Section 701.15.13. Freight, other transportation charges, and exclusions from the exemption applicable to these services.

The determination of whether freight and other transportation charges shall be subject to sales or use tax is dependent upon the terms of the sale agreement.

When tangible personal property or a taxable service is sold at retail in Iowa or purchased for use in Iowa and under the terms of the sale agreement the seller is to deliver the property to the buyer or the purchaser is responsible for delivery and such delivery charges are stated and agreed to in the sale agreement or the charges are separate from the sale agreement, the gross receipts derived from the freight or transportation charges shall not be subject to tax. As of May 20, 1999, this exemption does not apply to the service of transporting electrical energy. As of April 1, 2000, this exemption does not apply to the service of transporting natural gas.

When freight and other transportation charges are not separately stated in the sale agreement or are not separately sold, the gross receipts from the freight or transportation charges become a part of the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service and are subject to tax. Where a sales agreement exists, the freight and other transportation charges are subject to tax unless the freight and other transportation charges are separately contracted. If the written contract contains no provisions separately itemizing such charge, tax is due on the full contract price with no deduction for transportation charge, regardless of whether or not such transportation charges are itemized separately on the invoice. Clarion Ready Mixed Concrete Company v.          Iowa State Tax Commission, 252 Iowa 500, 107 N.W.2d 553(1961); Schemmer v. Iowa State Tax Commission, 254 Iowa 315, 117 N.W.2d 420(1962); City of Ames v.            Iowa State Tax Commission, 246 Iowa 1016, 71 N.W.2d 15(1959); Dain Mfg.  Company v.       Iowa State Tax Commission, 237 Iowa 531, 22 N.W.2d 786(1946).

Effective July 1, 2001, gross receipts from charges for delivery of electricity or natural gas are exempt from tax to the extent that the gross receipts from the sale, furnishing, or service of electricity or natural gas or its use are exempt from sales or use tax under Iowa Code chapters 422 and 423.

The exclusions from this exemption relating to the transportation of natural gas and electricity are applicable to all contracts for the performance of these transportation services. Below are examples which explain some of the principal circumstances in which the transport of natural gas or electricity is a service subject to tax.

Freight and transportation charges include, but are not limited to, the following charges or fees: freight; transportation; shipping; delivery; or trip charges.

Example 1.  Consumer ABC, located in Des Moines, contracts with supplier DEF, located in Waterloo, for DEF to sell gas and electricity to ABC. ABC then contracts with utility GHI to transport the energy over GHI’s network (of pipes or wires) from Waterloo to ABC’s facility in Des Moines. GHI’s transport of ABC’s energy is a taxable service. The transportation of natural gas and electricity by a utility is a taxable service of furnishing natural gas or electricity whether or not that utility or some other utility produces the natural gas or generates the electricity furnished. A utility’s transportation of gas or electricity is a “transportation service” specifically excluded from the exemption set out in this rule.

Example 2.  Consumer ABC contracts with utility DEF for DEF to provide electricity from DEF’s generating plant in Mason City to ABC’s location in Cedar Rapids. Transport of the electricity is by way of DEF’s network of long distance transmission lines. The contract between ABC and DEF states the prices to be paid for the purchase of various amounts of electricity and also sets out the amounts to be paid for transport of electricity as well and constitutes separate sales of electricity and transportation services. In these circumstances, amounts which ABC pays DEF for transport of the electricity are taxable gross receipts. This transportation service would ordinarily then be excluded from tax under the exemption set out in this rule; however, separate transportation charges for transportation of electricity are excluded from the exemption (as of May 20, 1999, and are thereafter taxable).

Example 3.  As in Example 2, consumer ABC contracts with utility DEF for the delivery of electricity from DEF’s generating plant in Mason City to ABC’s location in Cedar Rapids, ownership of the electricity to pass to ABC in Cedar Rapids. Also, as in Example 2, the contract between ABC and DEF states varying prices to be paid for the purchase and transportation of varying amounts of electricity and constitutes separate sales of electricity and transportation services. Transport of the electricity will be by way of GHI’s transmission lines. DEF contracts with GHI for the transport of the electricity to ABC’s plant in Cedar Rapids. At the time the contract is signed, GHI asks DEF for an exemption certificate stating that DEF will resell GHI’s transportation service to ABC. GHI must either secure the certificate or collect Iowa sales tax from DEF. GHI is furnishing a taxable electricity transportation service to DEF which DEF will in turn furnish to ABC. DEF must collect tax from ABC.

Example 4.  In this example, the same contract exists between ABC and DEF as exists in Example 3. However, in this example, a breakdown at DEF’s plant in Mason City prevents DEF from generating the electricity which it is contractually obligated to provide to ABC. DEF is forced to purchase both electricity and its transport from JKL. The contract between DEF and JKL states the prices to be paid for the purchase of various amounts of electricity and also sets out the amounts to be paid for the transport of this electricity as well and constitutes separate sales of electricity and transportation services. JKL asks DEF for an exemption certificate stating that DEF has purchased the electricity and its transport for resale to ABC. In this case, JKL must secure an exemption certificate from DEF to avoid collecting tax on its sale and transport of the electricity for DEF.

Example 5.  Again, ABC and DEF have contracted, as they did in Example 2, for DEF to sell and transport electricity from Mason City to Cedar Rapids. However, their agreement mentions only one combined price for sale and delivery of the electricity. There is no separately contracted price for transport of the electricity, in contrast to the situation in Example 2. In this case, the entire amount which ABC pays to DEF is taxable as the entire amount paid is for the sale of tangible personal property. See Clarion Ready Mixed and Schemmer, generally, above.

Example 6.  Manufacturer EFG contracts with utility DEF for the purchase of natural gas with a separate contract for its delivery. The gas is to be transported from DEF’s storage facility near Osceola to EFG’s manufacturing plant in Fort Dodge by way of DEF’s pipeline. Ownership of the gas passes from DEF to EFG in Fort Dodge. EFG uses 92 percent of the gas which is transported to its plant in processing the goods manufactured there. The receipts which EFG pays DEF for the transport of the gas are excluded from the transportation exemption, but they are not excluded from the processing exemption. Ninety-two percent of those receipts are exempt from tax because that is the percentage of gas used by EFG in processing. In addition, utility DEF charges manufacturer EFG $9.95 as a delivery fee for the gas. Since the purchase of the gas has a 92 percent exemption from Iowa sales tax because of a 92 percent usage in processing, 92 percent of the delivery charge of $9.95 is also exempt from tax.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 422.43 and 423.2, and section 422.45 as amended by 2001 Iowa Acts, House File 705.