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Ezel / Tax Rulings / CT
CT Ruling 89-240 Sales and Use Taxes 1989-11-27

Were asbestos site assessment, management analysis, removal planning, and abatement oversight taxable real-property services?

Short answer: No under this historical ruling. The described asbestos assessment, removal-or-management analysis, plans, specifications, and abatement oversight were excluded as voluntary hazardous-waste containment or removal. DRS says Special Notice 95(17) partly superseded the ruling, which Ruling 94-5 later cited.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Connecticut tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official 1989 Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Ruling reflecting the asbestos-service rules then in effect. DRS says Special Notice (SN) 95(17) superseded it in part and notes that Ruling 94-5 later cited it. Its exclusion for assessment, feasibility analysis, planning, and abatement oversight should not be assumed current or extended beyond voluntary hazardous-waste containment or removal. Connecticut imposes sales and use tax solely at the state level: there are no local or municipal sales taxes. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Note -- partially superseded historical guidance. DRS states that Special Notice (SN) 95(17) superseded this ruling in part and that Ruling 94-5 later cited it.

Plain-English summary

X Company assessed existing facilities for asbestos, evaluated removal versus management in place, prepared plans and specifications for the removal contractor, and monitored the abatement work for compliance with federal and state law.

DRS excluded those services from the tax on services to existing industrial, commercial, and income-producing property. It treated them as services for voluntary containment or removal of hazardous waste, which included asbestos.

What this means for you

The historical exclusion covered more than physical removal. It also reached the described assessment, feasibility, planning, and compliance-oversight work tied to asbestos abatement. SN 95(17) later superseded the ruling in part.

Common questions

Was asbestos site assessment taxable? No under the ruling.

Did the exclusion include removal planning and specifications? Yes.

Did it include oversight of the abatement contractor? Yes, under the described facts.

Citations and references

  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(2)(i)(I), as cited in the ruling.
  • Special Notice (SN) 95(17) -- identified by DRS as partially superseding this ruling.
  • Ruling 94-5 -- identified by DRS as citing this ruling.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling 89-240, Hazardous Waste

This Ruling has been cited in Ruling 94-5 ;  superseded in part by SN 95(17)

X Company site-assesses an existing facility for the presence of asbestos-containing materials, determines the feasibility of removing the material or managing it in place, prepares plans and specifications for the asbestos removal contractor, and oversees the work of the abatement contractor to ensure that federal and state laws on such removals are adhered to.

The services rendered by X Company are excluded from the sales and use tax on services to existing industrial, commercial and income-producing property under section 12-407(2)(i)(I) of the Connecticut General Statutes as services rendered for the "voluntary containing or removing of hazardous waste" which includes asbestos.

LEGAL DIVISION

November 27, 1989

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