Did Florida's post-June 1996 repeal of the solvent-mixture category exempt imported automotive chemical blends from pollutants tax?

Plain-English summary

Florida found two named automotive chemical blends outside the pollutants tax beginning July 1, 1996, but refused to make a blanket ruling for all solvent mixtures. The statutory change removed “solvent mixture” from the pollutants definition, yet petroleum products remained taxable even if they contained listed solvents.

The Department found Johnsen's Smog Emission Reducer #4698 and Carb & Fuel Injector Cleaner #4695 nontaxable after June 30, 1996. It could not decide Penetrating Oil #4602 or Brake Part Cleaner #2420 because their Material Safety Data Sheets had not been received.

The ruling used aviation gasoline and hydraulic fluid as examples of products that could contain solvents but remain taxable under the separate petroleum-product definition. It invited product-by-product review using safety data sheets.

What this means for you

Do not classify an imported liquid solely by the presence of a solvent blend. Check whether the finished product independently meets the pollutants-tax definition of a petroleum product and retain composition documentation.

Common questions

Q: Were all solvent mixtures exempt after June 30, 1996? No.

Q: Which products received a no-tax determination? #4698 and #4695.

Q: Why were #4602 and #2420 unresolved? The Department lacked their safety data sheets.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 206.9925 (1995) — pollutants, petroleum products, solvents, and solvent mixtures
• Chapter 96-352, Laws of Florida — July 1, 1996 removal of the solvent-mixture category
• Fla. Admin. Code r. 12B-5.400 — listed in the advisement
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 — Technical Assistance Advisements

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 99B5-003

Original ruling text

TAA 99B5003
[[December 30, 1999]]

Re:Technical Assistance Advisement (99B5-003)
XXX (Company)
Pollutants Tax - Taxability of <>
Section: 206.9925,F.S.
Rule: 12B-5.400, F.A.C.
Dear :
This letter is a response to your letter dated August 27, 1999, requesting that the Department issue a Technical
Assistance Advisement (TAA) concerning the above-referenced taxpayer and tax issue. Your petition has been
carefully examined and the Department finds that it is in compliance with the requisite criteria set forth in Rule Chapter
12-11, F.A.C. This response to your request constitutes a TAA, and is issued to you under the authority of s. 213.22,
F.S.
FACTS
The Company ships products from out of state to a warehouse in Florida. The Department sent the Company a
questionnaire to assist the Department in determining whether or not the imported products were subject to the
Pollutants Tax. Company completed the questionnaire and began the process of registering as a Pollutants Tax
licensee. Company provided the Department with Material Safety Data Sheets for several products to determine if
they were subject to the Pollutants Tax. The products in question include the following:

4602Johnsen's Penetrating Oil, which contains 44 percent mineral spirits and 5 percent butyl alcohol.

2420Johnsen's Brake Part Cleaner, which contains 25 percent xylene and 5 percent tetrachloroethylene.

4698Smog Emission Reducer, which contains 5 percent xylene, 1 percent ethylbenzene and 85 percent heavy

aromatic naphtha.

4695Carb & Fuel Injector Cleaner, which contains 80 percent mineral spirits, 5 percent heavy aromatic naphtha, 15

percent severely hydrotreated naphthenic distillate and 1 percent naphthalene.
REQUESTED ADVISEMENT
The Company seeks confirmation that #4602 Johnsen's Penetrating Oil, #2420 Johnsen's Brake Part Cleaner, #4698
Smog Emission Reducer, and #4695 Carb & Fuel Injector Cleaner, are taxable only as solvent mixtures and only
through June 30, 1996. Company also wants confirmation that additional products shipped or imported into Florida by
it from an out-of-state location after June 30, 1996, which consist of a blend or mixture in liquid form containing one or

more solvents, are not subject to the Florida Pollutants Tax.
APPLICABLE STATUTES
Section 206.9925, Florida Statutes (F.S.) (1995), provides in pertinent part:
(4) "Petroleum product" means any refined liquid commodity made wholly or partially from oil or gas, or blends or
mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or gas, or blends or mixtures of two or
more liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or gas, and includes, but is not limited to, motor gasoline, gasohol,
aviation gasoline, naphtha-type jet fuel, kerosene-type jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, motor oil
and other lubricants, naphtha of less than 400E F for petroleum feed, special naphthas, road oil, still gas, unfinished
oils, motor gas blending components, including petroleum-derived ethanol when used for such purpose, and aviation
gas blending components.
"Pollutants" includes any petroleum product as defined in subsection (4) as well as pesticides, ammonia, and chlorine;
lead-acid batteries, including, but not limited to, such batteries which are a component part of other tangible personal
property; and solvents as defined in subsection (6) and solvent mixtures as defined in subsection (7),....
"Solvents" means the following organic compounds, if the listed organic compound is in liquid form: acetamide,
acetone, acetonitrile, acetophenone, amyl acetates (all), aniline, benzene, butyl acetates (all), butyl alcohols (all), butyl
benzyl phthalate, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, chlorobenzene, chloroform, cumene, cyclohexane,
cyclohexanone, dibutyl phthalate, dichlorobenzenes (all), dichlorodifluoromethane, diethyl phthalate, dimethyl
phthalate, dioctyl phthalate (di2-ethyl hexyl phthalate), n-dioctyl phthalate, 1,4-dioxane, petroleum-derived ethanol,
ethyl acetate, ethyl benzene, ethylene dichloride, 2-ethoxy ethanol (ethylene glycol ethyl ether), ethylene glycol,
furfural, formaldehyde, n-hexane, isophorone, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, 2-methoxy ethanol (ethylene glycol methyl
ether), methyl tert-butyl ether, methylene chloride (dichloromethane), methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone,
mineral spirits, 140-F naphtha, naphthalene, nitrobenzene, 2-nitropropane, pentachlorobenzene, phenol,
perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene), stoddard solvent, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane,
trichloroethylene, 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, and xylenes (all).
"Solvent mixture" means a blend or mixture in liquid form containing one or more organic compounds listed in
subsection (6), but the term excludes ethanol when used as a motor gas blending agent.
Effective July 1, 1996, the Legislature enacted Ch. 96-352, Laws of Florida (L.O.F.), which redefined the definition of
"pollutants" to remove the term "solvent mixture". It also repealed the definition of solvent mixture. It is agreed that
the legislative intent was to remove the imposition of the pollutants tax from those products that were taxed as solvent
mixtures prior to July 1, 1996. However, the Florida Statute remains consistent in its taxation of petroleum products
and continues to tax some products that may contain a blend or mixture in liquid form containing one or more of the
taxable solvents. Aviation gasoline remains subject to the pollutants tax as a petroleum product although it may
contain the solvents toluene and xylene. Hydraulic fluid that may contain ethylene glycol is also subject to the
pollutants tax as a petroleum product. These are a few petroleum products that would fit the description of the
repealed solvent mixture tax, but these products have been and will continue to be taxed as a petroleum product.

CONCLUSION
We cannot make a determination on Johnsen's Penetrating Oil (#4602) and the Johnsen's Brake Part Cleaner
(#2420), because Material Safety Data Sheets were not received by this office on those products. The Smog
Emission Reducer (#4698) and the Carb & Fuel Injector Cleaner (#4695) are not subject to the pollutants tax effective
July 1, 1996.
Products shipped or imported into Florida from an out-of-state location after June 30, 1996, which consist of a blend or
mixture in liquid form containing one or more solvents may, as set in example above, be subject to the pollutants tax.
A determination can be made on the taxability of these products by sending the Department Material Safety Data
Sheets.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under issued pursuant to s. 213.22, F.S., which is
binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in your request for this advice, as
specified in s. 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated upon those facts and the specific situation summarized above.
You are advised that subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the statutes or
rules upon which this advice is based may subject similar future transactions to a different treatment from that which is
expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, 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 that your
provide the undersigned with an edited copy of your request for a 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.
Sincerely,
Ronald Gay
Senior Tax Specialist
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
Control # 38769