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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 3.5. Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft *

Article 3. Auxiliary Collection Provisions

Section 6292


6292. Registration; Department of Motor Vehicles. (a) Except when the sale is by lease, when a mobilehome or commercial coach required to be registered annually under the Health and Safety Code or a vehicle required to be registered under the Vehicle Code is sold at retail by other than a person licensed or certificated pursuant to the Health and Safety Code or the Vehicle Code as a manufacturer, remanufacturer, dealer, dismantler, or lessor-retailer, subject to Section 11615.5 of the Vehicle Code, the retailer is not required or authorized to collect the use tax from the purchaser, but the purchaser of the vehicle shall pay the use tax to the Department of Housing and Community Development acting for and on behalf of the board pursuant to Section 18123 of the Health and Safety Code or to the Department of Motor Vehicles acting for and on behalf of the board pursuant to Section 4750.5 of the Vehicle Code.

(b) If the purchaser makes an application to either department which is not timely, and is subject to penalty because of delinquency in effecting registration or transfer of registration of the vehicle, he or she then becomes liable also for penalty as specified in Section 6591, but no interest shall accrue.

(c) Application to the appropriate department by the purchaser relieves the purchaser of the obligation to file a return with the board under Section 6452.

(d) If the purchaser does not make application to either department, or does not pay the amount of use tax due, or files a return with the board under Section 6455 which is not timely, interest and penalties shall apply with respect to the unpaid amount as provided in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6451).

History—Stats. 1966, p. 186, in effect April 18, 1966, operative July 1, 1966, added "Except when the sale is by lease," to (a). Stats. 1976, Ch. 1284, operative March 23, 1977, changed "manufacturer, dealer, or dismantler" to "manufacturer, dealer, dismantler, or lessor-retailer, subject to the provisions of Section 11615.5 of the Vehicle Code." Stats. 1977, Ch. 607, operative January 1, 1978, in paragraph (b) changed "does not make timely application to that department, but" to read "makes an application to that department which is not timely, and" and added new paragraph (d). Stats. 1981, Ch. 975, in effect January 1, 1982, added "a mobilehome … Safety Code or" before "a vehicle," "the Health and Safety Code or" before the second "the Vehicle Code," and "the Department of Housing … Safety Code or to" before "the Department of Motor Vehicles in subdivision (a); substituted "either" for "that" before "department", added "or she" after "he", and deleted "of this code" after "Section 6591" in subdivision (b); substituted "the appropriate" for "that" before "department" in subdivision (c); and, substituted "either" for "that" before "department" and deleted "of this part" after "Section 6451)" in subdivision (d). Stats. 1983, Ch. 1286, in effect January 1, 1984, added "remanufacturer" after "manufacturer" and substituted "shall" for "must" before "pay" in subdivision (a), and substituted "relieves" for "shall relieve" after the first "purchaser" in subdivision (c). Stats. 1991, Ch. 236, in effect July 29, 1991, substituted "18123" for "18076.15" after "pursuant to Section" in subdivision (a).

Purchases of vehicles subject to existing leases.—Leasing companies' purchases of vehicles subject to existing leases are taxable; consideration paid was the assumption of remaining unpaid liability for original purchase price. Newco Leasing, Inc. v. State Board of Equalization (1983) 143 Cal.App.3d 120.


* Chapter 3.5 was added by Stats. 1965, p. 5443, operative August 1, 1965.