Tax Type
Retail Sales and Use Tax
Description
Occasional sales; Sales at Jazz Event
Topic
Taxability of Persons and Transactions
Date Issued
03-19-1990
March 19, 1990
Re: Request for Ruling/ Sales and Use Tax
Dear*****************
This will reply to your letter of February 15, 1990 in which you requested a ruling on the applicability of the "occasional sale" exemption to sales made by the**************(Taxpayer).
Facts
The Taxpayer, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of traditional jazz, is sponsoring the second annual ************** which will be held over a two day period in April, 1990. The Taxpayer intends to sell souvenir style tote bags and posters commemorating the event. The sales will be made only on the two days of the event and no other sale activity will be conducted by the Taxpayer during the 1990 calendar year.
The Taxpayer requests a ruling whether its sales at the event will qualify for exemption from sales and use tax under Virginia Code §58.1-608(10)(b).
Ruling
§58.1-608(10)(b) of the Virginia Code exempts from the sales and use tax, an "occasional sale" of tangible personal property. An "occasional sale" is then defined in Virginia Regulation 630-10-75 as including, "[a] sale by a person who is engaged in sales on three or fewer occasions within one calendar year, except that sales at fairs, flea markets, circuses and carnivals and sales made by peddlers and street vendors are not occasional sales." (Emphasis added).
Applying the facts in this case to the statutes and regulation cited above, I find that the Taxpayer's sale of tote bags and posters qualifies for exemption as an "occasional sale" inasmuch as the sales are conducted on three or fewer occasions per year. Therefore, the Taxpayer is not required to register and collect the sales tax on its sales made at the**************. The Taxpayer is still required, however, to pay the tax to its suppliers on all tangible personal property purchased for resale. If the supplier is not registered to collect the sales or use tax, the Taxpayer must report and pay the tax on a Consumer's Use Tax Return, Form ST-7.
If you have any further questions, please contact the department.
Sincerely,
W. H. Forst
Tax Commissioner
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner