SECTION 710:65-7-6. Vendors' or certified service providers' relief from liability and duty to collect sales tax

(a)   Presumption of taxability. All sales are presumed to be subject to sales tax unless specifically exempted by the Sales Tax Code. Vendors are liable for the sales tax collected as well as for tax that should have been collected.

(b)   When vendor or certified service provider may be relieved of liability. A vendor or certified service provider shall be relieved of any liability for the tax and of the duty to collect imposed by Section 1361 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes if the vendor, in good faith, timely accepts from a consumer, properly completed documentation certified by the Oklahoma Tax Commission that such consumer is exempt from the taxes levied by the Oklahoma Sales Tax Code.

(c)   General requirements. Three requirements must be met before the vendor or certified service provider is relieved of liability.

(1)   Vendor or certified service provider good faith. Good faith requires that the vendor strictly comply with statutory requirements.

(2)   Timely acceptance from a consumer. Timely acceptance from a consumer requires that documentation be in the possession of the vendor within ninety (90) days subsequent to the date of sale. In the case of continued sales to the same purchaser, the vendor must have, on file, a sales tax permit, card, or exemption letter for each renewal interval. If no renewal interval is provided by statute, the renewal period will be deemed three (3) years, except in the case of entities with specific statutory exemptions who have established eligibility as set out in 710:65-7-15 and 710:65-7-17 through 710:65-7-20.

(3)   Properly completed documentation certified by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. Examples of properly completed documentation certified by the Oklahoma Tax Commission are described in 710:65-7-8 through 710:65-7-15 and 710:65-7-17 through 710:65-7-20.

(d)   When vendor or certified service provider may not be relieved of liability. Relief from liability for the tax and of the duty to collect imposed by Section 1361 of Title 68 shall not apply to:

(1)   a seller or certified service provider who fraudulently fails to collect tax;

(2)   a seller who solicits purchasers to participate in the unlawful claim of an exemption; or

(3)   a seller who accepts an exemption certificate when the purchaser claims an entity-based exemption when:

(A)   the subject of the transaction sought to be covered by the exemption certificate is actually received by the purchaser at a location operated by the seller; and

(B)   the Tax Commission provides an exemption certificate that clearly and affirmatively indicates that the claimed exemption is not available in this state.

(e)   Specific applications. The items of information described in 710:65-7-8 through 710:65-7-15 and 710:65-7-17 through 710:65-7-20 shall constitute minimum requirements to establish "properly completed documentation certified by the Tax Commission" for each respective category of purchasers.

[Source: Added at 9 Ok Reg 3033, eff 7-13-92; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 2711, eff 6-26-97; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2827, eff 6-25-98; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2653, eff 6-25-99; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2677, eff 6-25-00; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 2823, eff 6-25-01; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1859, eff 6-13-02; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 2070, eff 7-1-08; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 542, eff 5-11-12]