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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Sales And Use Tax Law
Revenue and Taxation Code
Division 2. Other Taxes
Part 1. Sales and Use Taxes
Chapter 4. Exemptions
Article 4. Exemption Certificates
Section 6421
6421. Liability of purchaser. (a) If a purchaser certifies in writing to a seller that the property purchased will be used in a manner or for a purpose entitling the seller to regard the gross receipts from the sale as exempted by this chapter from the computation of the amount of the sales tax, and uses the property in some other manner or for some other purpose, the purchaser shall be liable for payment of sales tax as if he were a retailer making a retail sale of the property at the time of such use, and the cost of the property to him shall be deemed the gross receipts from such retail sale. The certificate shall relieve the seller from liability for the sales tax only if it is taken in good faith.
(b) For purposes of this section, "use" is the same as defined in Section 6009 without the exclusion defined in Section 6009.1.
History—Added by Stats. 1953, p. 2722, in effect September 9, 1953. Stats. 1977, Ch. 607, lettered existing first paragraph as (a), added "The certificate shall relieve the seller from liability for the sales tax only if it is taken in good faith." and added new paragraph (b). Stats. 1989, Ch. 654, in effect January 1, 1990, deleted "in the first paragraph of" before "Section 6009.1" in subdivision (b).
Buyers' certificates of out-of-state delivery.—Where buyers certified trucks they purchased were delivered out of state, but trucks were actually delivered in state, sales tax liability was not shifted to the buyers under Section 6421 because the buyers only certified that they took delivery out of state, not that they used the property for an exempt purpose following delivery. Engs Motor Truck Co. v. State Board of Equalization (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 1458.