Agricultural commodity processing facility

An agricultural commodity processing facility is a manufacturing facility that processes agricultural commodities into marketable products. A facility, such as a grain elevator, that only stores, cleans, dries, or transports agricultural commodities, is not an agricultural commodity processing facility. Tangible personal property consumed during the construction of an agricultural commodity processing facility or incorporated into the structure of an agricultural processing facility is exempt from sales and use tax. A contractor consuming or installing the materials shall pay the applicable sales or use taxes and the owner of the agricultural processing facility shall apply in writing for a refund of the taxes paid by the contractor unless the tax commissioner has approved the project for exemption and the facility owner has authorized the contractor to utilize the exemption. The purchase or rental of machinery and equipment used directly in the processing of agricultural commodities into marketable products is regarded as manufacturing machinery and equipment, as provided in section