Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 42 - REVENUE › Chapter 42.26 - CORPORATE MULTISTATE ACTIVITIES › Subchapter 42.26.5 - Public Law 86-272 › Rule 42.26.505 - SPECIFIC LISTING OF UNPROTECTED AND PROTECTED ACTIVITIES

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) The following
				two listings set forth the in-state activities that are presently treated as
				"unprotected activities" or "protected activities." The mere inclusion of an
				activity on the listing of "protected activities" is not a statement or
				admission that the activity is afforded any protection under P.L. 86-272.
(2) The following in-state
				activities are considered unprotected activities (assuming they are not of a de
				minimis level) , are not considered as either solicitation of orders, or
				contributory to, or otherwise protected under P.L. 86-272, and will cause
				otherwise protected sales to lose their protection under P.L. 86-272 :
(a) making repairs or providing maintenance
				or service to the property sold or to be sold;
(b) collecting current or delinquent
				accounts, whether directly or by third parties, through assignment or
				otherwise;
(c) investigating
				credit worthiness;
(d) installing
				or supervising installation at or after shipment or delivery;
(e) conducting training courses, seminars, or
				lectures for personnel other than personnel involved only in solicitation;
(f) providing any kind of
				technical assistance or service including, but not limited to, engineering
				assistance or design service, when one of the purposes thereof is other than
				the facilitation of the solicitation of orders;
(g) investigating, handling, or otherwise
				assisting in resolving customer complaints, other than mediating direct
				customer complaints when the sole purpose of such mediation is to gain
				influence for the sales personnel with the customer;
(h) approving or accepting orders;
(i) repossessing property;
(j) securing deposits on sales;
(k) picking up or replacing damaged or
				returned property;
(l) hiring,
				training, or supervising personnel other than personnel involved only in
				solicitation;
(m) using agency
				stock checks or any other instrument or process by which sales are made within
				Montana by sales personnel;
(n)
				maintaining a sample or display room for a period greater than two weeks (14
				days) at any one location within Montana during the tax year;
(o) carrying samples for sale, exchange, or
				distribution in any manner for consideration or other value;
(p) owning, leasing, using, or maintaining
				any of the following facilities or properties in-state:
(i) repair shop;
(ii) parts department;
(iii) any kind of office other than an
				in-home office as described and permitted under (r) and (3)(b);
(iv) warehouse;
(v) meeting place for directors, officers, or
				employees;
(vi) stock of goods
				other than samples for sales personnel or those used entirely ancillary to
				solicitation;
(vii) telephone
				answering service that is publicly attributed to the company or to employees or
				agents of the company in their representative capacity;
(viii) mobile stores; i.e., vehicles with
				drivers who are sales personnel making sales from the vehicles; and
(ix) real property or fixtures to real
				property of any kind;
(q) consigning for sale stock of goods or
				other tangible personal property to any person, including an independent
				contractor;
(r) maintaining, by
				any employee or other representative, an office or place of business of any
				kind (other than an in-home office located within the residence of the employee
				or representative) that:
(i) is not publicly
				attributed to the company or to the employee or representative of the company
				in an employee or representative capacity, and so long as the use of such
				office is limited to soliciting and receiving orders from customers, for
				transmitting such orders outside the state for acceptance or rejection by the
				company, or for such other activities that are protected under P.L. 86-272 or
				under (3) ;
(ii) lists a telephone
				number or other public listing within the state for the company or for an
				employee or representative of the company in such capacity or other indications
				through advertising or business literature that the company or its employee or
				representative can be contacted at a specific address within the state, (such a
				listing shall normally be determined as the company maintaining within Montana
				an office or place of business attributable to the company or to its employee
				or representative in a representative capacity) . However, the normal
				distribution and use of business cards and stationery identifying the
				employee's or representative's name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and
				affiliation with the company shall not, by itself, be considered as advertising
				or otherwise publicly attributing an office to the company or its employee or
				representative; and
(iii) the
				maintenance of any office or other place of business in Montana that does not
				strictly qualify as an "in-home" office as described above shall, by itself,
				cause the loss of protection under this rule. For the purpose of this
				subsection, it is not relevant whether the company pays directly, indirectly,
				or not at all, for the cost of maintaining such in-home office;
(s) entering into franchising or
				licensing agreements, selling or otherwise disposing of franchises and
				licenses, or selling or otherwise transferring tangible personal property
				pursuant to such franchise or license by the franchisor or licensor to its
				franchisee or licensee within the state; or
(t) conducting any activity not listed in (3)
				which is not entirely connected to requests for orders, even if such activity
				helps to increase purchases.