(a) Any person who received no more than 20 percent of his or her total gross receipts from the alteration of garments during the preceding calendar year is a consumer of, and shall not be considered a retailer within the provisions of this part with respect to, property used or furnished by that person in altering new or used clothing, provided that both of the following apply:

(1) That person operates a location or locations as a pickup and delivery point for garment cleaning, or provides spotting and pressing services on the premises but not garment cleaning, or operates a garment cleaning or dyeing plant on the premises.

(2) Seventy-five percent or more of that person’s total gross receipts represent charges for garment cleaning or dyeing services.

(b) Sales tax shall not apply to the charges for alterations specified in subdivision (a). However, that person is a retailer of any other tangible personal property sold to consumers in the regular course of business and sales tax shall apply to the gross receipts from those sales.

(c) For the purpose of this section:

(1) “Cleaning” means wet cleaning and drycleaning.

(2) “Wet cleaning” means the process of cleaning a garment by immersion in water, or by applying manually or by any mechanical device, water, or any detergent and water, or by spraying or brushing the garment with water or water and any detergent, or water vapor, or steam, and includes self-service or coin-operated equipment in whole or in part.

(3) “Drycleaning” means the process of cleaning or renovating wearing apparel, feathers, furs, hats, fabrics, household items, or textiles by immersion and agitation, spraying, vaporization, or immersion only, in a volatile, commercially moisture-free solvent or by the use of a volatile or inflammable product, applied either manually or by means of a mechanical appliance and including self-service or coin-operated equipment in whole or in part.

(4) “Dyeing” means the process of coloring wearing apparel, feathers, furs, hats, fabrics, or textiles by the use of aniline dyes, mordants, or acids, with or without steam, excluding, however, the use of any dye or combination of dyes which is directly soluble or dispersible in water and which does not require chemical alteration of its structure for application, where that dye or combination of dyes is applied to cotton, viscose rayon, or cuprammonium rayon other than wearing apparel.

(5) “Spotting” means the process of removing spots or stains or localized areas of soil from a garment, either before or after, and with or without drycleaning or wet cleaning, by brushing, spraying, or other means of manual or mechanical application, other than immersion, with water, detergents, and volatile or inflammable solvents, chemicals, or any, or all of them.

(6) “Pressing” means the process of restoring the garment to the original shape, dimensions, or contour thereof, or to those in which the same was received from the customer, or as directed by the customer, and the removal of wrinkles, stresses, bulges, and impressions, imprint marks and shine, from a garment by the application of pressure, heat, moisture, water vapor, or steam, or all of them, whether applied manually, or by any mechanical means.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 328, Sec. 212. (SB 1330) Effective January 1, 2011.)