2021 California Code
Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC
DIVISION 2 - OTHER TAXES
PART 1 - SALES AND USE TAXES
CHAPTER 3 - The Use Tax
ARTICLE 1 - Imposition of Tax
Section 6203.
(a) Except as provided by Sections 6292 and 6293, every retailer engaged in business in this state and making sales of tangible personal property for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, not exempted under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6271) or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 6351), shall, at the time of making the sales or, if the storage, use, or other consumption of the tangible personal property is not then taxable hereunder, at the time the storage, use, or other consumption becomes taxable, collect the tax from the purchaser and give to the purchaser a receipt therefor in the manner and form prescribed by the department.
(b) As respects leases constituting sales of tangible personal property, the tax shall be collected from the lessee at the time amounts are paid by the lessee under the lease.
(c) “Retailer engaged in business in this state” as used in this section and Section 6202 means any retailer that has substantial nexus with this state for purposes of the commerce clause of the United States Constitution and any retailer upon whom federal law permits this state to impose a use tax collection duty. “Retailer engaged in business in this state” specifically includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Any retailer maintaining, occupying, or using, permanently or temporarily, directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary, or agent, by whatever name called, an office, place of distribution, sales or sample room or place, warehouse or storage place, or other place of business.
(2) Any retailer having any representative, agent, salesperson, canvasser, independent contractor, or solicitor operating in this state under the authority of the retailer or its subsidiary for the purpose of selling, delivering, installing, assembling, or the taking of orders for any tangible personal property.
(3) As respects a lease, any retailer deriving rentals from a lease of tangible personal property situated in this state.
(4) (A) Any retailer that, in the preceding calendar year or the current calendar year, has total combined sales of tangible personal property for delivery in this state by the retailer and all persons related to the retailer that exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
(B) For purposes of this section, a person is related to another person if both persons are related to each other pursuant to Section 267(b) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder.
(d) Except as provided in this subdivision, a retailer is not a “retailer engaged in business in this state” under paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) if that retailer’s sole physical presence in this state is to engage in convention and trade show activities as described in Section 513(d)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, and if the retailer, including any of the retailer’s representatives, agents, salespersons, canvassers, independent contractors, or solicitors, does not engage in those convention and trade show activities for more than 15 days, in whole or in part, in this state during any 12-month period and did not derive more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of net income from those activities in this state during the prior calendar year. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a retailer engaging in convention and trade show activities, as described in Section 513(d)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, is a “retailer engaged in business in this state,” and is liable for collection of the applicable use tax, with respect to any sale of tangible personal property occurring at the convention and trade show activities and with respect to any sale of tangible personal property made pursuant to an order taken at or during those convention and trade show activities.
(e) Any limitations created by this section upon the definition of “retailer engaged in business in this state” shall only apply for purposes of tax liability under this code. Nothing in this section is intended to affect or limit, in any way, civil liability or jurisdiction under Section 410.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(f) (1) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 5 of the Statutes of 2019 shall become operative on April 1, 2019.
(2) If the amendments made to this section by Chapter 5 of the Statutes of 2019 are held in a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction to violate the substantial nexus standard of the commerce clause of the United States Constitution, this section shall become inoperative and shall be repealed on the date of that final decision.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 5, Sec. 3) by Stats. 2019, Ch. 34, Sec. 5. (SB 92) Effective June 27, 2019. Repealed conditionally by its own provisions. See later version added by Sec. 4 of Stats. 2019, Ch. 5.)
