R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-59-9 — Seller and third party liability

(a) A certified service provider shall be the agent of a seller, with whom the certified
service provider has contracted, for the collection and remittance of sales and use
taxes. As the seller’s agent, the certified service provider shall be liable for sales
and use tax due each member state on all sales transactions it processes for the seller
except as set out in this section. A seller that contracts with a certified service
provider shall not be liable to the state for sales or use tax due on transactions
processed by the certified service provider unless the seller misrepresented the type
of items it sells or committed fraud. In the absence of probable cause to believe
that the seller has committed fraud or made a material misrepresentation, the seller
shall not be subject to audit on the transactions processed by the certified service
provider. A seller shall be subject to audit for transactions not processed by the
certified service provider. The member states acting jointly may perform a system
check of the seller and review the seller’s procedures to determine if the certified
service provider’s system is functioning properly and the extent to which the seller’s
transactions are being processed by the certified service provider.
(b) A person that provides a certified automated system shall be responsible for the proper
functioning of that system and shall be liable to the state for underpayments of tax
attributable to errors in the functioning of the certified automated system. A seller
that uses a certified automated system shall remain responsible and shall be liable
to the state for reporting and remitting tax.
(c) A seller that has a proprietary system for determining the amount of tax due on transactions
and has signed an agreement establishing a performance standard for that system shall
be liable for the failure of the system to meet the performance standard.