2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 68. Revenue and Taxation › §68-1359.1. Manufacturers - Refund of certain state and local sales taxes.

A. In order to administer the exemption for sales to a qualified manufacturer or distributor as provided by Section 1359 of this title, there shall be made a sales tax refund for state and local sales taxes paid by qualified manufacturers or distributors for tangible personal property purchased to be consumed or incorporated in the construction of a new manufacturing or distribution facility or to expand an existing manufacturing or distribution facility in the state from the account created by this section. Provided, no claim for a refund shall be filed by a distributor pursuant to subparagraph d of paragraph 7 of Section 1359 of this title before July 1, 2006.
B. The Oklahoma Tax Commission shall transfer each month from sales tax collected the amount which the Commission estimates to be necessary to make the sales tax refund provided by this section to an account designated as the Commission determines.
C. Any refund shall be paid from the account prescribed by this section at the time the claim for refund is approved by the Tax Commission. The amount of the refund shall not exceed the total state and local sales taxes paid together with accrued interest upon such total. The amount of interest paid to a qualified manufacturer or distributor upon the principal amount of any refund made to such manufacturer or distributor for purposes of administering the exemption provided by Section 1359 of this title shall be determined according to the amount earned as invested by the State Treasurer’s Office. The interest rate shall accrue upon the amount transferred to the account.
D. For purposes of this section, state and local sales taxes paid by a contractor or subcontractor for tangible personal property purchased by that contractor or subcontractor to be consumed or incorporated in the construction of a new or expanded manufacturing facility pursuant to a contract with a qualified manufacturer or distributor shall, upon proper showing, be refunded to the qualified manufacturer or distributor.
E. The qualified manufacturer or distributor shall file with the Tax Commission the following documentation for any refund claimed:
1. Invoices indicating the amount of state and local sales tax billed;
2. Affidavit of each vendor that state and local sales tax billed has not been audited, rebated, or refunded to the qualified manufacturer but rather the sales tax charged has been collected by the vendor and remitted to the Tax Commission; and
3. All additional documentation required to be submitted pursuant to rules promulgated by the Tax Commission.
F. In the event that state and local sales tax was paid by a contractor or subcontractor, the qualified manufacturer or distributor shall file with the Tax Commission all documentation required in subsection E of this section but in lieu of the affidavit of each vendor the qualified manufacturer or distributor shall file, for any refund claimed, an affidavit from the contractor or subcontractor stating that the sales tax refund of the qualified manufacturer or distributor is based on state and local sales tax paid by the contractor or subcontractor on tangible personal property purchased to be consumed or incorporated in the construction of a new or expanded business activity and that the amount of state and local sales tax claimed was paid to the vendor and no credit, refund, or rebate has been claimed by the contractor or subcontractor.
G. Only sales of tangible personal property made after June 1, 1988, shall be eligible for the refund established by this section.
H. The qualified manufacturer or distributor shall file, within thirty-six (36) months of the date of the first purchase which is exempt from taxation pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 7 of Section 1359 of this title, with the Tax Commission a certification issued by the Employment Security Commission in order to qualify for the refund authorized by this section.
I. Notwithstanding the provisions of any state tax law, the amount refunded under this section shall be assessed if the number of full-time-equivalent employees drops below the number prescribed in paragraph 7 of Section 1359 of this title, at any time within thirty-six (36) months of the date certification is issued by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
Added by Laws 1988, c. 9, § 2, operative June 1, 1988. Amended by Laws 1991, c. 133, § 2, emerg. eff. April 29, 1991; Laws 1992, c. 225, § 2, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 2004, c. 535, § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 413, § 2, eff. July 1, 2005.