Bulletin Number
VTB 94-1
Tax Type
Retail Sales and Use Tax
Description
Antique Purchases; Retail Sales and Use Tax
Topic
Exemptions
Date Issued
01-19-1994
RETAIL SALES AND USE TAX: ANTIQUE PURCHASES
Law change: Effective January 1,1994, Virginia dealers are prohibited from accepting a resale exemption certificate from the purchaser of tangible personal property which is more than 50 years old if the purchaser does not have a Virginia sales and use tax registration number. The purchaser must pay the sales tax and apply for a refund of the tax after the property is resold. See Va. Code §58.1-602.1.
Under the new law, every Virginia dealer is required to separately report gross sales of tangible personal property more than 50 years old to purchasers who:
(1) offer a resale exemption certificate, and
(2) have no Virginia sales and use tax registration number.
In an effort to keep the administrative burden on Virginia dealers to a minimum, while satisfying the separate reporting requirement mandated in the statute, the department has incorporated current reporting and refund procedures wherever possible.
Compliance: Because this Tax Bulletin has been issued subsequent to the effective date of the law change, the department will audit for compliance for taxable periods beginning February 1, 1994 and after.
Schedule ST-51 and instructions will be mailed to dealers by March 1, 1994. Schedules may also be obtained by contacting the department.
Filing Requirements: Schedule ST-51 has been developed for separate reporting purposes and must be filed with Form ST-9 (Dealer's Retail Sales and Use Tax Return) for any period in which the dealer has such transactions to report. This schedule must also be used to report refunds issued and credits taken as a result of claims made by purchasers to the dealer (see below).
Refund Procedures: An out-of-state dealer who pays the tax and subsequently resells the item(s) purchased within 18 months of the purchase date may apply to the dealer who sold the property for a refund or credit of the sales tax paid.
Evidence of a bona fide sales transaction must be presented to the Virginia dealer to validate the refund/credit claimed by the out-of-state dealer (purchaser). A copy of the sales invoice showing the item(s) sold and the date of the sale are required to be presented to the Virginia dealer, along with a copy of the original purchase invoice.
As provided under current department procedures, a purchaser may request a refund directly from the department if the Virginia dealer is no longer in business when the purchaser's right to a refund arises.
The purchaser must provide the department with evidence of a bona fide sales transaction, as set forth above, along with proof of the month the sales tax on the purchase was reported to the department.
Bond: In lieu of providing a Virginia sales and use tax registration number, a purchaser may post bond in accordance with Va. Code §§58.1-630 and 16.1-107 to secure collection of the tax. In such a case, the Virginia dealer shall accept the resale exemption certificate offered by the purchaser and report the transaction on Form ST-9 only (not on Schedule ST-51).
Tax Bulletins