Sales of manufacturing machinery, tools and equipment used in direct production, manufacture, fabrication, assembly, or finishing of other tangible personal property

Sec. 8. (a) In general, all purchases of tangible personal property by persons engaged in the direct production, manufacture, fabrication,

assembly, or finishing of tangible personal property are taxable. The exemption provided in this regulation [45 IAC 2.2] extends

only to manufacturing machinery, tools, and equipment directly used by the purchaser in direct production. It does not apply to material consumed

in production or to materials incorporated into tangible personal property produced.

(b) The state gross retail tax does not apply to sales of manufacturing machinery, tools, and equipment to be directly used by the purchaser

in the direct production, manufacture, fabrication, assembly, or finishing of tangible personal property.

(c) The state gross retail tax does not apply to purchases of manufacturing machinery, tools, and equipment to be directly used by the

purchaser in the production process provided that such machinery, tools, and equipment are directly used in the production process; i.e., they have

an immediate effect on the article being produced. Property has an immediate effect on the article being produced if it is an essential and integral

part of an integrated process which produces tangible personal property.

–EXAMPLES–

(1) Aluminum pistons are produced in a manufacturing process that begins, after the removal of raw aluminum from storage inside

the plant, with the melting of the raw aluminum and the production of castings in the foundry; continues with the machining of the casting and the

plating and surface treatment of the piston; and ends prior to the transportation of the completed pistons to a storage area for subsequent shipment

to customers. Because of the functional interrelationship of the various steps and the flow of the work-in-process, the total production process,

comprised of such activities, is integrated.

(2) The following types of equipment constitute essential and integral parts of the integrated production process and are, therefore,

exempt. The fact that such equipment may not touch the work-in-process or, by itself, cause a change in the product, is not determinative.

(A) Air compressors used as a power source for exempt tools and machinery in the production process.

(B) An electrical distribution system, including generators, transformers, electrical switchgear, cables inside or outside the plant, and related

equipment used to produce and/or supply electricity to exempt manufacturing equipment used in direct production.

(C) A pulverizer for raw materials to be used in an exempt furnace to produce and/or supply energy to manufacturing equipment used in

direct production.

(D) Boilers, including related equipment such as pumps, piping systems, etc., which draw water, or produce and transmit steam to operate

exempt machinery and equipment used in direct production.

(E) A work bench used in conjunction with a work station or which supports production machinery within the production process.

(F) Safety clothing or equipment which is required to allow a worker to participate in the production process without injury or to prevent

contamination of the product during production.

(G) An automated scale process which measures quantities of raw aluminum for use in the next production step of the casting process in

the foundry.

(3) The following types of equipment constitute essential and integral parts of the integrated production process and are, therefore,

exempt. The fact that such equipment is built in a manner to service various pieces of exempt equipment, as an alternative to building the equipment

into each of the pieces of exempt machinery, is not determinative.

(A) Pumping and filtering equipment and related tanks and tubing used to supply lubricating and coolant fluids to exempt drilling and

cutting machinery.

(B) Cooling towers and related pumps and piping used to cool, circulate, and supply water employed to control the temperature of exempt

furnaces and exempt machines used in the foundry and machining areas.

(C) Pumping and filtering equipment, including related tanks and tubing, is used to supply lubricating and coolant fluids to both exempt

and nonexempt equipment. On the average, 90% of the fluid is used for the exempt equipment employed in direct production and 10% is used for

the nonexempt equipment. The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 90% of the gross retail income attributable to the transaction or

transactions in which the equipment comprising the production process was purchased.

(4) Because of the lack of an essential and integral relationship with the integrated production system in Example (1), the following

types of equipment are not exempt:

(A) Equipment and furnishings located in the administrative offices of the plant.

(B) Clothing or other equipment furnished to workers that is used primarily for the workers' comfort and convenience if the workers are

able to participate in the production process without it.

(C) An electrical distribution system, including electrical switchgear, transformers, cables, and related equipment used to supply electricity

to the administrative office building.

(D) A boiler used to produce steam for general heating in the plant or administrative office building.

(E) A fire extinguisher hung on a wall inside the plant.

(F) Ceiling lights for general illumination in the plant area.

(G) Equipment used to remove raw materials from storage prior to introduction into the production process or to move finished products

from the last step of production.

(5) A computer is used to control and monitor various aspects of the plating and surface-treatment operations in Example (1). The

computer is located in a separate room in a different part of the plant from the plating and surface-treatment operations but is connected to the

equipment comprising those operations by means of electrical devices. The computer equipment, including related terminals, printer, and memory,

data storage, and input/output devices, is exempt because its use in this manner is an integral and essential part of the integrated production

process.

(6) A computer is used to process accounting, personnel, and sales data. The computer is taxable because its use in this manner is not

an integral and essential part of the integrated production process.

(7) A computer is used 40% of the time to perform the functions described in Example (5) and 60% of the time to perform the

functions described in Example (6). The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption for the computer equipment, including related equipment such as that

described in Example (5), equal to 40% of the gross retail income attributable to the transaction or transactions in which the computer equipment

was purchased.

(8) A manufacturer of high technology electronic equipment uses microscopes to enable technicians to produce miniaturized products

which could not otherwise be produced. The microscope is essential and integral to the production process. The microscopes are exempt from

tax.

(9) A manufacturer of printed circuit boards uses a computerized locator system to assist and direct employees in placing components

in their correct positions on printed circuit boards. The system visually demonstrates the location on the board requiring a component and at the same

time dispenses the appropriate component for insertion by the employee. The locator system is an essential and integral part of the integrated

production process and is, therefore, exempt.

(10) An electrical distribution system, including electrical switchgear, transformers, cables, and related equipment, is used to supply

electricity to both equipment used in production and to an administrative office building. On the average, 90% of the electricity is used for the

equipment employed in direct production and 10% for the administrative office building. The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 90% of

the gross retail income attributable to the transaction or transactions in which the equipment comprising the electrical distribution system was

purchased.

(d) Pre-production and post-production activities. "Direct use in the production process" begins at the point of the first operation or activity

constituting part of the integrated production process and ends at the point that the production has altered the item to its completed form, including

packaging, if required.

–EXAMPLE–

(1) The production of pharmaceutical items is accomplished by a process which begins with weighing and measuring out appropriate

ingredients, continues with combining and otherwise treating the ingredients, and ends with packaging the items. Equipment used to transport raw

materials to the manufacturing plant is employed prior to the first operation or activity constituting part of the integrated production process and

is taxable. Weighing and measuring equipment and all equipment used as an essential and integral part of the subsequent manufacturing steps,

through packaging, qualify for exemption. Equipment which loads packaged products from the packaging step of production into storage, or from

storage into delivery vehicles, is subject to tax.

(e) Storage equipment. Tangible personal property used in or for the purpose of storing raw materials or finished goods is subject to tax

except for temporary storage equipment necessary for moving materials being manufactured from one (1) machine to another or from one (1)

production step to another.

(1) Temporary storage. Tangible personal property used in or for the purpose of storing work-in-process or semi-finished goods is

not subject to tax if the work-in-process or semi-finished goods are ultimately completely produced for resale and in fact resold.

(2) Storage containers for finished goods after completion of the production process are subject to tax.

(3) Storage facilities or containers for materials or items currently undergoing production during the production process are deemed

temporary storage facilities and containers and are not subject to tax.

–EXAMPLES–

(1) Purchases of refrigeration equipment used in milk product production during the production process are exempt. However,

refrigeration equipment used to store milk products subsequent to production is taxable.

(2) Parts undergoing various machining operations are transported from a machine operation to a storage rack where they are held

for periods of time, as required by the processing schedule for the next machine operation in the integrated production process. The length of time

required for storage in the processing schedule is not determinative. As the processing schedule dictates, the parts are removed from the storage racks

and transported to the next machine operation. The storage racks are exempt.

(3) Finished goods are placed in the packages in which they will be delivered to customers, and the packages are loaded onto storage

pallets which are used only in a finished goods storage area. The pallets are taxable.

(4) A metal and alloy manufacturer pulverizes raw materials for use in an exempt furnace. Weigh bins utilized for the temporary

storage of the exempt materials after pulverization and prior to use in the exempt furnace are exempt.

(5) Replacement parts for manufacturing equipment are kept in storage bins in the plant "store". The storage bins are taxable because

they do not store work-in-process or semi-finished goods.

(f) Transportation equipment.

(1) Tangible personal property used for moving raw materials to the plant prior to their entrance into the production process is

taxable.

(2) Tangible personal property used for moving finished goods from the plant after manufacture is subject to tax.

(3) Transportation equipment used to transport work-in-process or semi-finished materials to or from storage is not subject to tax if

the transportation is within the production process.

(4) Transportation equipment used to transport work-in-process, semi-finished, or finished goods between plants is taxable, if the plants

are not part of the same integrated production process.

–EXAMPLES–

(1) A manufacturer of clay pipe uses forklift tractors to transport the pipe from the machine in which it is formed to the kiln. The

forklift tractors are exempt.

(2) A metal and alloy manufacturer pulverizes raw materials for use in an exempt furnace. Weigh bins are utilized for the temporary

storage of the exempt materials after pulverization and prior to use in an exempt furnace. Transportation equipment used to transport the pulverized

raw material to and from the weigh bins is exempt.

(3) A forklift is used exclusively to move work-in-process from a temporary storage area in a plant and to transport it to a production

machine for processing. Because the forklift functions as an integral part of the integrated system comprising the production operations, it is

exempt.

(4) A forklift is used exclusively to move finished goods from a storage warehouse and to load them on trucks for shipment to

customers. The forklift is taxable because it is used outside the integrated production process.

(5) A forklift is regularly used 40% of the time for the purpose described in Example (3) and 60% of the time for the purpose described

in Example (4). The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 40% of the gross retail income attributable to the transaction in which the forklift

was purchased.

(6) A truck is used to transport work-in-process between different buildings which are part of an overall plant facility that constitutes

an integrated production process. The truck is exempt.

(7) A truck is used for the same purpose as described in Example (6). However, the two buildings in the plant facility are located on

opposite sides of a federal highway, and the truck must be registered with the Indiana bureau of motor vehicles for highway use because it crossed

the highway in transporting the work-in-process between buildings. The truck is exempt, notwithstanding its registration for highway

use.

(8) A truck is used on the federal highway and must be registered with the Indiana bureau of motor vehicles for highway use. The truck

is used to transport a finished component part from the last step of a production process to be introduced into another integrated production process

at another business location. The truck is taxable.

(9) A truck is used 40% of the time for the purpose described in Example (6) and 60% of the time for the purpose described in

Example (8). The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 40% of the gross retail income attributable to the transaction in which the truck was

purchased.

(10) A crane is used to unload a barge delivering raw materials to a steel plant where the raw materials are stockpiled in a storage yard

adjacent to the plant. The crane is taxable.

(11) A crane is used to move stockpiled materials to the next step of production for processing. Stockpiling allows moisture to drain

and evaporate from washed stone, thereby reducing moisture levels to a standard generally acceptable to stone purchasers. The crane is

exempt.

(12) A crane is used 40% of the time for the purpose described in Example (8), and 60% of the time to move raw materials from the

stockpile to a production machine for processing. The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 60% of the gross retail income attributable to

the transaction in which the crane was purchased.

(g) "Have an immediate effect upon the article being produced": Machinery, tools, and equipment which are used during the production

process and which have an immediate effect upon the article being produced are exempt from tax. Component parts of a unit of machinery or

equipment, which unit has an immediate effect on the article being produced, are exempt if such components are an integral part of such

manufacturing unit. The fact that particular property may be considered essential to the conduct of the business of manufacturing because its use

is required either by law or by practical necessity does not itself mean that the property "has an immediate effect upon the article being produced".

Instead, in addition to being essential for one of the above reasons, the property must also be an integral part of an integrated process which produces

tangible personal property.

–EXAMPLES–

(1) The manufacturing equipment utilized for the production of plastics consists of an interconnected system which contains among

its components a coal fueled boiler, heat exchangers, vacuum jets, process heating vessels, distillation/stripping columns, related equipment, and

piping. All elements of this integrated production process are exempt from tax.

(2) Steam generators used to heat water which is used in mixing and warming component materials in the manufacture of ready-mixed

concrete are exempt from tax.

(3) The manufacturer of certain extruded rubber products uses an interconnected production process of an air compressor, an air dryer,

and injection molding machines which work together to force rubber through dies in order to form the desired shapes. The component parts of the

production process are exempt since the production process has an immediate effect upon the article being produced.

(4) Equipment which constitutes an essential and integral part of the integrated process is exempt. The fact that such equipment is

built in a manner to service various pieces of exempt equipment, as an alternative to building the equipment into each of the pieces of exempt

machinery, is not determinative.

The production of flat-rolled metal products requires that an oil mixture, which serves as both a rolling lubricant and a coolant, be

continuously sprayed on sheets in the rolling mill. Spent oil is simultaneously removed and passed through a filtering process which is interconnected

with the rolling mill, after which the oil is resprayed onto the sheets. The rolling mill and oil filtration process are exempt.

(5) A metal manufacturer uses a variety of electrically-powered production equipment which has differing voltage and power

requirements. Power cables used to bring electricity to the manufacturer's plant are taxable. Switch gears, transformers, conduits, cables, controls,

rectifiers, and generators which are interconnected with the production equipment and serve as an electrical distribution system for such equipment

are exempt from tax. Items used to distribute electricity for general lighting and space heating are taxable.

(6) Computers which are interconnected with and control other production machinery or are used to make tapes which control

computerized production machinery are exempt from tax.

(7) Computers which produce designs which are not sold as products are not exempt. Thus, computer-aided design is a non-exempt

function.

(8) A computer is used 40% of the time for the purpose described in Example (6) and 60% of the time for the purpose described in

Example (7). The taxpayer is entitled to an exemption equal to 40% of the gross retail income attributable to the transaction in which the computer

was purchased.

(9) For security reasons, a mesh screen is installed around the parts and equipment "store" in a manufacturing plant. Because the screen

has no physical or functional interrelationship with other parts of the integrated production process, it does not have an immediate effect on the article

being produced and is taxable.

(h) Maintenance and replacement equipment.

(1) Machinery, tools, and equipment used in the normal repair and maintenance of machinery used in the production process which

are predominantly used to maintain production machinery are subject to tax.

(2) Replacement parts, used to replace worn, broken, inoperative, or missing parts or accessories on exempt machinery and equipment,

are exempt from tax.

–EXAMPLE–

A manufacturer of sheet metal repairs and upgrades used machinery by replacing worn or broken parts and adding new elements and

features available in state-of-the-art equipment. All items which become components of the upgraded machinery are exempt from tax. However,

all tools and equipment used to repair or upgrade used machinery would be taxable.

(i) Testing and inspection. Machinery, tools, and equipment used to test and inspect the product as part of the production process are

exempt.

–EXAMPLE–

Selected parts are removed from production according to a schedule dictated by statistical sampling methods. Quality control

equipment is used to test the parts in a room in the plant separate from the production line. Because of the functional interrelationship between the

testing equipment and the machinery on the production line and because of the product flow, the testing equipment is an integral part of the integrated

production process and is exempt.

(j) Managerial, sales, and other non-operational activities. Machinery, tools, and equipment used in managerial sales, research, and

development, or other non-operational activities, are not directly used in manufacturing and, therefore, are subject to tax. This category includes,

but is not limited to, tangible personal property used in any of the following activities: management and administration; selling and marketing;

exhibition of manufactured or processed products; safety or fire prevention equipment which does not have an immediate effect on the product; space

heating; ventilation and cooling for general temperature control; illumination; heating equipment for general temperature control; and shipping and

loading.

(k) "Direct production, manufacture, fabrication, assembly, or finishing of tangible personal property" is performance as a business of an

integrated series of operations which places tangible personal property in a form, composition, or character different from that in which it was

acquired. The change in form, composition, or character must be a substantial change, and it must result in a transformation of property into a

different product having a distinctive name, character, and use. Operations such as compounding, fabricating, or assembling are illustrative of the

types of operations which may qualify under this definition.

(l) Energy equipment.

(1) Equipment used to modify energy purchased from public utilities purchased for the production process is exempt if the equipment

is used to modify the utilities for use by exempt equipment.

(2) Equipment used to create energy that could otherwise be purchased exempt from a public utility for use by exempt equipment is

exempt.

(3) When any equipment qualifies as essential and integral to the production process and also is used in an alternative nonessential

and/or non-integral manner, the exemption shall only apply to the percentage of use of the equipment used in the exempt

manner.