Sale at retail and retail sale mean all sales of tangible personal property except those defined as wholesale sales. The quantity or sales price of goods sold is immaterial in determining if a sale is at retail.

(1) The terms include:

(a) sales of building materials to construction contractors, builders, or landowners for resale or use in the form of real estate;

(b) sales of tangible personal property to manufacturers, processors, compounders, quarry operators, or mine operators, which are used or consumed by them, and do not become an ingredient or component part of the tangible personal property manufactured, processed, or compounded for sale;

(c) the withdrawal, use, or consumption of tangible personal property by anyone who purchases it at wholesale, except:

(i) withdrawal of tangible personal property previously withdrawn and taxed by such business or person;

(ii) tangible personal property which becomes an ingredient or component part of tangible personal property manufactured or compounded for sale;

(iii) tangible personal property used directly in manufacturing, compounding, or processing tangible personal property for sale;

(iv) materials, containers, cores, labels, sacks, or bags used incident to the sale and delivery of tangible personal property;

(v) a motor vehicle operated with a dealer, transporter, or manufacturer, or education license plate and used in accordance with the provisions of Section 56-3-2320 or 56-3-2330;

(d) the use within this State of tangible personal property by its manufacturer as building materials in the performance of a construction contract. The manufacturer must pay the sales tax based on the fair market value at the time and place where used or consumed;

(e) sales to contractors for use in the performance of construction contracts;

(f) [Reserved];

(g) sales of tangible personal property, other than cigarettes and soft drinks in closed containers, to vendors who sell the property through vending machines. The vendors are deemed to be the users or consumers of the property;

(h) sales of prepared meals, or unprepared food products used to prepare meals, to hospitals, infirmaries, sanitariums, nursing homes, and similar institutions, educational institutions, boarding houses, and transportation companies, if furnished as part of the service rendered. These institutions and companies are deemed to be the users or consumers of the property;

(i) sales of drugs, prosthetic devices, and other supplies to hospitals, infirmaries, sanitariums, nursing homes, and similar institutions, medical doctors, dentists, optometrists, and veterinarians, if furnished to their patients as a part of the service rendered. These institutions, companies, and professionals are deemed to be the users or consumers of the property;

(j) sales, not otherwise exempted, when reimbursed or paid in whole or in part by Medicare or Medicaid. However, only the net amount reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid is subject to the tax, if the vendor is prohibited by law from charging the purchaser the difference between the retail sale and the amount reimbursed;

(k) sales of all local telecommunications services by local exchange companies (LECs) to customer owned coin-operated telephone (COCOT) providers, as those terms are defined by the South Carolina Public Service department. The COCOT providers that purchase these services in order to provide payphone services to their customers are considered to be the users and consumers of the services, and are not subject to sales tax for their subsequent sale of local telecommunications services to their COCOT customers;

(l) sales of tangible personal property to veterinarians. The veterinarians are deemed to be the users or consumers of the property whether used in the rendering of professional services or sold outright as part of the veterinarian practice and not furnished as a part of professional services rendered.

(2) The terms do not include sales of tangible personal property to a manufacturer or construction contractor when the tangible personal property is subsequently processed, partially or completely fabricated, or manufactured in this State by the manufacturer or contractor, for use in the performance of a construction contract if the property is transported to, assembled, installed, or erected at a job site outside the State and thereafter used solely outside the State.

HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 612, Part II, Section 74A; 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, Section 105E; 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, Sections 70D, 120; 1994 Act No. 516, Section 15; 1996 Act No. 431, Section 5; 1997 Act No. 46, Section 1.