Did machinery used at a Florida limestone quarry and aggregate plants qualify for the industrial manufacturing sales-tax exemption?

Plain-English summary

Florida approved the industrial machinery and equipment exemption for the listed equipment used at a limestone quarry and aggregate plants.

The taxpayer's primary activity at the location was lime manufacturing under NAICS 327410. It mined and processed rock into limestone for sale on the same campus. The machinery had a depreciable life of at least three years and was used as an integral part of manufacturing, processing, or producing the limestone.

The qualifying list included motor graders, bulldozers, haul trucks, tractors, forklifts, excavators, front-end loaders, draglines, and conveyors. The Department found that the taxpayer's manufacturing and processing activity represented more than 50% of the activities at the Florida location.

To buy the equipment tax-free, the taxpayer had to provide the seller a signed certificate of entitlement under Fla. Stat. Sec. 212.08(7)(jjj)1. The ruling also said the exemption remained subject to Department audit verification.

What this means for you

Manufacturers and processors

The exemption turned on the business's qualifying NAICS activity, the fixed Florida location, and the equipment's integral role and depreciable life—not merely on the fact that machinery was used at a quarry.

Equipment sellers

A signed purchaser exemption certificate shifted responsibility to the purchaser if the Department later determined the exemption did not apply.

Common questions

Which equipment qualified? The ruling approved the listed graders, bulldozers, haul trucks, tractors, forklifts, excavators, loaders, draglines, and conveyors.

Why did the quarry qualify as manufacturing? Its NAICS 327410 activity involved processing mined rock into limestone for sale, and that activity exceeded 50% of the location's activities.

Was a certificate required? Yes. The purchaser had to furnish the selling dealer a signed exemption certificate.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. Sec. 212.08(7)(jjj)
• Fla. Stat. Sec. 212.02(19)
• Fla. Stat. Sec. 212.05
• Florida Tax Information Publication No. 16A01-07

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 22A-007

Original ruling text

QUESTION: Is the machinery and equipment used by Taxpayer at its limestone quarry and
aggregate plants eligible for the Florida sales and use tax exemption provided under s.
212.08(7)(jjj), F.S., Certain Machinery and Equipment.
ANSWER: The machinery and equipment used by Taxpayer at its limestone quarry and aggregate
plants is eligible for the Florida sales and use tax exemption provided under s. 212.08(7)(jjj), F.S.,
Certain Machinery and Equipment.
For Taxpayer to purchase the qualifying machinery and equipment exempt from tax, it should
furnishes the selling dealer with a signed certificate certifying its entitlement to the exemption as
provided under s. 212.08(7)(jjj)1., F.S.

April 7, 2022
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX

Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement 22A-007
Florida Sales and Use Tax
XXXX (“Taxpayer”)
BP#: XXXX
Sections 212.02(19), 212.05, 212.055, 212.08(7)(jjj), Florida Statutes (F.S.)

Dear XXXX:
This letter is in response to your request dated February 23, 2022, and received in this office on
February 23, 2022, for issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement (“TAA”) pursuant to Section
213.22, F.S., and Rule Chapter 12-11, F.A.C., concerning manufacturing exemptions. An
examination of your request has established you complied with the statutory and regulatory
requirements for issuance of a TAA. Therefore, the Department is hereby granting your request
for a TAA.
REQUESTED ADVISEMENT
Is the machinery and equipment used by Taxpayer at its limestone quarry and aggregate plants
eligible for the Florida sales and use tax exemption provided under s. 212.08(7)(jjj), F.S., Certain
Machinery and Equipment.

Technical Assistance Advisement
April 7, 2022
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 2

STATED FACTS
Taxpayer is a single member LLC, and that member is XXXX. The activities Taxpayer performs at
the quarry and aggregate plants fall under NAICS1 code 327410 — Lime Manufacturing2.
The primary business activity at the limestone quarry and aggregate plants of Taxpayer is
principally to produce or manufacture limestone, which are used for building and construction
materials. Taxpayer is engaged in mining the deposits or rocks and processing the rocks, with the
objective of producing limestones. All of these activities are done in the same vicinity or campus
where the mining is done. The mining area, the crushing plant, and the production of the
limestones are all on the same campus.
The machinery and equipment used at the quarry and aggregate plants are tangible personal
property 3 that has a depreciable life of 3-years or more and that is an integral part to the
production and processing of tangible personal property, limestone, for sale.
Overview of the Limestone Quarrying Process
The Quarries and Aggregate plants of Taxpayer are not only engaged in mining the
deposits, but are also engaged in manufacturing the rocks mined, and principally
producing limestones, a form of Aggregate. These activities are all done on the same
campus or in close vicinity of the Quarry. A quarry is any such working on the surface of
the earth where minerals are extracted. Quarrying is the process of removing rock, sand,
gravel, or other minerals from the ground to use them to produce materials for
construction or other uses.
Quarrying at the plant begins with preparing the mine site, called stripping, site
preparation, or removing the overburden. The overburden is commonly known as the
vegetation trees, grass, topsoil, organic materials, and unwanted rock layers. Anything
that is organic can rot, so it is very important to remove all the overburden before
processing the aggregates. It is also very important to clear or grade the road before
manufacturing starts to efficiently transport the materials around and out of the mining
area, thereby increasing productivity. When roads are not cleared or graded, mining
cannot start. The equipment used in removing the overburden, grading, and clearing the

“NAICS” means those classifications contained in the North American Industry Classification System, as published
in 2007 by the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President.
2
NAICS code is defined as follows: This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing lime
from calcitic limestone, dolomitic limestone, or other calcareous materials, such as coral, chalk, and shells. Lime
manufacturing establishments may mine, quarry, collect, or purchase the sources of calcium carbonate.
3
Tangible personal property means and includes personal property which may be seen, weighed, measured, or touched
or is in any manner perceptible to the senses. See s. 212.02(19), F.S.
1

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April 7, 2022
Florida Department of Revenue
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haul roads are earth moving machineries and equipment, such as, but are not limited to,
motor graders, front-end loaders, forklifts, and bulldozers.
After the stripping or removal of the overburden, they drill holes to be able to load and
blast or mine the deposits or heavy rocks. The next step is blasting, which is a controlled
explosion normally used to release or break up the large body of rocks from the mine site.
Just enough explosive is used in blasting to break the rock from the face of the earth. The
drilling and blasting are done to break up the rock formation to be able to dig the deposits
or rocks.
After the drilling and blasting process, to break the rock formation, an electric dragline is
used to dig or excavate the deposits and extract the minerals or heavy rocks. The
excavated minerals are then moved and loaded into haul trucks using front-end loaders
and powerful excavators, and then transported to the crushing plant to continue
manufacturing. The haul trucks transport the extracted deposits from the Quarry to the
crushing plant, which is in the same campus where the quarry is located.
Overview of the Limestone Aggregate Process of Taxpayer
The aggregate process starts with the crushing activity. Once the extracted deposits reach
the crushing plant, the rocks go into three levels of crushing to break the rocks down to
produce sand and different sizes of rocks. The three levels of crushing are the primary,
secondary, and tertiary crushing. After the rocks are crushed or manufactured, the rocks
pass through a series of vibrating screens that sift the rocks into different sizes. Rocks may
also go through further crushing stages.
Conveyors are used in the whole process once the rocks are dumped into the crushing
plant. The conveyor takes the rocks from the primary crusher, then to the secondary
crusher, and then to the tertiary crusher.
Once the Limestones are manufactured and are in saleable form, they are ready for sale
to the clients, and the manufacturing process ends. After production, they create a
stockpile or inventory and sell the products to the customers and internal plants.
Conveyors, forklifts, and front-end loaders are used in loading the limestones in the rail
cars to ship the products to Taxpayer’s distribution yards where they will be sold to the
customers. This equipment may also be used when loading into the customers dump
trucks or over the road customer trucks.
The final product produced at our Quarry and Aggregate plants is limestones. Aggregates
are granular materials that are used with a cementing medium to form concrete or
hydraulic mortar. Aggregate materials help to make concrete mixes more compact. They

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April 7, 2022
Florida Department of Revenue
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also decrease the consumption of cement and water and contribute to the mechanical
strength of the concrete, making them an indispensable ingredient in the construction
and maintenance of rigid structures.
Aggregates can be classified according to their size, origin, mode of fragmentation, and
composition. Aggregates are key ingredients in the manufacture of concrete, mortar, and
other construction materials, and are used in the construction and maintenance of
structures such as highways, walkways, parking lots, airport runways and railways.
Aggregate materials are obtained from natural mines of sand or sand and gravel, quarries,
deposits, and underground sediments. Concrete aggregates are composed of geological
materials such as gravel, sand, and crushed rock. The size of the particles determines
whether it is a coarse aggregate (e.g., gravel) or a fine aggregate (e.g., sand).
Equipment used in the Limestone Quarry and Aggregate Plants
The Motor Grader is used in grading the road which is a significant function within the
mining operation. Grading haul roads and leveling uneven areas with a motor grader is
integral in the mining operation and is ensuring the efficiency of the mine’s operations
such as efficiently transporting materials around and out of the mining area. This is an
integral equipment. The actual mining operation could not be started nor completed
when roads are not graded.
Another equipment is the Bulldozer. This is used to prepare the benches in an open pit
for raw material extraction. It helps remove the undesirable materials and prepare the
materials for extraction. It is integral in pushing large amounts of materials being mined,
such as rocks, particularly very large and heavy rocks at the mine site.
Other machineries and equipment used in the different stages of the actual mining
operation, such as, extraction of materials, processing, and material hauling or
transportation activities within the Quarry are, but not limited to haul trucks or other offroad vehicles, tractors, forklifts, excavators, wheel loaders, draglines, and conveyors.
Each equipment or machinery has a different function that is directly related to the
processing and manufacturing of raw materials in the Quarry. A brief description of the
function of each equipment is as follows:
•
•

Haul Trucks – to haul raw materials from the quarry (pit) or mining site, to the primary
crusher or processing facility which is usually in the same location as the quarry or
mine site, for processing.
Tractors - used in stripping overburden prior to blasting; to move materials within the
quarry; used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, or other materials. It is

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April 7, 2022
Florida Department of Revenue
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•
•
•

•
•

typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device (known as a ripper) to loosen
densely compacted materials.
Forklift – is used as a material handler, in moving materials and overburden within the
quarry.
Excavator – used for maintaining drainage ditches and moving the dredge anchors
when needed; also used to load the materials from the yard to the conveying system.
May also be used for material handling within the yard.
Front-end Loaders - used to load aggregates from the quarry into the trucks to be
transported to the primary, secondary, and tertiary crushers, as well as to move
crushed aggregates into piles and conveyor belts for crushing; may also be used to
load customer trucks and railcars with finished products.
Draglines - used to dig materials (blasted inventory) from quarry lake bottom and
place on bank for drying.
Conveyors – equipment used to transport raw materials or the rocks from the primary
crusher, then to the secondary crusher, and then to the tertiary crusher.
LAW & DISCUSSION

Unless a specific exemption applies, s. 212.05, F.S., provides the legislative intent that the sale of
tangible personal property in Florida is subject to tax. The tax is due and payable at the rate of 6
percent, plus any applicable surtaxes imposed under s. 212.055, F.S., on the total consideration
for each item or article of tangible personal property when sold at retail in this state.
Section 212.08(7)(jjj), F.S., provides that industrial machinery and equipment 4 purchased by
eligible manufacturing businesses which is used at a fixed location in this state for the
manufacture, processing, compounding, or production of items of tangible personal property for
sale is exempt from the tax. If, at the time of purchase, the purchaser furnishes the seller with a
signed certificate certifying the purchaser’s entitlement to exemption pursuant to this paragraph,
the seller is not required to collect the tax on the sale of such items, and the department shall
look solely to the purchaser for recovery of the tax if it determines that the purchaser was not
entitled to the exemption. An eligible manufacturing business means any business whose
primary business activity 5 at the location where the industrial machinery and equipment is
located is within the industries classified under NAICS codes 31, 32, 33, 112511, and 423930. To
obtain this exemption on the purchase of the qualifying machinery or equipment, a taxpayer
would need to complete and then provide to the selling dealer the suggested sample exemption

“Industrial machinery and equipment” means, in part, tangible personal property or other property that has a
depreciable life of 3 years or more and that is used as an integral part in the manufacturing, processing, compounding,
or production of tangible personal property for sale. See s. 212.08(7)(jjj)2.e., F.S.
5
“Primary business activity” means an activity representing more than 50 percent of the activities conducted at the
location where the industrial machinery and equipment or postharvest machinery and equipment is located. See S.
212.08(7)(jjj)2.d., F.S.
4

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certificate found within Tax Information Publication (TIP) No. 16A01-07 attesting to its eligibility
for the exemption.
Taxpayer, NAICS code 327410, is an eligible manufacturing business under s. 212.08(7)(jjj)2.a.,
F.S.
Taxpayer is using the machinery and equipment to manufacture, process, and/or produce
tangible personal property, limestone, for sale.
Taxpayer’s primary business activity, manufacturing and processing of limestone, represents
more than 50 percent of the activities conducted at the Florida location where the industrial
machinery and equipment is located.
The industrial machinery and equipment have a depreciable life of 3-years or more and are used
as an integral part in Taxpayer’s manufacturing, processing and/or production of limestone.
Based on Taxpayer’s description of the usage of the machinery and equipment listed, it is
determined that the motor grader, bulldozers, haul trucks, tractors, forklifts, excavators, frontend loaders, draglines, and conveyors meet the eligibility requirements of s. 212.08(7)(jjj), F.S.
CONCLUSION
The machinery and equipment used by Taxpayer at its limestone quarry and aggregate plants is
eligible for the Florida sales and use tax exemption provided under s. 212.08(7)(jjj), F.S., Certain
Machinery and Equipment.
For Taxpayer to purchase the qualifying machinery and equipment exempt from tax, it should
furnishes the selling dealer with a signed certificate certifying its entitlement to the exemption
as provided under s. 212.08(7)(jjj)1., F.S.
It should be noted that the exemption from tax provided for purchases of machinery and
equipment used in manufacturing is subject to audit verification by the Department.
For more information concerning all the taxes administered by the Department of Revenue,
please refer to the Department’s Internet site at:
http://floridarevenue.com
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under s. 213.22, F.S., which is
binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in the request for
this advice as specified in s. 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated on those facts and the specific
situation summarized above. You are advised that subsequent statutory or administrative rule

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April 7, 2022
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 7

changes, or judicial interpretations of the statutes or rules, upon which this advice is based, may
subject similar future transactions to a different treatment than expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response and your request and related backup documents are
public records under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the
conditions of s. 213.22, F.S. Confidential information must be deleted before public disclosure. In
an effort to protect confidentiality, we request you provide the undersigned with an edited copy
of your request for Technical Assistance Advisement, the backup material and this response,
deleting names, addresses and any other details which might lead to identification of the
taxpayer. Your response should be received by the Department within 15 days of the date of this
letter.
Kind Regards,

Xiaoxi Miao
Xiaoxi Miao
Tax Law Specialist
Technical Assistance & Dispute Resolution

XM\tadrstaff
Record ID: 682785