200), and, if applicable, Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251), for all purchases subject to use tax for which a use tax direct payment exemption certificate was issued, and shall report the local use tax component to the jurisdiction in which the property is located at the time the state imposed use tax must be reported. Temporary storage for the purpose of reporting local tax shall be disregarded. Any tax so reported may be redistributed in accordance with law.

# (e)

Returns. On or before the last day of the month following each quarterly period, a holder of a direct payment permit shall file a return with the board. The person required to file the return shall deliver it together with a remittance for the amount of tax due to the board. The return shall show the aggregate sales price of tangible personal property purchased during the reporting period with respect to which the person filing the return has issued a use tax direct payment exemption certificate relieving the retailer of liability for reporting and paying use tax, and such other information as the board may require.

# (f)

Exemption Certificates. The board shall allow any holder of a use tax direct payment permit to issue a use tax direct payment certificate to any registered retailer or seller subject to all of the following:
(1) The use tax direct payment exemption certificate shall be in a form prescribed by the board, and shall be signed by, and bear the name, address, and permit number of, the holder of the use tax direct payment permit.
(2) Once a use tax direct payment exemption certificate has been issued by a holder of a use tax direct payment permit, it shall remain effective until revised or withdrawn by the holder of the permit or until the retailer or seller has received written notice that the permit has been revoked by the board.
(3) A use tax direct payment certificate relieves a person selling property from the duty of collecting use tax only if taken timely and in good faith from a person who holds a use tax direct payment permit. A certificate will be considered timely if it is taken at any time before the seller bills the purchaser for the property, or any time within the seller's normal billing and payment cycle, or any time at or prior to delivery of the property to the purchaser.
(4) A purchaser who issues a use tax direct payment certificate that is accepted in good faith by a seller or retailer of tangible personal property shall be the sole person liable for any sales tax and related interest and penalties with respect to any transaction that is subsequently determined by the board to be subject to sales tax and not use tax. The local sales tax portion so determined shall be allocated to the city, county, city and county, or redevelopment agency to which the tax would have been allocated if it had been reported and paid by the retailer in accordance with Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200). Such allocation shall be based on the place of sale as provided in Regulation 1802 and Regulation 1822.
(5) Any person who holds a use tax direct payment permit and gives a use tax direct payment certificate to a seller or retailer shall, in addition to any applicable use tax liabilities, be subject to the same penalty provisions that apply to a seller or retailer.

# (g)

Resale Transactions. A use tax direct payment exemption certificate shall not be substituted for a resale certificate, because the tax consequences are different. Resale certificates shall only be issued with respect to property which the purchaser intends to resell, and use tax direct payment exemption certificates shall be issued only for property purchased for use or other consumption. If a retailer makes sales under both a use tax direct payment exemption certificate and a resale certificate to the same customer, an audit trail must be maintained to identify which property is sold pursuant to each certificate.

# (h)

Revocation of Permit. The board may revoke the use tax direct payment permit of any person who fails to purchase tangible personal property for own use of at least $500,000 per year. The permit shall remain valid for all transactions taking place prior to the date the permit is revoked.

# (i)

Successor Entities. A successor entity to a use tax direct payment permit holder shall qualify to obtain a use tax direct payment permit if the predecessor entity so qualified in the calendar year in which the succession occurred but must obtain its own permit.

# (j)

Operative Date. The provisions of this regulation apply only to purchases that occur on or after January 1, 1998.
History-Adopted September 23, 1998, effective July 9, 1999.